Temple of Doom: more mine car problems

[Laspector]

I was watching Temple of Doom the other day, specifically the mine car chase. I know everyone has their problems with the near impossible physics of the jump scene, but as I thought more about it, this whole sequence has more holes in it than you can shake a stick at.

So--Indy and group jump in these mine cars and a thrilling chase ensues. Other than a few roller coaster ups and downs, they really aren't on that much of a downhill grade, so I would estimate that they really aren't going much faster than 25 or 30 mph. Not really fast, but fast enough if you are in a little mine car careening through a tunnel.

First off, where does all this lava come from? Why is there a mine in a volcano? A quick Wikipedia search shows only 6 volcanoes in India and it looks like only one is active. As far as I know, lava does not just appear in nature without either a volcano or maybe being near the center of the Earth.

So they travel what looks like probably a couple of miles through these tunnels and massive lava caverns. They finally come to the end. Now, what is the deal with the end-of-the-line? It's just a dead end. What's the point of a railway that just leads down tunnels to a dead end? Okay, they find the exit hole off on a side tunnel. Okay, maybe the exit hole is where they dump all the rocks that they made while digging the tunnels and they dump them into the river? Maybe--I can accept that, I guess, but wouldn't the river below be filled with tons and tons of loose rocks and gravel? Doesn't seem to be.

And how do they get these mine cars back up the tunnels to be refilled? Does some poor slob have to push these things all the way back up the track? Over molten lava? Either that or there must be an endless supply of mine cars up top. But there didn't seem to be any leftovers at the end of the line.

So then Mola Rom decides to knock over the big water tower. Why is there this big water tower down inside a mine anyway? From the looks of it it is about only 20-30 feet tall. I don't know how to do the math on that, but it can't be THAT much water. So this water gushes down the tunnels. Again, through miles of tunnels and huge lava filled caverns. Wouldn't all this water just turn into flash steam going over all this lava? And you're telling me this is enough water to not only fill all these caverns and still be enough to push through these miles of tunnels and come out the other end like Niagra Falls? That would have to be like a bazillion gillion gallons of water!!

So really, the mine car jump is one of the most acceptable things in the sequence.

Anyway, that's my trivial rant for today. Thoughts?

 

[Grey]

Well, it's a film where an evil priest is able to rip out the still beating hearts of his victims without immediatly killing them so personally I think the physics of the mine car system are largely irrelevant. The mine tunnels exist to provide an interesting backdrop for the chase scene, nothing more.

(By the way, Temple of Doom is my favorite Indiana Jones movie. Fight me I don't care!)

 

[binkleywalker]

I checked Wikipedia too and discovered that 'Temple of Doom' is just a movie and not a real event.

And that Short Round kid, wayyyy too young to be driving a car. Like the cops wouldn't have just pulled him over, right?

 

[SVTStingRay]

no time for movie accuracy doctor jones

 

[Laspector]

.....wow......Get on this board and ask about an inconsistency in Star Wars and you will get 20 pages of replies. Ask something about any other movie and all you get is "it's only a movie."

Maybe all those people really are right about us geeks.:unsure

 

[binkleywalker]

I read an article about the 'Science of Star Wars'. Debating light sabers and hyperspace and sound or fire and explosions in space.

Interesting because Star Wars is science fiction, so why are they even discussing it and how it couldn't happen? Fiction is one of two words in the genre!

And people always complain about the raft falling from the plane in Temple of Doom and how it's impossible. I'd have to go back and watch it, but I think the raft from plane to ground is one continuous shot. Now, the impact might have killed them, but to say the raft thing is impossible, I think they did it on film, so it totally works!

Brian

 

[Treadwell]

Only thing I can think of is the water went down the left tunnel, where Shorty said to go, the right being a long way around to the same destination.

But yeah, still not nearly enough water. That was like a large lake's worth.

And why does the big cistern have a POURING SPOUT? Does the Jolly Green Giant come by to pour it out occasionally?

 

[Zombie_61]

The mine car chase is a minor issue compared to Temple of Doom's biggest problem: Willie Scott. The character, that is, not the actress. All of her nit-witted dialogue and screaming completely ruins the movie for me, and I blame Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz, and George Lucas for writing the character that way, and Steven Spielberg for directing Kate Capshaw to play her that way. As disappointing as Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was, Temple of Doom was far worse.

 

[CessnaDriver]

I was able to enjoy it well enough back then but there was so much cringe worthy moments.
Hard to believe it came from the same people that gave us Raiders.

 

[Grey]

As disappointing as Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was, Temple of Doom was far worse.

That's an interesting opinion but it's also completely wrong. Just saying.

 

[batguy]

That's an interesting opinion but it's also completely wrong. Just saying.

I'd say that is quite a few people's opinion.

If TOD was the movie that came out in 2008, and KOTCS had been the one in 1984, public opinion would have voted TOD so much worse than KOTCS it's not even funny.

