Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)

Variety
"...Steven Spielberg has packed even more thrills and chills into this follow-up..." 05/16/1984

ReelViews 7 of 10
There is something to be said of the grimmer tone and the fact that The Temple of Doom doesn't feel like a retread of Raiders. In fact, the film holds up better than the lighter Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, which often feels like a re-make of Raiders with Sean Connery thrown in for comic relief. As I mentioned earlier, it's not the darker turn that makes The Temple of Doom uncomfortable at times; it's its mean-spiritedness. Some of the scenes of torture go too far, especially for PG movie...It could easily have survived the darkness had the rest of the film been on firm ground. But Indy's companions are weak; we don't identify with them the way we did with Marion and Sallah. There's less action and more overt comedy, and neither change works to the benefit of the story. Raiders managed the perfect blend of both; The Temple of Doom loses the recipe. Still, when all is said and done, this remains an Indiana Jones adventure, and Harrison Ford is as perfect in the role the second time as he was the first. He's the ideal mix of heroism and self-interest; machismo and practicality; roughness and culture. He can be James Bond or Han Solo or Sam Spade. Whatever else The Temple of Doom may lack, it's got Indy, and that's more than a little benefit. - James Berardinelli
 
Chicago Sun-Times 10 of 10
Steven Spielberg's "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" is one of the greatest Bruised Forearm Movies ever made. You know what a Bruised Forearm Movie is. That's the kind of movie where your date is always grabbing your forearm in a viselike grip, as unbearable excitement unfolds on the screen. After the movie is over, you've had a great time but your arm is black-and-blue for a week...This movie is one of the most relentlessly nonstop action pictures ever made, with a virtuoso series of climactic sequences that must last an hour and never stop for a second. It's a roller-coaster ride, a visual extravaganza, a technical triumph, and a whole lot of fun. And it's not simply a retread of "Raiders of the Lost Ark", the first Indiana Jones movie. It works in a different way, and borrows from different traditions...The set design, art direction, special effects, and sound effects inside this underground Hades are among the most impressive achievements in the whole history of Raiders and Bond-style thrillers...No apologies are necessary. This is the most cheerfully exciting, bizarre, goofy, romantic adventure movie since "Raiders", and it is high praise to say that it's not so much a sequel as an equal. It's quite an experience. You stagger out with a silly grin -- and a bruised forearm, of course. - Roger Ebert