I have just seen it and I must say I’m not impressed. The two previous movies (with Richard Chamberlain as Allan) were not perfect but at least they have stuck to the original books.
If you have any doubt that this is exploitation film, supposed to ride on the back of Indy 4 - just check out the trailer. Even the title letters at the end copy Indiana Jones.
Back to the movie. Shot on location in South Africa with (mostly) local actors, Sean Michael is Allan. The sound mix doesn’t cut it - background noises often obscure speech because they are too loud.
The camera’s panning movement takes forever (the opening sequence and elsewhere). There are multiple repetitive shots, e.g. first guy riding, second guy riding after him, rinse and repeat 5 times.
The villain is ridiculous - and you know he’s the bad guy immediately because he’s showcasing a nasty grin and an ugly set of teeth. We’re 50 minutes into the movie before we see natives - and they remain on screen, singing and dancing, for at least 15.
Finally, at the end, when Allan finally finds the Temple of Skulls - guess what - it’s simply a cave with lighting that’s worse that most of tourist caves I’ve been too. A stalagmite and a skull next to it = Temple of the Skull.
Bad guy is there already - holding the girls as a hostage. Boom boom and the girl is reclaimed but the temple crumbles to pieces. Cue more native songs and dances.
THE END
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