5 Reasons Why Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom Is Underrated

Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom is the troubled middle child (we don't count Kingdom of The Crystal Skull right!?). It's dark, brooding and misunderstood. It's also a film that treads a different path than its higher regarded and better loved siblings and it comes with some fairly well-worn criticisms: It's too scary for kids! It's too fantastical! It has troubling stereotypes!

Okay, so maybe that last one is true...

Even Spielberg doesn't seem too fond of it, often commenting that his favourite part of the experience was meeting his future wife, Kate Capshaw.

However, there is a lot to be said for this neglected gem; and whilst no one is denying it has its issues (anyone for eyeball soup?) it has plenty to enjoy; from stunning set pieces to quieter character moments. In short, it contains all you could hope for from what essentially amounts to a fun night at the movies, and let's be honest that's why we're here.

So why not take a leaf out of Indy's book and dig a little deeper, avoid the pitfalls and give it another crack (of the whip)?

Let's get straight to it: Indiana Jones hates Nazis and we love seeing him giving them a good kicking, but to see him do it three films in a row might appear to be too much of a good thing. Temple of Doom spends most of its time in India, dealing with mythology unknown to many in the west.

Audiences perhaps felt a little bit lost, but this setting allows for the expansion of the Indiana Jones universe.

More broadly, there is a distinctly different atmosphere to Temple, aided by the colour scheme featuring predominantly reds and blacks, and the score, another belter from John Williams which incorporates pounding drums and slinky strings.

As important as Indy's mission is to the the village people he encounters, which is a smaller story but this is no bad thing. It's almost a relief from the heaviness of the Nazis trying to harness the power of God to take over the world.