73. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)



Leonard Maltin's Rating :
Should be :

IMDB Rating : 7.6

Rotten Tomatoes Rating : 85%

Rotten Tomatoes Synopsis : "It may be too "dark" for some, but Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom remains an ingenious adventure spectacle that showcases one of Hollywood's finest filmmaking teams in vintage form."

In his review Leonard says: "Headache inducing prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark but this time the 1930s archaeologist-adventurer has a weaker story and a wimpier heroine.""

I agree with Roger that this is not as good as Raiders, but then again, what is? Temple of Doom stands on its own as a very good, perhaps a great movie. Great action scenes in a very exciting adventure.

I like what Roger Ebert had to say about the movie: "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."

The movie did have some gross out scenes and the story wasn't as strong as the original, but this is still a really good movie and the two star rating is just bizarre.

3 comments:

  1. You should also include his ratings for Last Crusade and Crystal Skull. He only gave 2 1/2 to Last Crusade, but he gave 3 1/2 to Crystal Skull! He said it was the best film in the series since Raiders! Isn't that insane?

    2008 was a staggeringly bad year for Maltin's reviews. Here's a quick breakdown:

    Dark Knight: 2 stars
    Iron Man: 2 1/2
    WALL-E: 2 1/2
    Crystal Skull: 3 1/2

    Can you imagine only being able to afford one movie that summer, and he tells you to skip the good ones above, and you go see Crystal Skull on his recommendation?

    He's a great film historian, but in terms of his reviews, sometimes I wonder why he still has a job.

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    Replies
    1. All of the major critics loved 'Crystal Skull', not just Leonard Maltin, which makes you wonder if the age of the viewer has got more to do with it than it being a bad movie. I think the latter is the case.

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  2. That idiot gave Lazer blast a horrible B movie 2 1/2 stars meaning it was better than Temple of doom!?

    ReplyDelete

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