1. The Darkness
"Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom is too dark." Well, too dark for what exactly? Who laid out this line in the Indiana Jones franchise that was crossed by Temple? Sure Temple is dark, considerably more than the other two of the original trilogy, but so what? Let it be a darker and more sinister film because, well, it has a right to be. And the dark tone, the gross-out factor, the children hanging in the balance, and the witchcraft of the cult is what I love the most about Temple of Doom. It goes back to the uniqueness argument of the film. If all three Indy movies felt and looked the same, the formula would have been a little more stale by the time we got to The Last Crusade. As it is, Temple breaks the monotony and keeps the momentum of the trilogy in place. It is an important spot and it embellishes in the freedom of being the middle film. I realize I am fully in the minority on this one. Raiders is an untouchable masterpiece of the genre, I know, but for my money I have much more fun watching Temple. Sue me.