DeuceWild_77
Joined Jan 2007
Welcome to the new profile
We're still working on updating some profile features. To see the badges, ratings breakdowns, and polls for this profile, please go to the previous version.
Ratings704
DeuceWild_77's rating
Reviews126
DeuceWild_77's rating
Filmed in '69 in Durango, Mexico (during the shooting, Duke's got to know he was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for his role in "True Grit", winning both later), "Chisum" represents the last breath of the Golden Age of Hollywood Westerns.
Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, in his 4th film with John Wayne (including the earlier western, "The Undefeated") from a script penned by Andrew J. Fenady, "Chisum" is loosely based on the real life events surrounding the 'Lincoln County War' of 1878 in the New Mexico Territory, involving several historical figures such as John Simpson Chisum, John Henry Tunstall, Lawrence G. Murphy, William H. Bonney a.k.a. Billy The Kid, Pat Garrett and Alexander McSween.
Superbly photographed by William H. Clothier in Technicolor, a regular collaborator in John Wayne's films ("The Alamo", "The Comancheros", "The Undefeated", among others) it's one of the later Duke's most visually stunning films, directed in the old style of filmmaking and featuring an impressive cast of supporting players, most of them Duke's old pals such as Ben Johnson, Bruce Cabot, Hank Worden, Pedro Armendáriz Jr., John and Christopher Mitchum, and adding the newcomer Geoffrey Deuel as Billy The Kid and Glenn Corbett as Pat Garrett, not the most charismatic duo, but fitting within the tone, with Deuel faring a tad better.
Legendary Forrest Tucker is a great counterpart to Wayne's Chisum, playing the greedy Lawrence Murphy. Both are too much alike, except Chisum believes in law and order and keeping the things straight and Murphy will do anything above the law to gain power over Lincoln.
Christopher George, as the bounty hunter turned corrupt Sheriff Dan Nodeen, is effective and menacing as one of Murphy's men, well supported by Richard Jaeckel as Jesse Evans.
Andrew Prine and future Mrs. Christopher George (they started dating on the set of this film), Lynda Day George, played the McSweens.
The pacing is good and the story progresses well, but it's too many events to tell on-screen and way too many characters for a less than 2 hours film, so it lacks development, especially around the supporting characters and John Wayne didn't do much here, but his 'larger than life' Chisum is like omnipresent, even when he's off screen, he's still there. The final shootout is on the line of what a Duke's western should be, even if his stunt double is way noticeable during the fistfight between Wayne and Tucker, but John Wayne, at 63 years old, was way past his prime.
Although this film is based on a bloody war which reaped so many lives, the atmosphere is colorful, lighthearted and with good vibes, like in every John Wayne film, presenting the witty remarks between Wayne and his partner, Ben Johnson, which reminded chemistry with his old pal, the fabulous character actor Walter Brennan in "Red River" ('48) and "Rio Bravo" ('59).
"Chisum" felt outdated when it was released on the summer of '70, because at the time the movie business were pointing towards the more realistic, subversive and violent westerns, due to the Spaghettis' emergence in mid-60's in which the around the world success changed the myth of the Old West to a more revisionist fashion, and jumping on the bandwagon, Hollywood was changing with it, producing Peckinpah's films such as "The Wild Bunch" ('69); George Roy Hill's "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" ('69); Ralph Nelson's "Soldier Blue" ('70) or Elliot Silverstein's "A Man Called Horse" ('70).
Even being a 'swan's song' to its glourious times, it still made a profit at the box office, but less than an usual John Wayne film: the Vietnam war, the Civil Rights Movement and the sign of new times coming, killed the more Conservative westerns, but there are several criticisms, especially in Wayne's dialogue, to the treatment given to native americans and to the greedness of the white man, which proved how humanist the Duke was, a man of values, moral and honor.
In short, 'Lincoln County War' enthusiasts should check Sam Peckinpah's revisionist western drama, "Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid" ('72) or Michael Cimino's epic western, "Heaven's Gate" ('80), based on the similar 'Johnson County War' in Wyoming between 1889-93, to a more deep understanding of this historical facts, but if you go for a more relaxed and matinee style of classic westerns, then "Chisum" is your movie to watch.