 

[JoeG]

Never thought about the mine chase scene that in depth, but now that you bring it up, you raise some good points. Doesn't change my enjoyment of the movie, though. I still like it. There are so many other outlandish moments in this film that the mine chase isn't that big of a deal to me. Its supposed to be in the tradition of old adventure serials. Have you ever seen any of those? Some pretty impossible stuff happens in them as well. At the end of the day it all comes down to suspension of disbelief. You either decide to sit back and enjoy the film for what it is or you tear it apart because its not 100% realistic. And if 100% reality is what you're after, why bother watching films? Stick to documentaries and biographies.

Lastly, maybe some of this comes down to the fact that all these films we obsess over here were mainly meant to be enjoyed by children. The fact that so many of us have decided to hold on to parts of our childhood through these films says way more about us than the filmmakers. To borrow a quote from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, "Indiana... let it go.".

 

[batguy]

Make a movie well, and people will love it that much more for daring to be so outlandish.

Make a movie badly, and people will point to those same outlandish things as evidence of how bad it was.

 

[Grey]

I'd say that is quite a few people's opinion.

I was being sarcastic, everyone is entitled to their opinion. Though I was not joking when I said Temple of Doom was my favorite Indiana Jones movie.

 

[glunark]

The mine car chase is a minor issue compared to Temple of Doom's biggest problem: Willie Scott. The character, that is, not the actress. All of her nit-witted dialogue and screaming completely ruins the movie for me, and I blame Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz, and George Lucas for writing the character that way, and Steven Spielberg for directing Kate Capshaw to play her that way. As disappointing as Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was, Temple of Doom was far worse.

Me and the wife once watched this followed by the Tim Burton Batman, is was screaming blonde woman overload.

 

[cayman shen]

Well, it's a film where an evil priest is able to rip out the still beating hearts of his victims without immediatly killing them so personally I think the physics of the mine car system are largely irrelevant. The mine tunnels exist to provide an interesting backdrop for the chase scene, nothing more.

(By the way, Temple of Doom is my favorite Indiana Jones movie. Fight me I don't care!)

http://i.imgur.com/9g19Z35.jpg

TOD is my fave too. I thought I was the only one!

I think many scenes in many movies would fall apart if subjected to detailed scrutiny.

 

[Laspector]

And how did they even build these tracks over all this molten lava? You would be cooked before you drove in your first nail.

 

[Cephus]

.....wow......Get on this board and ask about an inconsistency in Star Wars and you will get 20 pages of replies. Ask something about any other movie and all you get is "it's only a movie."

Maybe all those people really are right about us geeks.:unsure

They're all just movies. If they're enjoyable, who cares?

 

[CessnaDriver]

In praise Amrish Puri was awesome and was a big part of why despite lots of silly stuff I was able to still enjoy the film.

 

[batguy]

So they travel what looks like probably a couple of miles through these tunnels and massive lava caverns. They finally come to the end. Now, what is the deal with the end-of-the-line? It's just a dead end. What's the point of a railway that just leads down tunnels to a dead end? Okay, they find the exit hole off on a side tunnel. Okay, maybe the exit hole is where they dump all the rocks that they made while digging the tunnels and they dump them into the river? Maybe--I can accept that, I guess, but wouldn't the river below be filled with tons and tons of loose rocks and gravel? Doesn't seem to be.

Maybe it's a very old mine re-purposed by Mola Ram. Maybe they extended some of the tracks then, or maybe the tracks were already there. Maybe ALL the tracks were more recent additions and the mine was originally all walked.

Mola Ram's operation started dumping stuff back down a previously-dug channel, which had been stopped when the original diggers got near the edge of the cliff face.

Maybe the lava broke through into some previously dry areas, forcing them to abandon or cut back on usage of them. Maybe that's why the tunnel was not already heavily refilled yet.

And how do they get these mine cars back up the tunnels to be refilled? Does some poor slob have to push these things all the way back up the track?

Yes. I find that totally plausible. They're slaves.

Over molten lava?

Maybe the lava breakthrough occurred fairly recently.

So then Mola Rom decides to knock over the big water tower. Why is there this big water tower down inside a mine anyway? From the looks of it it is about only 20-30 feet tall. I don't know how to do the math on that, but it can't be THAT much water. So this water gushes down the tunnels. Again, through miles of tunnels and huge lava filled caverns. Wouldn't all this water just turn into flash steam going over all this lava? And you're telling me this is enough water to not only fill all these caverns and still be enough to push through these miles of tunnels and come out the other end like Niagra Falls? That would have to be like a bazillion gillion gallons of water!!

That's a tough one.

If it helps you get through the movie, you could tell yourself there actually was a lake nearby on the surface and the water tower incident caused it to be broken into somehow. Or maybe the river was sharply winding, and it passed around the mine area that high up? There was a high waterfall bringing it down to the level we saw below the bridge just out of camera range. (Or maybe Mola Ram Inc. dammed up the river to make an artificial reservoir up there.)

Maybe the previous diggers of this river or lake had hit the water by accident when tunneling, and flooded the mine long ago in a tragic accident. (And it quenched the lava inside, hardening it for a while?) Then Mola Ram Inc. comes along and his people somehow patch up the hole & drain the mine so it could be used again. Then Indy's water tower flood eroded something away and the big breakthrough occurred again.