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

Harrison Ford's performance in Temple is full of the usual traits we have come to expect from his character - charisma, charm, desperation, perseverance and the wonderful ability to appear as if he is (to paraphrase another one of his famous characters) making it up as he goes.

It's almost comforting to watch Indy doing what he does, and at times you feel as though it's so natural for Harrison Ford to play this character that you wonder where one begins and the other ends.

Temple of Doom gives the audience something no other entry has had before or since; bad Indy. Upon being forced to drink the Blood of Kali, our hero, becomes effectively brainwashed; a puppet to Mola Ram, the big evil of the picture. Ford is clearly having a lot of fun with this, but for the audience it's unsettling; you can always rely on Indy to save the day and yet for this brief period we feel lost and hopeless.

It's a great sequence that not only gives validity to the bad guys, but also allows for the great fake out moment when Indy, snapped out of the Black Sleep of Kali by Short Round, pretends to still be under the spell, only to triumphantly come to the rescue - once again accompanied by John Williams soaring score.