Christopher Cain also adapted this story, scripted by John Fusco, for his actioneer / western film, featuring a cast of 80's young lads, "Young Guns" ('88) who strangely omitted the character of John Simpson Chisum, but emerged in the sequel, Geoff Murphy's "Young Guns II" ('90) played by James Coburn.
I give it a 8 / 10.
Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, in his 4th film with John Wayne (including the earlier western, "The Undefeated") from a script penned by Andrew J. Fenady, "Chisum" is loosely based on the real life events surrounding the 'Lincoln County War' of 1878 in the New Mexico Territory, involving several historical figures such as John Simpson Chisum, John Henry Tunstall, Lawrence G. Murphy, William H. Bonney a.k.a. Billy The Kid, Pat Garrett and Alexander McSween.
Superbly photographed by William H. Clothier in Technicolor, a regular collaborator in John Wayne's films ("The Alamo", "The Comancheros", "The Undefeated", among others) it's one of the later Duke's most visually stunning films, directed in the old style of filmmaking and featuring an impressive cast of supporting players, most of them Duke's old pals such as Ben Johnson, Bruce Cabot, Hank Worden, Pedro Armendáriz Jr., John and Christopher Mitchum, and adding the newcomer Geoffrey Deuel as Billy The Kid and Glenn Corbett as Pat Garrett, not the most charismatic duo, but fitting within the tone, with Deuel faring a tad better.
Legendary Forrest Tucker is a great counterpart to Wayne's Chisum, playing the greedy Lawrence Murphy. Both are too much alike, except Chisum believes in law and order and keeping the things straight and Murphy will do anything above the law to gain power over Lincoln.
Christopher George, as the bounty hunter turned corrupt Sheriff Dan Nodeen, is effective and menacing as one of Murphy's men, well supported by Richard Jaeckel as Jesse Evans.
Andrew Prine and future Mrs. Christopher George (they started dating on the set of this film), Lynda Day George, played the McSweens.
The pacing is good and the story progresses well, but it's too many events to tell on-screen and way too many characters for a less than 2 hours film, so it lacks development, especially around the supporting characters and John Wayne didn't do much here, but his 'larger than life' Chisum is like omnipresent, even when he's off screen, he's still there. The final shootout is on the line of what a Duke's western should be, even if his stunt double is way noticeable during the fistfight between Wayne and Tucker, but John Wayne, at 63 years old, was way past his prime.
Although this film is based on a bloody war which reaped so many lives, the atmosphere is colorful, lighthearted and with good vibes, like in every John Wayne film, presenting the witty remarks between Wayne and his partner, Ben Johnson, which reminded chemistry with his old pal, the fabulous character actor Walter Brennan in "Red River" ('48) and "Rio Bravo" ('59).
"Chisum" felt outdated when it was released on the summer of '70, because at the time the movie business were pointing towards the more realistic, subversive and violent westerns, due to the Spaghettis' emergence in mid-60's in which the around the world success changed the myth of the Old West to a more revisionist fashion, and jumping on the bandwagon, Hollywood was changing with it, producing Peckinpah's films such as "The Wild Bunch" ('69); George Roy Hill's "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" ('69); Ralph Nelson's "Soldier Blue" ('70) or Elliot Silverstein's "A Man Called Horse" ('70).
Even being a 'swan's song' to its glourious times, it still made a profit at the box office, but less than an usual John Wayne film: the Vietnam war, the Civil Rights Movement and the sign of new times coming, killed the more Conservative westerns, but there are several criticisms, especially in Wayne's dialogue, to the treatment given to native americans and to the greedness of the white man, which proved how humanist the Duke was, a man of values, moral and honor.
In short, 'Lincoln County War' enthusiasts should check Sam Peckinpah's revisionist western drama, "Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid" ('72) or Michael Cimino's epic western, "Heaven's Gate" ('80), based on the similar 'Johnson County War' in Wyoming between 1889-93, to a more deep understanding of this historical facts, but if you go for a more relaxed and matinee style of classic westerns, then "Chisum" is your movie to watch.
Christopher Cain also adapted this story, scripted by John Fusco, for his actioneer / western film, featuring a cast of 80's young lads, "Young Guns" ('88) who strangely omitted the character of John Simpson Chisum, but emerged in the sequel, Geoff Murphy's "Young Guns II" ('90) played by James Coburn.
