Tag: amrish puri

directed by Steven Spielberg

How old were you when you found out that the first film about Indiana Jones doesn’t have his name in the title? Surprise, surprise! The first film is called “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and only later, when the sequels appeared, it was retitled to “Indiana Jones and…” and all that thanks to Lucas. However, Spielberg said the original title should still stay as it was, because Indy was, in fact, one of the raiders. So you may find that production with different titles, however, the second part is one and only: “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” (because Indy wasn’t a temple himself… yes, that was supposed to be a joke… sorry). We’re already starting with a fun fact – the second film is actually set a year before what happened in the first one, so we’re going back to 1935. At the beginning, we can see Indy doing some 007 actions, which lead him to taking a plane and ending up in a small Indian village. He’s accompanied by his 11-year-old friend Shorty (Ke Huy Quan), a very bright kiddo, and Willie (Kate Capshaw), a nightclub singer who got there by accident. Another fun fact before we move on – Willie got her name after Spielberg’s Cocker Spaniel. So I guess we should bless the filmmakers’ doggos. Back to the story, the villagers beg Indy to help them find the stolen stone that was providing their people with food and peace, which are now gone. The cult that has stolen the stone is also responsible for kidnapping their children, which becomes even more difficult, but hey, uncle Indy can do anything, right? And when he finally enters the temple… a true rollercoaster begins. I think that this film is the most mysterious and, let’s face it, disgusting of them all. And you know what? It’s probably my favourite part. The cult has some kind of leader, a priest names Mola Ram (Amrish Puri), who used to scare me when I was little. As a child, I was watching Indiana Jones films in a random order, sometimes I could see some parts on TV, and after all those years I still remember the second film best. Maybe my inner psychopath enjoyed seeing burning people or a beating heart in someone’s hand… I mean, we are different, right? But seriously speaking, to me this part is the most outstanding and much different from others, which is also thanks to Lucas who didn’t want Indy to fight with Nazis again – and that’s why they set the second film in 1935. Don’t get me wrong, seeing Indy kicking Nazis butts is pure pleasure, but if we get that in every film, the story becomes dull. And I bet that if you’ve seen all the films only once, you may struggle to match scenes with titles. Especially since in the newest part they did some computer magic and Indy looks young again. But back to the “Temple of Doom”, I also love it for bringing the character of Shorty. That boy was legendary and it’s a huge pity that they didn’t continue working with him… But I’ll get back to Shorty in my post about the newest Indy film, so be patient. What’s more, I believe that this film puts a spotlight on an important topic of child labour. I know that it was a fictional production, but if you take a moment and think about it – even now, in 2023, as I’m writing this post, in some parts of the world children are slaves who work in horrible conditions, away from their families. So whenever I see the ending of this part and hear Williams music in the background, I shed a tear. But to stay objective, I have to point out the weakest element of this production and that’s… Willie. Holy spirits how annoying that woman was (talking about the character). I know that in all those action films every protagonist has to have some hot lady next to him, but really? In the first part we had Marion, a beautiful and intelligent adventurer, but then, in the second part we get an annoying blondie whom I’d love to sacrifice in that fire in the temple. No jokes here. And okay, I know, her character was supposed to get in trouble and make us laugh, but why did Indy fall for her? Indy! A scientist, polyglot, archeologist… This is just insane. So yeah, if you gave me Indy and Shorty only, that’d be my 10/10. So I hope you’ll dream of Mola Ram tonight and see you next time at the last crusade.

My rating: 8.5/10
S.