Tons of gore: especially the heart-ripping scene.
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Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
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Is it age appropriate?
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Not age appropriate for kids under 7, age appropriate for kids over 12; suggested age 11. -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
More gore than the other Indy blockbusters.
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 11–12
What to watch out for
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Violence:
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Sex:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
About Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Parents need to know that this installment in the Indiana Jones trilogy is the reason the PG-13 rating was created. So many children had nightmares after seeing it. A man's beating heart is torn right out of his chest and children are worked near to death in the mines. The movie is also a creepfest, with lots of gross-out activities, none more nauseating than the eating of live snakes.
Read our full review by Randy White
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Our Members Say
See all 33 member reviews
Most Recent Reviews
- I rate this title iffy for age 14 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
Off For Ages 13 And Under; Iffy For Ages 14-15; On For Ages 16 And Up
- I rate this title iffy for age 10 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
Maybe a little too mature for young audiences, but a good movie nevertheless.
- I rate this title iffy for age 10 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
this movie is hard, man. its wierd, espesially for kids -10
- I rate this title iffy for age 10 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
Too much for my 9-year-old
I showed this movie to my 9-year-old because he has seen the other three Indiana Jones films and loved them. I had held out with this because of how dark it is. He watched it and didn't complain, but was clearly uncomfortable with the darkness of it (including pulling people's hearts out - too much for younger kids). The bad guys are too creepy, in a more demonic way than the other Indiana Jones films. For that reason, in retrospect, I think it was a mistake to let my son watch this. A couple more years would have helped, I think.
- I rate this title on for age 10 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
good movie
this movie has more bad language than commonsense said it had including h..l,d..n,s..t and b.....d. The violence is people getting burned,hung,people getting their heart taken out and people getting eaten by alligators. There is also a scene where people are eating monkey brains snakes and many other gruesome things.
- I rate this title on for age 10 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
Not the best Indiana Jones movie .
Ok movie . Just sort of violent . For example : a guy is sacrificed and his heart is pulled out the entire thing is shown . Language is mild too .
- I rate this title on for age 5 and give itMy concerns are:
- Inappropriate sexual content
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
It realy weighs on maturity. I think many of the reviews are an inflated overreaction.
I watched this movie as a young child. I did know that it was all make believe and was just a story. I saw movies I though was scary (gremlins) but Indiana Jones was not one of the scary. To me, Indiana Jones was a hero. I wanted to help people and be one of the good guys. I looked up to the character and it's really not a bad thing. When it comes to the Violence, again I think intellectually mature children can understand it is not real. Bad guys are out there, they do very bad things. I have no desire to over shelter my children by making them think world is all safe and full of good people. My daughters are 4 and 6. My 4 year old doesn't care much for movies so she doesn't watch it. My 6 year old is a huge fan of Indiana Jones. This series is not scary.
- I rate this title on for age 13 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
- I rate this title on for age 16 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
Not recommended for people who are under 16
This film is rated too low by common sense media guys. 13+?? Really? This film is very dark, brooding, graphic and violent. It's ON for people aged 16 and up. This is an Indy film for adults only. Under 16s aren't restricted, but they just need a parent guidance.
- I rate this title off for age 15 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
Gruesome violence but good movie
It is a great movie but this should be R rated, a guy is tied up and gets his heart ripped out before being burned alive
- I rate this title iffy for age 7 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom may be very funny for kids like me, but if there's any concerns, please do not be surprised.
- I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it
Okay...
This was an okay movie, but there were MANY creepy things in it. As it is stated, a man's heart is torn out of his chest and lowered into a fiery pit. Loads of punching, some whipping, gunshooting, and other forms of violence. About ten profanities or so, including the Lord's name taken in vain. Jones and Willie plan on having sex, but get interruped by a man trying to strangle Indy in the form of a rope acting as a garrote. A few other creepy things, as well. I recommend an edited version, such as ClearPlay. Ages 14+
- I rate this title iffy for age 11 and give it
A movie that stood the test of time.