I give it a 8 / 10.
"Some Kind of Wonderful" was conceived like a more dark "Pretty in Pink" and, at the same time, making things right, because John Hughes never liked the ending of his own written cult teen film, changed at the 11th hour by the studio executives, featuring Andrew McCarthy looking gaunt and in a fake wig and Molly Ringwald coming together, leaving the fan's favorite, Jon Cryer's Duckie, out in a limbo of his own sexual ambiguity.
Focused on directing "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" ('87), like the year before with "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" ('86), Hughes gave in once again the director chair to Howard Deutch, staying as the writer and producer, making a more realistic, emotionally deeper and offbeat version of "Pretty in Pink", being less corny and cheesy and more sophisticated and matured, even if it features the inevitable teens, played by twenty-something years old actors, as usual in the movies involving John Hughes.
Hughes and Deutch decision of leaving "The Brat Pack" members out of this picture, opting to cast indie actors, was an interesting move that enhanced the story content and the realistic tone of the characters, all of them in a grey zone through the film, in which nothing is what it seems. The 'girl next door' Molly Ringwald refused to be in, ending her successful collaboration with Hughes ("Sixteen Candles", "The Breakfast Club", "Pretty in Pink"), but glad she did that, because she wouldn't fit to this movie's atmosphere.
Eric Stoltz, the Rocky Dennis from "Mask" ('85) and the original Marty McFly from "Back to the Future" ('85), before he was fired by Spielberg and Zemeckis due to "acting too adult", was a perfect choice to the character of Keith Nelson, a blue collar mechanic in his spare time, which is also a sensitive painter and a socially shy teenager being a misfit in a strict social hierarchy in this Los Angeles' suburban High School. His best friend, Susan Watts (a marvellous and captivating performance by Mary Stuart Masterson, which deserved to be Oscar Nominated in a Supporting Role) is a tomboy-ish drummer that loves Keith secretely and is relutantly helping him to gain the heart of the beautiful and popular, Amanda Jones (the always adorable Lea Thompson, which was recommended for the role by Stoltz after they temporarily played mother and son in the aforementioned, "Back to the Future"), girlfriend to the handsome snobbish and bad-tempered, Hardy Jenns (Craig Sheffer, in a role that he could do in his sleep).
The prolific character actor, John Ashton ("Beverly Hills Cop I & II", "Midnight Run") appears as Cliff Nelson, Keith's stubborn Dad and Maddie Corman as his annoying younger sister. An early role for Elias Koteas playing Duncan, a vicious looking punk, that in fact is more likeable than the hot rich kid in school. His acting is good, comical in parts and leaves a mark, but doesn't belong in the tone of this film, it's more suitable for a dark humor teen comedy such as "Three O'Clock High" (also released in '87).
This kind of love triangle may be similar to "Pretty in Pink", but it was so heartfelt performed by the main trio, helped by an inspiring and stylished direction, some great written lines and a suitable moody photography, which made this movie a standout among the other teen films released in the 80's. Even the soundtrack is more alternative than the previous John Hughes' films, featuring tracks from Pete Shelley (Buzzcocks); Flesh for Lulu; Furniture; Lick the Tins; Charlie Sexton; Stephen Duffy (Duran Duran); The Apartments or The Jesus and Mary Chain.
Among the most memorable scenes, the training kiss between Keith and Watts, beautiful, intimate and awkward at the same time and a spark of how great actress Mary Stuart Masterson is, and Lea Thompson's emotional crying scene at the end.
In short, all the elements from a Hughes' screenplay are displayed here: the teen angst, the class struggle and the nothing is like what it seems, but this time the characters, besides being more sophisticated, they behave even more adult, and like the late Roger Ebert said in his 1987 review: "the teens in Hughes' movies are more grown up than the adults in most of the other ones", and i agree with him entirely.
Adding some curiosities, the star Lea Thompson and the director Howard Deutch fell in love during production and they are still happily married and the main trio are named related to The Rolling Stones, such the song Amanda Jones; the drummer Charlie Watts and the guitar player Keith Richards.
My vote is an 8.5 !!
