Re: How Come Temple's Got a Bad Rap?

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Posted by Major Paul from 204.208.30.165 on October 04, 1998 at 23:04:46:

In Reply to: How Come Temple's Got a Bad Rap? posted by Andrea on October 04, 1998 at 10:34:12:

: Am I one of the few that believe Temple of Doom is arguably the best
: in the series? Most completely disagree with me, which is perfectly
: allright.

: Still, I find Temple to be *ultimate* Indy: Ford isn't as wooden, the
: action is larger than life (as it should be), the tone lighter (I
: feel Raiders was taking itself a bit too seriously), the
: characters humorous and the locations most exotic of the series.
: Not to mention the risks Speilberg took with this one. I just hate to hear Speilberg apologizing for this entry in the series ["show a little backbone, will ya'?!"]

: Crusade, by comparison, was quite a reactionary response to those
: who didn't like Temple; in my opinion, it was extremely conservative
: and thus by the numbers. It was safe. And this was the film experience
: that convinced me to be a filmmaker!

: Of course, Raiders started it all, and it's fabulous. But like I pointed out, I felt the tone was just a bit too serious. Hey, we're talking pulp here! Don't get me wrong, I love Indy, but it seems Temple always, unjustifiably, gets the bad rap.

: -Andrea

: P.S. For those of you not familiar with Pauline Kael, the former film critic for the New Yorker, I would strongly suggest you check out her review on Temple. It hits the nail on the head, in my opinion, and truly does the film critical justice.

::Andrea, I too enjoy ToD just a little better than the rest. I find the character of Indy Jones to be more like Lucas/Spielberg intended him to be, treading a little more in the underworld of antiquities "acquisitions" (why trade a Manchu dynasty remains urn for gold and a diamond from Lao Che?) but yet, when the chips were down, his sense of honor was more refined (e.g. throwing the rock down on the head of the Kali guard whipping the child rather than grabbing the stones and making a run for it). He seemed more real to me in that sense. A regular guy tempted by "fortune and glory" but who was decent enough to risk his life to save enslaved children. In "Raiders", Belloq told Indy that, "it would only take a nudge to push him (Indy) out of the light". In ToD, I got a better sense of that conflict in him. That made the movie really stand apart from "Raiders" and "Last Crusade". Strictly my opinion of course and I'm well aware of the differing thoughts of others.-MP


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