Le Retour de la momie

If you've seen the trailer for this movie, you're probably expecting fast paced adventure, non-stop action and a special effects extravaganza with just enough story to keep it all interesting. And if that's what you're hoping for, you certainly won't be disappointed; because that's exactly what you get in `The Mummy Returns,' written and directed by Stephen Sommers. The story begins in Egypt, where Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser) and his wife, Evelyn (Rachel Weisz) discover an ancient bracelet that had once belonged to a warrior known as `The Scorpion King (The Rock),' who, back in the day, had sold his soul to the god, Anubis, for control of his armies and domination of the world. Now, it seems, The Scorpion King's resurrection is imminent, and if he succeeds and once again raises the armies of Anubis, he could very well take over or destroy the world. Followers of Im-Ho-Tep (Arnold Vosloo), however, who are privy to this information as well, decide to resurrect their dark leader so that he can face The Scorpion King, defeat him, take control of Anubis' armies and conquer the world himself, putting them in control. But the key to the whole plan lies with who has control of the bracelet at the time of The Scorpion King's resurrection. And the O'Connells have taken it back home with them to London.

So the adventure begins in earnest, moving from Egypt to London, then back again to Egypt. Along the way, there's plenty of mummies, fighting, and bugs, but very few surprises, except for one scene near the end when something quite unexpected happens. The story itself gets somewhat lost in the muddle, but it doesn't really matter; plot is fairly insignificant in a movie like this, as long as it maintains at least a thread of credibility and can give the action some context. And that it does, so all is well and it allows you to get on with what this movie is really all about, which-- simply put-- is having a good time.

With shades of `Indiana Jones' and `Star Wars' abounding, the real success of this movie lies in the fact that it never pretends to be anything other than what it is or what it was meant to be, and that is an entertaining, fun movie. It's visually explosive, from the sweeping, desert vistas of the converging, battling armies, to the mummies and assorted demons and creatures generously sprinkled throughout. And the hand-to-hand combat scenes between Evelyn and Anck-Su-Namun (Patricia Velazquez) are especially thrilling. The one element of the film that doesn't seem to work too well has to do with a particular mode of transportation to which the O'Connells must resort upon their return to Egypt, and which ultimately plays a significant part in the outcome of the whole adventure. It's something that seemingly would have been more appropriate in `The Adventures of Baron Munchausen' or `Peter Pan.'

As far as the performances, suffice to say that the actors involved all do their jobs well; after all, in a movie like this you're not going to find anyone struggling with `The Method.' Fraser strikes a handsome, heroic pose-- call him a poor man's Indiana Jones-- and Weisz is becoming as Evelyn. Most importantly, they all walk the walk and talk the talk, and Sommers keeps them on track and wisely avoids allowing any lapses into `camp' or tongue-in-cheek character interpretations, which makes this a solid, fun-filled, action-adventure movie that is what it is.

The supporting cast includes John Hannah (providing some comic relief as Jonathan Carnahan), Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Lock Nah), Freddie Boath (Alex O'Connell) and Obed Fehr (Ardeth Bay). As with most sequels, you'll get more out of `The Mummy Returns' if you've seen the original, which had more of a story and, of course, would give you the background of the characters. But even on it's own and taken at face value, this movie is a feast for the senses, and just a lot of good fun. Just don't go in expecting anything more than what the trailer promises; if you can do that, chances are you're going to enjoy the movie and have a good time. I rate this one 7/10.

On my day off from work today, I decided to pop in the Mummy Returns for something fun to watch. I hadn't seen it since it was released for homeviewing, so it's been about a year or two. I must say that this movie takes my breath away each time I see it. The Mummy Returns is a roller coaster ride which barely stops during the entire 2+ hours! I love the CGI effects, and how lavish the scenery looks. The movie made me feel as though I was witnessing Ancient Egypt and and the 1930's era in person. So what if things look 'cartoony' during the battling sequences! I think that the battle sequences in Two Towers looked just as much the same. I find that with many fans nowadays, they take things way too seriously. If a movie or TV series is not what they hope for, then they blast it all to hell just because they are whining babies. Take for instance Star Trek Nemesis. That was another really good movie, yet the so called 'fans' ripped it apart piece by piece and then fed it to the dogs. I just wish that the babies would enjoy the movies instead of complaining that a movie isn't good quality. If thats the case they should just go back to their rooms and watch Fargo or the English Patient! Both the Mummy and the Mummy Returns rock as far as action movies go. Get a huge bag of chips a large bottle of pop, sit down with your girlfriend and enjoy two great movies!! Excellent fun!!