Focused on directing "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" ('87), like the year before with "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" ('86), Hughes gave in once again the director chair to Howard Deutch, staying as the writer and producer, making a more realistic, emotionally deeper and offbeat version of "Pretty in Pink", being less corny and cheesy and more sophisticated and matured, even if it features the inevitable teens, played by twenty-something years old actors, as usual in the movies involving John Hughes.
Hughes and Deutch decision of leaving "The Brat Pack" members out of this picture, opting to cast indie actors, was an interesting move that enhanced the story content and the realistic tone of the characters, all of them in a grey zone through the film, in which nothing is what it seems. The 'girl next door' Molly Ringwald refused to be in, ending her successful collaboration with Hughes ("Sixteen Candles", "The Breakfast Club", "Pretty in Pink"), but glad she did that, because she wouldn't fit to this movie's atmosphere.
Eric Stoltz, the Rocky Dennis from "Mask" ('85) and the original Marty McFly from "Back to the Future" ('85), before he was fired by Spielberg and Zemeckis due to "acting too adult", was a perfect choice to the character of Keith Nelson, a blue collar mechanic in his spare time, which is also a sensitive painter and a socially shy teenager being a misfit in a strict social hierarchy in this Los Angeles' suburban High School. His best friend, Susan Watts (a marvellous and captivating performance by Mary Stuart Masterson, which deserved to be Oscar Nominated in a Supporting Role) is a tomboy-ish drummer that loves Keith secretely and is relutantly helping him to gain the heart of the beautiful and popular, Amanda Jones (the always adorable Lea Thompson, which was recommended for the role by Stoltz after they temporarily played mother and son in the aforementioned, "Back to the Future"), girlfriend to the handsome snobbish and bad-tempered, Hardy Jenns (Craig Sheffer, in a role that he could do in his sleep).
The prolific character actor, John Ashton ("Beverly Hills Cop I & II", "Midnight Run") appears as Cliff Nelson, Keith's stubborn Dad and Maddie Corman as his annoying younger sister. An early role for Elias Koteas playing Duncan, a vicious looking punk, that in fact is more likeable than the hot rich kid in school. His acting is good, comical in parts and leaves a mark, but doesn't belong in the tone of this film, it's more suitable for a dark humor teen comedy such as "Three O'Clock High" (also released in '87).
This kind of love triangle may be similar to "Pretty in Pink", but it was so heartfelt performed by the main trio, helped by an inspiring and stylished direction, some great written lines and a suitable moody photography, which made this movie a standout among the other teen films released in the 80's. Even the soundtrack is more alternative than the previous John Hughes' films, featuring tracks from Pete Shelley (Buzzcocks); Flesh for Lulu; Furniture; Lick the Tins; Charlie Sexton; Stephen Duffy (Duran Duran); The Apartments or The Jesus and Mary Chain.
Among the most memorable scenes, the training kiss between Keith and Watts, beautiful, intimate and awkward at the same time and a spark of how great actress Mary Stuart Masterson is, and Lea Thompson's emotional crying scene at the end.
In short, all the elements from a Hughes' screenplay are displayed here: the teen angst, the class struggle and the nothing is like what it seems, but this time the characters, besides being more sophisticated, they behave even more adult, and like the late Roger Ebert said in his 1987 review: "the teens in Hughes' movies are more grown up than the adults in most of the other ones", and i agree with him entirely.
Adding some curiosities, the star Lea Thompson and the director Howard Deutch fell in love during production and they are still happily married and the main trio are named related to The Rolling Stones, such the song Amanda Jones; the drummer Charlie Watts and the guitar player Keith Richards.
My vote is an 8.5 !!
It's finally time to write a review on one of my favorite films of all time, "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom", a prequel to the critical and box office hit, "Raiders of the Lost Ark" ('81), which brought the old style of the classic adventure from Republic Pictures to the 80's Era, featuring a daredevil archaelogist, Indiana Jones, which is both a scholar and an adventurer, searching for lost treasures around the world and facing all perils throughout the quest.
For its second adventure, George Lucas, the original creator wanted a change in MacGuffin, tone, the villains and even in the Indy girl. As the Ark of Covenant in "Raiders" is a jewish artifact, the Sankara stones in "Doom" are related to Hinduism; the tone of the film became darker, eerie and more cynical, in the same vein "The Empire Strikes Back" ('80) was to "A New Hope" ('77); the villains became the Thuggees instead of the Germans and Marion Ravenwood (played by Karen Allen in "Raiders"), Indy's longtime lover, was replaced by a new female interest, maybe the major reason why they chose to make "Doom" a prequel.
