Posted by The Disgrace at cpe0080c6ef54b6-cm014320004562.cpe.net.cable.rogers.com on May 25, 2003 at 13:22:04:
In Reply to: Indiana Jones posted by The 1983 Coca-Cola Alias on May 25, 2003 at 11:11:34:
I'll tell you what's missing from the Temple of Doom: Nazis. Hundreds of fascist bully-boys that you love to see get smashed into pieces. They look like everyday people, but they dress, talk and act like cold-hearted monsters.
Also, there were no rivals for Indy to play against. With mention of other archeologists, you are hinted at possible fates that befell them, or you might think to keep an eye out for them later on. Belloch from Raiders is the most brilliant villain in the series, in my opinion. Sympathetic only to a degree, but his greed overtakes any potential goodness. Also, he works with Nazis.
I might also point out that he didn't go to India in search of anything, he wound up there in the attempt to escape the Chinese crime boss. He took on the mission to retrieve the stones for no reason other than the greater good, which isn't necessarily following the Jones-style moral compass.
If Jones does anything for the greater good, it's usually just an attempt to spite his foes. Often, his missions are for research of the items he excavates.
In the end, all you get out of Temple of Doom is a lot of action. That's fine, if that is the reason you go to see Indy. Personally, I like to see Indiana Jones play off of people he doesn't like, or better yet, get treated like crap by the people he cares most for.
HOWEVER, there are two cameos that may or may not have been missed. The obvious one is by James Earl Jones at the gross-out barforama dinner table scene, and the other is by Dan Aykroyd, who greets Indy at the airport using an English accent in the first ten minutes of the film.
Temple of Doom was the worst of the three, I have no doubt. The fact of the matter is, it is still better than many other movies from the eighties.