REVIEW: Hasbro's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Figure Wave

Hard-to-find series worth hunting down...

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Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is one strange movie. On the one hand, it’s the silliest of the four, with its inflatable rafts, wacky sidekicks and eyeball soup. On the other hand, it’s creepy as hell, with its flaming hearts, child slavery and eyeball soup. Whether you love it or hate it, Temple of Doom holds a large place in the Indiana Jones mythos. And with Hasbro’s new toy line, it finally gets its action figure due.

And they’re amazing. The packaging is the same and while many find it boring, I still think it’s elegant. Relics are included with the mail away crystal skeleton offer (a cool figure in its own right).

Indy had four outfits in the film including the white tuxedo, the classic leather jacket and the scruffy professor. But it’s the final look that’s the most memorable and Hasbro nailed it, from the missing sleeve and bandaged hand to the tired, haggard expression Dr. Jones had on the bridge. The rip over his right knee has been moved up to accommodate the joint but that’s the only inaccuracy I can find. The beard is heavier, the sweat stains on the shirt and slash marks on the back are perfect, and the bag opens (probably to fit the Sankara Stones we’re not getting). Even his holster is empty! I wish he could hold his machete with two hands but that’s more articulation than any one in the line has had. In my last review, I said that the Last Crusade Indy was the best rendition of the character in 3 ¾” scale. It’s just been beaten.

People hate kid sidekicks but everyone loves Short Round. I’m no exception and I love that we’ve finally gotten him in action figure form. He’s the right kind of tiny (his wide stance makes him look even shorter than he is) and the right kind of articulation. The likeness is a little more generic than Indy, depicting more an Asian kid than Jonathan Kwan. I wondered how they would get around the Yankees copyrighted logo on the hat. They removed the “Y”. Smart and subtle. He comes with a comically oversized torch and what looks like a big ball of plastic. Looking closer I realized, it’s Indy’s stuff! The rolled up leather jacket, shirt and whip are all there. This accessory just went from useless to the coolest thing ever.

Everyone loves Short Round and hates Willie. She’s over the top, whiny and doesn’t help Indy all that much. But her figure is great. The likeness is very good, looking like Kate Capshaw from her cheekbones to her 80’s hairstyle. I was surprised she didn’t come in her iconic red dress but since the entire wave is from the end of the movie the sacrifice dress makes sense. The necklace and lei fit tightly but since the entire line has ball joint heads you should be able to pop them off easily. I wish the veil was removeable since she only wore it in the sacrifice scene. I also wish she had leg articulation. Hasbro went for the old Emporer Palpatine robes that makes her stand straight forever. If they ever made a mine car, she couldn’t go in it.

Mola Ram is by far the creepiest villain in the series. He’s like an Indian Boris Karloff with those piercing eyes and heavy brow. That’s captured with this figure. Thank Hasbro the headdress is removeable or we would have needed two versions, since both are iconic. The paint job couldn’t be better for mass market or the scale. Just look at that head tattoo! Each tooth and bead on his necklace is painted to detail. I wish he was as articulated below the waist as above. He shares frozen leg syndrome with Willie. He comes with a flaming heart (because how could he not?) the head of Kali and a soft goods sash that wraps around his arms.

The Giant Thuggee is great in one respect; he towers over Indy. He’s cool in every other way too. The articulation more than you’d expect for such a hulking creep. The likeness is a little too strong to be an army builder but he’d be at home in any 3 ¾” line, menacing Duke or Hellboy with equal venom.

The Temple Guard is our only army builder (but good luck finding more than one of him!). The blank expression says he’s either drugged by the blood of Kali or a generic guy in uniform. There something very Cobra about his veil and emotionless gaze. Articulation is standard for the line and unlike Mola Ram and Willie, he has full knee articulation under his robe. He comes with a long curved sword so Indy can not shoot him and a knife for his belt.

Temple of Doom had its own figure line back in 1984, when LJN took the license over from Kenner. Their figures were out of scale, poorly sculpted and incomplete (they never even got to Short Round!). They were also notoriously hard to find, as I never saw one on the shelves. According to all reports, these will be just as difficult to locate. But they are the best thing Hasbro has done in the line, beating the impressive Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade wave. If you’re an Indy fan, I urge you to get this wave any way you can.

Review and Photos by Jon Clarke

Temple of Doom Figure Photo Gallery