The screenwriters, the real life couple Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, who scripted Lucas' "American Graffiti" ('73) and were experts in the Indian culture, were hired to write Lucas' idea to set the film in India, about an evil cult that worships Kali, the Hindu goddess of death, feeding her with human sacrifice, that are searching, using child labour slave in the catacombs of the 'Temple of Doom', for the last 2 of 5 magical stones that together will bring them ilimited power to extinguish the other religions and rule the world.
Based in "Gunga Din" ('39), the classic adventure film from RKO Radio Pictures starring Cary Grant, and in the James Bond film, "Live and Let Die" ('73), the writers worked closely with Spielberg and Lucas to create the dark world of this Indiana Jones' second entry, bringing back the majority of the crew that made "Raiders" a masterpiece, including one of the greatest cinematographers that ever lived, the late Douglas Slocombe; the magnificent 'maestro' John Williams and the frantic editor, Michael Kahn.
The result might be the greatest adventure film ever made, beating even "Raiders", even if it was critically bashed due to the dark tone, not suitable for children (leading to the creation of PG-13, see also "Gremlins" and "Red Dawn", released in the very same year) and the Indian stereotypes, which in fact were written as a piece of dark humour, totally in tune with the tone of the film, than offensive, but this led to the movie being filmed in Sri Lanka, after refusal from North India to shoot there.
Now, why i rate this movie as not only the best Indiana Jones film, but also (probably) the greatest adventure film of all time?
First of all, it's less pretentious than "Raiders' as an epic adventure film, and that isn't necessarily a good or a bad thing, it's just more fun as a rollercoaster ride of purely movie magic, full of entertainment and excitement, that both a kid or a eldery can relate and enjoy.
Secondly, artistically and technically it achieves and even improves the original film, "Raiders" is an astonishingly well shot film, but Douglas Slocombe's widescreen photography here, especially during the elephants' journey to the Pankot Palace that, like its predecessor, is an homage to the works of art from one of Spielberg's favorites, Sir David Lean, is aesthetically beautiful as an eye pleaser. Spielberg's direction is risky, daring and politically incorrect, principally from a guy that his previous effort was the more family friendly themed and critics' favorite, "E.T." ('82), he denotes here a great sense of dark humour and sarcasm, of pace, of how to stage the action scenes and the mood of a pulp adventure novel perfectly adapted to the big screen. This was the last time Spielberg showed this side of him, of which some of his old fans misses it a lot. Michael Khan's editing is hallucinating, the movie when enters its third act, never slows down until the end, and John Williams' hauntingly beautiful orchestration, it's the best achievement in musical score of the Indiana Jones' franchise.
Thirdly, the cast and their characters, i've never seen Ford as happy, charming, oozing manhood and confident playing Indy than in "Temple of Doom", and is also his absolutely best Indiana Jones performance, before he started to spoof his own character in the lacklustre, "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" ('89). Even if mostly of the action sequences this time were filmed using Harrison Ford's stunt double, Vic Armstrong, who resembles Ford a lot and also doubled for him in the more risky parts during the truck chase in "Raiders", partially due to Ford's back accident during the fight sequence with the Thuggee hidden in the room, Harrison, fortunately, recovered well and came back to shot all the close-ups with renewed energy. His acting is very good during the trance-like state of the Black Sleep of Kali Ma.
Kate Capshaw was widely criticized as the famed Shanghai Club singer, Willie Scott, due to the critics and general public expected Marion Ravenwood to came back or at least, another female 'tomboy' character to replace her. I think it was a great idea to change the Indy girl to a more feminine 'Damsel in distress' fitting the 'fish outta water' type, a throwback to how the female characters were in those 30's and 40's adventure films, and Kate surely plays it loud and whiny, but there's something about her that sparks throughout the film. She don't have the same chemistry with Indy as Marion had, but she fits well in their scenes together, especially the flirting turned arguing after the dinner scene. Also, kudos to the make-up and wardrobe department for her, she looks absolutely stunning and never looked better on-screen.
