Indiana Jones is in Shanghai, China, in 1935, seeking an artifact exchange with a local crime boss. When that goes south, he escapes (accompanied by "Short Round," an orphan sidekick, and Willie Scott, singer) . . . but things don't go as planned. Ending up in India, they come upon a village decimated and struggling. There, Indy learns that an evil cult is growing in a regional palace, and that cult has stolen the village's children and sacred stone. Indy sets off determined to save both. Can he do so?
Two years ago, I started getting my kids up to speed on Indiana Jones' films by watching the first, but we didn't continue. We watched this one (the second in the series but the first chronologically) last night to re-start the effort. It was . . . okay. This 1984 film definitely has its share of action/adventure, spectacle, and memorable moments. But my comments on Raiders of the Lost Ark hold true here: the plot was extremely rushed, some dialogue was cheesy, the effects often underwhelming (though sometimes cool). This film is darker (and gross in places), as it involves a cult practicing pagan worship, slavery, and human sacrifice. (Aside: apparently the PG-13 rating was invented shortly after this film to account for flicks like this that were too much for PG but didn't warrant an R rating.) Overall, I like this one less than the first film, and it hasn't aged well.
Rating: C
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