Well, first off, this is definitely not a PG movie. But I don't see why because of this, people are giving it bad reviews. This movie is very violent, and there is much blood shown, so it is a PG-13 movie, but it is a good one. Mature eleven year olds should be just fine watching it, but they might be disturbed at the heart-ripping-out scene. As far as social behaviour, I don't think it was rascist to Asians as much as CSM puts it. I loved the little chinese boy, who added a great character to the movie, throwing in some comic relief where it was needed. This movie is also much funnier than I expected, instead of just being a serious action flick. On the flip side, there are some pretty morbid (for lack of a better word) things shown, such as enslaved children being whipped. Indy and the chinese boy were also whipped, and you see the bloody scratches on Indy's back (think Will Turner in Pirates, only the afflictions weren't actually shown being applied.) As far as other violent material, a man is crushed under a cement roller kind of thing (the same kind of thing as in the first one; a big strong man that Indy can't beat in normal terms ends up being killed by something large... say a propeller.) He isn't actually shown being crushed, but he is shown sucked in when his cape gets caught, and then there is a trail of blood as the roller turns around again. Men are eaten by crocidiles, but you hardly see anything, it basically looks like the crocs are tearing up their clothing. People are also shot, but it is very cartoonish (someone fires a shot, the actors jump backwards or tumble off of a cliff...think powerangers). Blood is shown often on people in fistfights, including on children (there is a fistfight between two children.) Sheltering moms beware! There is a demonic cult in this movie (they are the bad guys) and two of their rituals are shown. A child uses a fully functional voodoo doll on Indy as well, stabbing it with a knife and causing him pain. Indy even uses a spell to his benefit in the end. This really shouldn't be a problem, but I know those moms that don't want their children to know anything about magic and whatnot. So basically, I've noticed that CSM reviews always make things sound worse than they really are, including this one. That is because they just list all of the bad things. I try to explain them a little better, such as the heart-tearing-out scene, the bad guy just reaches in there and somehow magically gets it, and the sacrifice is left unscathed... except he's missing a heart. Of course, then he is lowered into magma, but it doesn't really show him burning or anything. Ok, off of violence, and onto other iffy material parents might want to know about. There is sexual behaviour, BUT nothing happens except for a few kisses. There are only three or four bad words, though I'm pretty sure it's three. This movie is an action-packed adventure, so if your kids want to see it because of the hype surrounding the new movie, then if they are eleven or twelve or older, and you think they could handle a movie like Tomb Raider or James Bond (without the sex) then they should be just fine with this. You may want them to close their eyes during the sacrifice if they are sensitive to that, but seriously, this movie has definitely stood the test of time; watching it now, It almost seems like a movie that could have been made today, with the exception of the crocs. The mine shaft scene was a lot of fun, and the action was very good. I actually enjoyed it more than the first one, because it seemed a bit more Indiana Jones to me, since he spent the majority of his time in a Tomb-like place. I also really enjoyed seing the Hindu culture at the near beginning, such as the Hindu women dancing in the temple. So to wrap it up, this movie is really good, I don't see why the ratings have been so low. The reason there have been so many angry parents is because it was mis-rated; this is a PG-13 movie. So treat it like one, and your eleven year olds should be fine.
- I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it
pretty good movie for preteens
not as violent as the other 3, but a little sexual
- I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it
Way too violent and scary for kids
With all the hype surrounding the latest Indy film, your kids may want to see the old ones. DO NOT let them see this one!! Kids are enslaved, Indy is whipped, bad guy gets hung from ceiling fan, the soup has eyeballs in it... oh, and then there's the part where some poor sucker gets his heart ripped out of his cheset. The unflattering portrayal of women and Asians and the not-so-subtle sexual behavior pale in comparison to the violence.
- I rate this title on for age 2 and give it
Watch Indy part one three and four
- I rate this title off for age 2 and give it
What the heck was Speilberg thinking?
This movie was just so...auuggh violent! From alligators chewing apart people to hearts getting ripped out, gunfights, squishings and many more examples of Severe Violence and Gore. If this was rated today, it would probably be rated PG-14.
- I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it
- I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it
what
this is my favorite indiana jones movie because it is not afraid to gross out the audience i mean come on it raiders two faces melt off,a mans head exploldes,and a man gets chopped up by a helicopter [implied but blood splatters] yes i will say this is a very violent movie but not nearly as gross as the first one so toughen up
- I rate this title iffy for age 11 and give it
Violent Flick
This is one freaky roller coaster ride. A guy's heart is ripped out of his chest in a human sacrifice, people are burned alive, voodoo dolls are stabbed (they actually work.), people whip Indiana and Short Round (not shown from back), Indiana is pulled in a deep and dark sleep that turns him evil, Indy hits a kid, guy is squashed (not shown, but blood is visible), guys are eaten by alligators, & a guy is chopped by ceiling fan (ubscured from view).
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| 75% | of parents say it's too violent |
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