Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

 Review

Common Sense Media says

More gore than the other Indy blockbusters.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Kids say

What parents need to know

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.

  • In general, Asian people don't come off looking well.
  • Hand-to-hand combat and gunfights. Indiana Jones is severely scourged.
  • Mild sexual banter between Jones and Willie.

What's the story?

Set before Indiana Jones tangled with the Nazis over the lost ark, this installment finds the archaeologist-adventurer on a mission to recover another priceless artifact and rescue enslaved children. After a narrow escape from Chinese gangsters, Indy (Harrison Ford), nightclub singer Willie (Kate Capshaw), and precocious 12-year-old Short Round (Ke Huy Quan) are asked by humble villagers to take on the Thuggees, an evil cult that practices human sacrifice. Indy and his friends face trained assassins, mind control potions, enormous bugs, and a wild ride in a mining cart as they try to retrieve the village's sacred stone -- and their kidnapped children -- from evil Mola Ram and his gang of Thuggees.


Is it any good?

 

Despite superior chase sequences and dazzling stunts, this loud and frenzied sequel is mostly an exercise in excess. It's loud, creepy, violent and, at times, incoherent. While the pacing and tone of the first movie felt spot-on, Temple of Doom never really finds its rhythm. What the movie does have are some of the best stunts of the series, and outstanding chases.

Intrigue quickly disintegrates into endless pandemonium and the antics of two annoying sidekicks who never stop shouting and shrieking. Harrison Ford, so effortlessly heroic in Raiders, just seems mean in this film. Children will probably like Short Round and the movie's silly elephants, but parents should note that PG-13 rating was invented for this movie, after so many children went to see it had the living daylights scared out of them.


What families can talk about

Families can talk about stereotypes in movies. What stereotypes do you see here? How can a stereotype be fun -- and how can it be offensive? Where do you draw the line?


This review was written by Randy White
Teen, 14 years old
July 27, 2009
 
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.

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Adult
April 9, 2008
 
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.

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Teen, 15 years old
April 8, 2011
 
This is probably the most violent one out of the whole series. Near the start a big kabab is thrown into a mans chest, a little bit later a mans heart is pulled out(but looks fake) and then at the end people fall into a river and are eaten by crocidiles. Drug use: at the start some people are drinking wine and stuuf

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Adult
December 5, 2010
 
hate
sick just sick

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Teen, 14 years old
June 29, 2011
 
Best of the Indiana Jones Movies By Far!
I love this movie. It is my favorite Indiana Jones movie. I watched this when I was 9, and the only part that disturbed me was the monkey brain delicacy. Mild romance between Willy and Indy, plenty of violence and not that bad language. Indy and Short Round are good role models - brave, adventurous, and loyal.

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Teen, 15 years old
January 1, 2011
 
good for kids around 8 and 9
I honestly watched all the indiana jones movies when I was six so im not the best person for this one but it has more violence then any other one but okay

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Kid, 11 years old
August 8, 2010
 
Too dark
I really disliked the movie. It was way too gross and bloody for a PG movie

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Parent of 13 year old
July 8, 2010
 
Terrible Sequel to Great Raiders!
This movie is terrible! I mean it makes minorities look horrendous and then you have all the voodoo junk and the gore with terrible acting! Can it get any worse! The only okay scene for me was the mine cart scene, but other than that it's terrible! Skip it! :D

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Parent of 7 and 11 year old
August 23, 2009
 
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.

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Adult
May 13, 2011
 
Hearty Review
There is a scene where a guy's heart is taken out and he is then sacrificed to a false god.

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This review was written by Randy White
Topics:adventures
Studio:Paramount Pictures
Director:Steven Spielberg
Cast:Harrison Ford, Kate Capshaw, Ke Huy Quan
Genre:Action/Adventure
Run time:118 minutes
Theatrical release date:January 1, 1984
DVD release date:October 26, 1999
MPAA rating:PG
MPAA explanation:violence.

This review was written by Randy White
 

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

 

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