"Daredevils of the Desert" SPOILERS

Posted by ROB T. from 162.10.138.197 on January 02, 2000 at 00:38:05:

Watched the Young Indy video "Daredevils of the Desert" this weekend and here's my review.
This one has Indy on a secret mission with Catherine Zeta Jones to Beersheba to disarm some landmines at the wells in preparation for a surprise attack by British and Australian troops. Indy befriends some of the Australians who are upset that the British keep holding them in reserve instead of letting them get into the battle and Indy is visited by his friend Lawrence of Arabia.

This is another episode penned by Frank Darabont so the script is well-written but the plot is not as intelligent as chaps. 10 & 11. First, Remmy is missing from this one and his absence is keenly felt. But even worse is the criminal underuse of Catherine Zeta Jones. She doesn't make an appearance during the first half hour and most of the time when we do see her, her face is covered by a veil. CZJ is perhaps the most beautiful woman alive and they cover her face. This seems to serve no purpose except to give Indy a chance to comment on how ugly she must be under that veil. This makes Indy look foolish since even just judging by her eyes it is obvious how stunning she is.
Other than that "Daredevils" is a solid attempt but nothing special. The actions scenes are too similar to the battle scenes in other episodes and the middle portion of the show has almost no action at all.
I liked the interaction between Indy and the Australians but I could've done without the visit from Lawrence of Arabia.
The plot took a bad turn toward the end and I felt it cheated the audience. It turns out that CZJ is a double agent and the script makes it appear that Indy knew this all along but the audience is kept in the dark. Also the knife that Indy is given turns out to be a trick knife with a retractable blade and the ability to drip fake blood. We don't find this out until near the end either even though we see the knife several times and are present when it is first given to Indy.
This is a cheat on the part of the writers. It goes against the fair play rule. The "Fair Play Rule" goes like this; under no circumstances can the protagonist (Indy) be given evidence that isn't also presented at the same time to the audience. Therefore if the knife had special abilities we were entitled to know about them as soon as Indy knows and the same goes for the possibility that CZJ is a double agent.

The plot trickery detracts considerably from the enjoyment of this episode even though Indy's interaction with the Australians is well-played enough to counterbalance.
My only other complaints (and they're really minor) had to do with two scenes. The first one involved a soldier waking Indy up by poring water in his face. These guys are in the desert! No soldier would waste water like that.
The second had to do with the sound effects during the fistfight between Indy and the German agent in the office at the end. Every punch landed by either man is as loud as a gunshot. I've never heard a fistfight sound so loud outside a chop-socky movie.
All in all I can only give "Daredevils of the Desert" a grade of C.

Follow Ups:

I never liked deserts, but part II was cool, but nasty.(NM) Short Round 07:28:32 1/02/2000 (0)
A few notes on constructive criticism Ultraman Tiga 05:59:55 1/02/2000 (1)
- P.S. My grade would be 3 stars out of 4, or a B+, or a thumbs up, or a seven out of 10, or whatever (nm) Tiga 06:04:05 1/02/2000 (0)

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: Watched the Young Indy video "Daredevils of the Desert" this weekend and here's my review.
: This one has Indy on a secret mission with Catherine Zeta Jones to Beersheba to disarm some landmines at the wells in preparation for a surprise attack by British and Australian troops. Indy befriends some of the Australians who are upset that the British keep holding them in reserve instead of letting them get into the battle and Indy is visited by his friend Lawrence of Arabia.

: This is another episode penned by Frank Darabont so the script is well-written but the plot is not as intelligent as chaps. 10 & 11. First, Remmy is missing from this one and his absence is keenly felt. But even worse is the criminal underuse of Catherine Zeta Jones. She doesn't make an appearance during the first half hour and most of the time when we do see her, her face is covered by a veil. CZJ is perhaps the most beautiful woman alive and they cover her face. This seems to serve no purpose except to give Indy a chance to comment on how ugly she must be under that veil. This makes Indy look foolish since even just judging by her eyes it is obvious how stunning she is.
: Other than that "Daredevils" is a solid attempt but nothing special. The actions scenes are too similar to the battle scenes in other episodes and the middle portion of the show has almost no action at all.
: I liked the interaction between Indy and the Australians but I could've done without the visit from Lawrence of Arabia.
: The plot took a bad turn toward the end and I felt it cheated the audience. It turns out that CZJ is a double agent and the script makes it appear that Indy knew this all along but the audience is kept in the dark. Also the knife that Indy is given turns out to be a trick knife with a retractable blade and the ability to drip fake blood. We don't find this out until near the end either even though we see the knife several times and are present when it is first given to Indy.
: This is a cheat on the part of the writers. It goes against the fair play rule. The "Fair Play Rule" goes like this; under no circumstances can the protagonist (Indy) be given evidence that isn't also presented at the same time to the audience. Therefore if the knife had special abilities we were entitled to know about them as soon as Indy knows and the same goes for the possibility that CZJ is a double agent.

: The plot trickery detracts considerably from the enjoyment of this episode even though Indy's interaction with the Australians is well-played enough to counterbalance.
: My only other complaints (and they're really minor) had to do with two scenes. The first one involved a soldier waking Indy up by poring water in his face. These guys are in the desert! No soldier would waste water like that.
: The second had to do with the sound effects during the fistfight between Indy and the German agent in the office at the end. Every punch landed by either man is as loud as a gunshot. I've never heard a fistfight sound so loud outside a chop-socky movie.
: All in all I can only give "Daredevils of the Desert" a grade of C.

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