The non-caucasian actors delivered memorable performances, suitable to the tone of the film, from Roy Chiao as Lao Che, emulating a Bond villain to perfection; Jonathan Ke Quan as the Indy's sidekick, Short Round, a heroic child character that Lucas and Spielberg created for the children to relate; Roshan Seth as the eerie Chattar Lal, The Prime Minister of the Maharaja of Pankot and the late great Amrish Puri as Mola Ram, the Thuggee high priest, which rips off the hearts of his victims with his bare hand, who is not only the best Indiana Jones villain, but also one of the most macabre and sinister bad guys ever commited to cinema.
Dan Aykroyd, Spielberg's actor from "1941" ('79) and "The Blues Brothers" ('80) in which Spielberg appears as an actor in a short performance, cameos as Webber in the Shanghai airport.
Fourthly, when Indiana Jones fans thinks about the character and its adventures, which memorable scenes comes to mind ? Well, "Raiders" opening in the South American jungle; the swordsman in Cairo; the Well of Souls and the truck chase, but also the musical opening and the escape from Obi Wan Club in Shanghai; the plane crash; the dinner scene; the spike chamber; the Thuggee ritual; the black sleep of Kali Ma; the mine chase sequence (even if sometimes the miniatures are way too visible) and the superbly directed and photographed, rope bridge sequence, which is the best standoff from the franchise. It's all from "Doom". How many from the boringly safe "The Last Crusade" a true Indiana Jones fan can mention ?
In short, "If adventure has a name, it must be Indiana Jones", perfectly describes this masterpiece to the full, and Spielberg and Lucas that started jumped on the bandwagon of the "Doom" haters, claiming that the movie is depressing and dark because both were during marital problems and / or divorces around that time, what i can say is that they should then divorce again to reach this level of quality.
I love "Raiders", but "Doom" have a special place in my heart since 1984.
My vote is a 11/10 if possible, if not, 'just' a 10/10 .
For its second adventure, George Lucas, the original creator wanted a change in MacGuffin, tone, the villains and even in the Indy girl. As the Ark of Covenant in "Raiders" is a jewish artifact, the Sankara stones in "Doom" are related to Hinduism; the tone of the film became darker, eerie and more cynical, in the same vein "The Empire Strikes Back" ('80) was to "A New Hope" ('77); the villains became the Thuggees instead of the Germans and Marion Ravenwood (played by Karen Allen in "Raiders"), Indy's longtime lover, was replaced by a new female interest, maybe the major reason why they chose to make "Doom" a prequel.
The screenwriters, the real life couple Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, who scripted Lucas' "American Graffiti" ('73) and were experts in the Indian culture, were hired to write Lucas' idea to set the film in India, about an evil cult that worships Kali, the Hindu goddess of death, feeding her with human sacrifice, that are searching, using child labour slave in the catacombs of the 'Temple of Doom', for the last 2 of 5 magical stones that together will bring them ilimited power to extinguish the other religions and rule the world.
Based in "Gunga Din" ('39), the classic adventure film from RKO Radio Pictures starring Cary Grant, and in the James Bond film, "Live and Let Die" ('73), the writers worked closely with Spielberg and Lucas to create the dark world of this Indiana Jones' second entry, bringing back the majority of the crew that made "Raiders" a masterpiece, including one of the greatest cinematographers that ever lived, the late Douglas Slocombe; the magnificent 'maestro' John Williams and the frantic editor, Michael Kahn.
The result might be the greatest adventure film ever made, beating even "Raiders", even if it was critically bashed due to the dark tone, not suitable for children (leading to the creation of PG-13, see also "Gremlins" and "Red Dawn", released in the very same year) and the Indian stereotypes, which in fact were written as a piece of dark humour, totally in tune with the tone of the film, than offensive, but this led to the movie being filmed in Sri Lanka, after refusal from North India to shoot there.
Now, why i rate this movie as not only the best Indiana Jones film, but also (probably) the greatest adventure film of all time?
First of all, it's less pretentious than "Raiders' as an epic adventure film, and that isn't necessarily a good or a bad thing, it's just more fun as a rollercoaster ride of purely movie magic, full of entertainment and excitement, that both a kid or a eldery can relate and enjoy.