The Mummy Returns is a film that, I think, you need to see the first film of the saga because otherwise you don't understand some little details. That film is a film like Indiana Jones with the same plot and the same characters. But the kid is an exception. The cinema show us the kids like boys and girls insufferable, but Alex O'Conell is a boy that "pass more time in the museum that in house". One difference this film have respect Indiana Jone's films are the sobrenatural characters than appears like The Scorpión King or Imhotep. If you like Indiana Jones and Egyptian mithology, I recomend you that film

The Mummy Returns is maybe a step above the first one. The action is non-stop, and it does manage, for the most part, to rouse the audience, or at least me. The good guys are likable. Brendan Fraser is where he belongs. Rachel Weisz is beautiful. John Hannah amuses as Jonathan, and Freddie Boath manages not to annoy as Alex, the kid. He's pretty good as a smart-mouthed brat. The bad guys are, for the most part, fun to hate. Im-Ho-Tep is a good villain. Maybe he isn't given enough to do here, but he's still cool. Patricia Valazquez is a real stunner as his love interst, Anck-Su-Namun. She's probably the best thing about the film. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje was good as Lock Nah, the main henchman. Perhaps the weakest part of the film is the Rock as the Scorpion King. The narration during the film's prologue is not nearly as good as it would be if we were watching the story develop. The Scorpion King is basically a boring character. His computer-animated doppleganger at the film's climax is neat, but it would have been better if there were some feelings towards that character.

People who know their action flicks will notice that the Mummy Returns steals about every action scene from every action movie made in the past 20 years, quoting movies like Aliens, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park 2 (why? that movie was terrible), and especially Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, with which, if you remember, The Mummy I was competing with in the box office successfully in May of 1999. They don't try to hide any of it. They even make a jest at Spielberg with a shadow against the moon from ET and Amblin Entertainment. It's all in good fun. You shouldn't be too angry at the sloppy script. If you are going to be angry, the shoddy computer animation should be your target. Still, it's not bad.

When The Mummy hit theatres in 1999, critics everywhere panned it as being a poor man's Indiana Jones. While the two movies are about as similar as Dr. No is to GoldenEye (thankfully), I suppose comparisons between one non-stop adventure film and other are inevitable. In the end, what really counts when determining a film's quality is the level to which it can entertain. And if there is one thing The Mummy did well, it was entertain. Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, and Arnold Vosloo were very well chosen for their roles.

The Mummy Returns is easy to see as being another sequel churned out to satiate the greedy money-machine that Hollywood has become, but it has a few things working for it. One thing that is immediately obvious is that the sequel was very much intended to be a film that could be enjoyed without ever having seen the original. The only references to the previous film are done to fill in the narrative gaps about who Imhotep is, and why he is the way he is. The addition of The Scorpion King was an interesting effort to give the film a new antagonist, but the lack of screentime didn't work well in this tangent's favour. Another tangent that could have been better developed was the rivalry between Imhotep's girlfriend and whatever her name was. Imhotep originally mistook Rachel Weisz's character for being his girlfriend reincarnated, so the use of a woman who looks exactly like her while creating this new tangent needed to be developed differently.

Most people won't give a damn about complex story tangents and will want to know if this film is entertaining. And it is entertaining, alright. There is barely a dull moment in the film's substantial running length, and Oded Fehr does a bang-up job of providing a Mad-Max-cum-Indiana-Jones hero. I want to know where they get those groovy costumes and tattoos from, they look quite nice. Anyway, when all is said and done, this is an eight out of ten film. A few badly constructed story details here and there, but some extremely entertaining action sequences make up for them. Don't listen to the nay-sayers. This is matinee-style material at its (almost) best. Get the DVD when it comes out, it will at least tide you over until George Lucas gets his head out of his proverbial and realises that the VHS era is well and truly over.