Review of Indiana Jones Temple of Doom
Premium Format Statue

Introduction

Of the four Indiana Jones films, most fans are pretty much in agreement that Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is the weakest. But which is the best? I have noticed that it tends to depend on your age when the films were released - if you were an adult (or close to it) when Raiders was released, it tends to be your favorite. If you were a kid when Temple of Doom hit, it tends to be your favorite.

Either way, it made perfect sense for Sideshow to follow up their standard Raider's Indy with two Premium Format statues from Temple of Doom - first, Mola Ram, and now a new Indy. While the Raider's look might be his most classic, his Temple look is far more dynamic.

As usual, there are two versions. There's the Sideshow Exclusive that has the chilled monkey brains accessory and is a limited edition of 600. The price on the exclusive is $310, and since it's an exclusive, finding it somewhere other than through Sideshow right now is a bit tough. They still have them in stock, however.

There's also a regular version without the delightful brains, and it was ten bucks cheaper at $300 and a bigger edition at 1000. It's sold out through Sideshow, however.

Packaging - ***
Big box, solid, dense foam trays, all the usual. It's a safe haven for the statue during transit and storage.

There's no Certificate of Authenticity, but that's the norm. The edition size and number is included on the bottom of the box, and on the bottom of the statue. The bottom of the base is painted up in a very attractive colorful way as well, substituting for a COA.

Sculpting - ****
I really like the head sculpt on the Raider's Indy Premium Format statue that Sideshow did a couple years ago. But even as much as I like that version, I like this one even better.

From a purely technical perspective, I think the original portrait is still tops. This one is still clearly Ford as Indy, but the shape of the chin and jaw seem slightly off to me. It's very minor though, and the feature that takes this sculpt to first place is the expression.

It's serious Indy, with a determined, hardened look. The Indy in the Temple of Doom prequel was a harder man, and the adventure chronicled in this film is what softens him up a bit. They've captured the personality of Indy here extremely well, right down to the pose.

This is a dynamic action pose, as Indy prepares to swing the machete. The proportions are excellent, and there's enough detail in the various sculpted pieces - boots, hat, chest hair - to give the statue a very realistic appearance.

For those that don't buy PF's, Indy is quarter scale here, running about 20" tall with the base and crouch.

It's worth pointing out that the cool base, complete with skulls ringing the outside, matches up with the base for Mola Ram. All of the skulls are unique too, and show various stages of decay.

Paint - ***1/2
Sideshow's paint work is on the mark here, with a proper skin tone (none of that dark tanned appearance that Raider's Indy exhibited) and clean lines and sharp cuts.

The eyes are straight and properly aligned, and he's looking upward. The eyes match the sculpted expression perfectly, and while there's a little bleed into the whites, it's not as bad as we've seen on some occasions.

The bloody cheek looks good too, and the rest of the skin tone (even the chest hair), looks great. The lips are nicely done, but the facial hair isn't quite as realistic as something you'd see from Hot Toys or Enterbay. Still, this is top end work for Sideshow, and certainly works well with the style of the statue.

Accessories - Regular ***1/2; Exclusive ****
While this is a statue, even the regular version has what I'd call accessories.

He has a removable bag with a leather strap that fits nicely over his shoulders. He can use it to carry 2 or 3 of the Sankara Stones.

The stones look good, and one of them works better with the grasping left hand than the other two. It's the shorter, fatter one - you'll figure it out.

There are some white paint spots that I don't remember from the film, but they did have a rough, uneven appearance to the brown, so I can let it slide. The scale is good, but they don't glow of course.

I don't consider the blade of the machete an accessory, but it does come as a separate piece that slips into the handle.

There's no gun inside the holster, although I think that was true at this point in the film. The whip isn't removable but is present.

The final true accessory, at least for the regular version, is the swappable left hand. There's the one most folks will probably use, which is sculpted to hold one of the stones. I don't think there's a magnet inside either hand or stone though, so be careful.

The other hand is a gesturing hand, designed to look good with the overall pose. The hands swap easily, and you can hide the seam with the left shirt sleeve. Here there is a magnet, and it keeps the hand in place tightly.

The exclusive includes a quarter scale version of the chilled monkey brains in their special 'bowl'. This is a nice match to the exclusive Mola Ram, who had the skull chalice.

The hair piece is held in place on the monkey's head with a magnet. It isn't quite as tight of a fit as we've seen at other times, so be careful when moving it around. The brains inside are disgusting, but not quite as detailed and sharply defined as I'd like.

Outfit - ***1/2
By this time in the movie, Indy has seen some rough action. The left sleeve is tore from the shirt, there's bloody cuts across his back, and even rips in the pants. The damage looks great, and adds quite a bit of realism to the piece.

The shirt, coat, belt and holster look great, but I did have - and still have - one issue that holds back the overall look from a full four star score.

He's wearing his pants like Snoop Dog, and because the belt is glued, you can't do a whole lot to fix it. I pulled up the pants and they slip right back down on his hips again, too low. I did find that you can break the glue free on the belt pretty easily, but it has stained the belt and looks pretty bad. My solution was to pull up the pants, tighten the belt, then hide the glue stain with the shirt pulled out. I think the look works better anyway than having the shirt tucked in all the way around. The pants still slip down, but it looks better with the shirt out.

Value - **1/2
I'm having a tough time with this $300 average price point, but maybe it's just me. The reality is that it's pretty much the norm right now, so I'm giving them an average score here, but I'd be happier with something in the $275 range.

Things to Watch Out For -
Make sure you have a good fit on the stone in the hand - some fit better than others, and you really don't want to have one fall out onto a hard floor.

Overall - ****
Sideshow has been moving away from their sixth scale figures for several years, and the focus has shifted to larger props and statues. Their Premium Format line is one area where they truly excel, standing out well above the competition. All three of their Indy PF's so far have been outstanding, but this one might be my favorite. It's the excellent expression, combined with the action pose, that makes it such a winner on the shelf. Add it with Mola Ram, and you have the perfect Temple of Doom display.

Now we just need Sideshow to provide a few more life size prop replicas, like the Sankara Stones, and we can die happy!

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ****
Paint - ***1/2
Accessories - Regular ***1/2; Exclusive ****
Outfit - ***1/2
Value - **1/2
Overall - ****

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Sideshow has the exclusive for $310.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I've covered the other two PF's from Sideshow in this license - Raider's Indy and Mola Ram.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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