The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Masks of Evil (1999 Video) User Reviews

Good feature demonstrating the different strengths of the series

[alainenglish · 8/10 · 11 November 2009]

This latest episode sees yet more spying adventures for Young Indiana Jones (Sean Patrick Flanery). It was actually to be the last feature-length episode set in the midst of World War One (the following two deal with the ending and aftermath), and in a way you can see this was the probably the right time to start winding up his wartime adventures.

There is a sense of repetition to the plot, as Indy ends up in yet another exotic location (in this case Istanbul), trying to lure someone else onto the Allies' side (Turkish General Mustafa Kemal), while dealing with a traitor. Oh, he falls in love as well, with predictably tragic consequences. It is still skilfully produced and acted, and I liked the tilted camera shots that give a suitably creepy and disorienting feel to the smoky, harshly-lit streets of the city.

The second segment sees Indy dispatched to Transylvania, where he must stop the crazed General Targo (a wonderfully hammy Bob Peck), a descendant of Vlad the Impaler who is raising an army of the dead. Indy vs. Dracula is a novel idea, and with it's tongue-in-cheek mixing of humour and all-out body horror, it's the closest the series has come to evoking the spirit of the movies. There is no sensuality in the depiction of Dracula but there is still plenty of classic Gothic imagery including red skies, walking corpses and a generous helping of blood.

Another good quality episode, with something in here for everyone who likes Indiana Jones.

Half good, half bad

[w-canaris · 6/10 · 6 December 2008]

The first half of this episode is a really challenging one, quite one of the best in the series. We find Indy as a mature master-spy in Istambul, masquerading himself as a Swedish journalist, in charge with the mission to find a way to give general Mustafa Kemal(Attaturk) a list of separate peace proposals from the French government. The drama comes when a new girl intervenes in the scene and Indy is forced to lie her about his true identity, and use her to get to Mustafa Kemal, even if he loves her very much and gives her a marriage proposal. The things are getting worse as time goes by because a double agent comes in the scene, and the end of the adventure is truly heart breaking. But the atmosphere, the colorful oriental scenes and the adventure are breath-taking.

The second part is a real mess. Indy goes to Transylvania to track some "romanian" general Targo(what an unusual Romanian name :p, rather Hungarian, actually) who thinks himself(or in the vision of George Lucas actually is) as "prince" Vlad Tepes(Vlad the Impalor) or a relative of him or something. First of all, Romania was a part of the Entante in WWI(not how it appears in the movie, as an ally for the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Germany). It is, I think, Lucas' deep desire to take part in a Dracula movie.:))))), but unfortunately for him he never got the chance. Historicaly speaking, the whole thing is a big bloody failure. Vlad was not a prince, but a king("voievod" or "domnitor") and was not the ruler of Transylvania, but of the Vallachian territory(which is a very big difference, but this bloody Stoker :)). Second of all, the two Romanians (Nicholas and Maria) are not Romanians by name and by clothes(rather Hungarians). And Transylvania(which is a native Romanian territory) at that time was still a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and after the war was incorporated in Romania. Transylvania at that time was(and still is) one of the most civilized of the Romanian provinces, but in the film appears like a wasteland. (again that bloody Stoker and bloody Copolla). And all that mambo-jumbo action crap with blood baths, flying pieces of a lightning, living dead and vampires is simply "to hot" for any taste. In my opinion, the worst in the series.

So I give five stars for the first half and just a star for the second one(and I'm to kind, I know that :))