Prequel to the highly successful Raiders of the Lost Ark sees crusading archaeologist Dr. Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) – along with his young companion Short Round (Jonathan Ke Quan) and showgirl Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw) – escape from the clutches of a Shanghai crime boss, and inadvertently finding themselves in a poverty stricken Indian village, after their airplane runs out of fuel mid-flight.

When informed by the village elder that their sacred stone has been stolen and their children have been abducted. Dr. Jones is charged with a quest to find and return the stone and children, held by the evil high priest Mola Ram (Amrish Puri) within Pankot Palace. Once there, Dr. Jones is confronted by a world of black magic and human sacrifice.

Like Raiders of the Lost Ark, the movie begins with a great opening sequence, and does not stop cranking out one heart raising scene after the other. These include a thrilling mid-flight escape from a crashing airplan; a great rail cart chase sequence; and a heart pounding stand off on a wooden bridge.

Harrison Ford reprises the title role with much gusto, injuring his back and delaying filming in the process. Kate Capshaw is also good if not at times irritating as the damsel in distress. The sets are excellent, as is John Williams’ score and Steven Spielberg’s deft direction. The franchise’s humour is ever present and there are also plenty of creepy crawlies abound.

The main criticism towards Temple of Doom is that it is too dark for an adventure film, and while it does possess a much darker tone compared to the other films within the franchise, it does not take away from the fact that this is a very good action/adventure movie full of many memorable, thrilling moments. The darkness gives the film much depth and emotion while not taking away from the adventurous spirit of the series.

The excessive gore, however, does stand out. The film features a dinner scene where guests gorge on baby snakes, eye ball soup and chilled monkeys brains. In its own it is a funny scene, but within the film it is an unnecessary ploy to try and gross people out.

Same can be said about a human sacrifice scene, where a high priest removes a still beating heart from a man’s chest before being burned alive in a well of lava.

Those instances aside, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a highly enjoyable film which more than stands up against the other two more popular instalments.