Secondly, artistically and technically it achieves and even improves the original film, "Raiders" is an astonishingly well shot film, but Douglas Slocombe's widescreen photography here, especially during the elephants' journey to the Pankot Palace that, like its predecessor, is an homage to the works of art from one of Spielberg's favorites, Sir David Lean, is aesthetically beautiful as an eye pleaser. Spielberg's direction is risky, daring and politically incorrect, principally from a guy that his previous effort was the more family friendly themed and critics' favorite, "E.T." ('82), he denotes here a great sense of dark humour and sarcasm, of pace, of how to stage the action scenes and the mood of a pulp adventure novel perfectly adapted to the big screen. This was the last time Spielberg showed this side of him, of which some of his old fans misses it a lot. Michael Khan's editing is hallucinating, the movie when enters its third act, never slows down until the end, and John Williams' hauntingly beautiful orchestration, it's the best achievement in musical score of the Indiana Jones' franchise.
Thirdly, the cast and their characters, i've never seen Ford as happy, charming, oozing manhood and confident playing Indy than in "Temple of Doom", and is also his absolutely best Indiana Jones performance, before he started to spoof his own character in the lacklustre, "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" ('89). Even if mostly of the action sequences this time were filmed using Harrison Ford's stunt double, Vic Armstrong, who resembles Ford a lot and also doubled for him in the more risky parts during the truck chase in "Raiders", partially due to Ford's back accident during the fight sequence with the Thuggee hidden in the room, Harrison, fortunately, recovered well and came back to shot all the close-ups with renewed energy. His acting is very good during the trance-like state of the Black Sleep of Kali Ma.
Kate Capshaw was widely criticized as the famed Shanghai Club singer, Willie Scott, due to the critics and general public expected Marion Ravenwood to came back or at least, another female 'tomboy' character to replace her. I think it was a great idea to change the Indy girl to a more feminine 'Damsel in distress' fitting the 'fish outta water' type, a throwback to how the female characters were in those 30's and 40's adventure films, and Kate surely plays it loud and whiny, but there's something about her that sparks throughout the film. She don't have the same chemistry with Indy as Marion had, but she fits well in their scenes together, especially the flirting turned arguing after the dinner scene. Also, kudos to the make-up and wardrobe department for her, she looks absolutely stunning and never looked better on-screen.
The non-caucasian actors delivered memorable performances, suitable to the tone of the film, from Roy Chiao as Lao Che, emulating a Bond villain to perfection; Jonathan Ke Quan as the Indy's sidekick, Short Round, a heroic child character that Lucas and Spielberg created for the children to relate; Roshan Seth as the eerie Chattar Lal, The Prime Minister of the Maharaja of Pankot and the late great Amrish Puri as Mola Ram, the Thuggee high priest, which rips off the hearts of his victims with his bare hand, who is not only the best Indiana Jones villain, but also one of the most macabre and sinister bad guys ever commited to cinema.
Dan Aykroyd, Spielberg's actor from "1941" ('79) and "The Blues Brothers" ('80) in which Spielberg appears as an actor in a short performance, cameos as Webber in the Shanghai airport.
Fourthly, when Indiana Jones fans thinks about the character and its adventures, which memorable scenes comes to mind ? Well, "Raiders" opening in the South American jungle; the swordsman in Cairo; the Well of Souls and the truck chase, but also the musical opening and the escape from Obi Wan Club in Shanghai; the plane crash; the dinner scene; the spike chamber; the Thuggee ritual; the black sleep of Kali Ma; the mine chase sequence (even if sometimes the miniatures are way too visible) and the superbly directed and photographed, rope bridge sequence, which is the best standoff from the franchise. It's all from "Doom". How many from the boringly safe "The Last Crusade" a true Indiana Jones fan can mention ?
In short, "If adventure has a name, it must be Indiana Jones", perfectly describes this masterpiece to the full, and Spielberg and Lucas that started jumped on the bandwagon of the "Doom" haters, claiming that the movie is depressing and dark because both were during marital problems and / or divorces around that time, what i can say is that they should then divorce again to reach this level of quality.
I love "Raiders", but "Doom" have a special place in my heart since 1984.
My vote is a 11/10 if possible, if not, 'just' a 10/10 .