The Mummy

Citizen Kane it ain't, but if you're looking for good, silly, H. Rider Haggardesque fun, this is the film for you. While it hasn't replaced the Universal classic in my affections, let's face it, the venerable original creaks a little. I mean, Karloff's Imhotep only moves two feet per hour -- geez, how will I ever escape him? Arnold Vosloo's Mummy is considerably more fleet, and frankly (from the dirty old lady's perspective) is pretty darned buff for a dead guy. A modern affectation, sure, but I like the idea of a mummy with a great butt.

Brendan Fraser looks good, has a fabulous voice, and a whole boatload of goofy charm. Hey! Call me shallow, but that's pretty much all I'm looking for in a screen idol. John Hannah was acceptable, if not inspired, as the wastrel brother. Rachel Weisz is gorgeous, and acquits herself well in the role of "Heroine in an Adventure Film;" i.e., she screams and gets rescued a lot.

OK, I lie. The modern "Heroine in an Adventure Film" is SPUNKY, screams, and gets rescued a lot.

And as to Oded Fehr, who plays the mysterious desert guardian of the mummy's tomb (a role traditionally assayed by Welsh character actors) -- I and the rest of the ladies in my party indicated, through a series of incoherent grunts and some unattractive drooling, a strong desire to see much, much more of him. And we mean that both literally and figuratively. Powers that be, please take note.

A couple of small caveats: the bug quotient in this film is much higher than I usually tolerate. It puts you right off your Milk Duds. And where in the hell did those camels come from?

So if you're in a mood for brainless entertainment, I recommend that you set your intellect on stun, rush to the nearest cineplex, buy the large popcorn (WITH butter), and settle in for a couple of hours of colorful, loud, over-the-top fun.

Catmommie

It seems like a long time ago when this came out, but I remember it being the first DVD I had ever bought sight unseen, meaning I had never seen the film in the theater. I was pleased. I got what I had hoped for: a fun, special-effects extravaganza.

In fact, if you read a number of reviews, you see the word "fun" more than anything. That best describes this film.

This was an Indiana Jones-Jason And The Argonauts combination adventure story. It's cartoon-like in nature with an absurd swashbuckling hero, outlandish action scenes and the occult theology that filmmakers love so much. (The Mummy has God-like powers, even producing Old Testament plagues.)

However, the film isn't all good news. It's too long by about 10-15 minutes and there is simply too much action and too much noise. The film needs more lulls.

Brendan Fraser is pretty good as the Indiana Jones figure and Rachel Weisz, a new face at the time, makes a solid impression in her debut. The DVD offered a sharp picture which highlighted a number of jaw-dropping scenes. It's pure escapist fun and not meant to be anything else.

This was one of the "low-brain-but-so-damn-entertaining"- type of films. "The Mummy" was an action packed adventure flick with great humor and nice special effects (The Mummy itself could have been better though). I enjoyed every moment with this one. There was no boring parts and Brendan Fraser makes a great performance as the Indiana Jones wannabe (HEH! JOKE!!). Lot of big time effects nice action, very funny jokes and nice GROOVE!!

7/10

Rick O'Connell (Brendan Frazer) leads the beautiful Evelyn Carnahan (Rachel Weisz) to Hamunaptra (The City of the Dead) where reading from a book brings Imhotep (Pharaoh Seti I's High Priest) back to life.

Once revived Imhotep has only one purpose in this world, to bring his love 'Anck Su Namun' back from the dead to join him, and will kill anyone who gets in his way.

Although based on a Horror Theme, there is little horror on show here, but there are plenty of Great Action Moments, some brilliant visuals and some good humour.

The dialogue is well written and punchy, this combined with some great characters bring the story to life and it turns out to be a terrific Film that is more Action/Comedy than Horror.

8/10

"The Mummy" is an adventurous yarn in the vein of "Indiana Jones." It's a lot of fun, very charming, and never tries to be more than what it is. What is it? An entertaining summer flick which is not only worth seeing, but perhaps even owning. It's one of those fun movies you can return to over and over again and never grow tired of doing so.

It's hardly a remake of the Universal classic of the same name. It's merely a new way to tell the story with the same basic idea - a murderous mummy is brought back from the dead. This time we have a hero and heroine who must stop him before he takes over the world, or something along the line of world domination.

The hero is Rick (Brendan Fraser), a thief thriving off the very basics out in Egypt circa 1930. Arrested and to be hanged, he is saved by the heroine (Rachel Weisz), who believes he may hold the key to helping them find an ancient Egyptian kingdom buried under the sand, if I recall correctly (though it has been a while since I've seen this). Little does she know what lurks beneath the sand near that old kingdom is none other than the remains of a man who was caught cheating on the king's wife years ago and mummified.

Now, after unearthing the remains of the kingdom, the expedition led by our heroes come upon an ancient "Book of the Dead," which, when read from, brings the ancient mummy back to life. Now he is out to kill, regenerate and bring back his old lover - pretty neat, huh?

I own "Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy," a great movie spoofing the classic film. "The Mummy" isn't exactly a spoof but it's very tongue-in-cheek. It knows it isn't an Oscar-winner, it knows it stands nothing against the older film, and so it goes for pulp thrills. I actually believe that this film is a bit classy in execution - compared to many other entertainments floating around nowadays it stands as one of the only films to return to the roots of the pure adventure films like "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981) so successfully did.

Brendan Fraser is a perfect choice for the lead star. Calm, but with ironic and sarcastic humor; cool, but a strong lead. I wondered what it would have been like if they had casted an actor in his role who would have taken it all more seriously. I bet the results would have been disastrous. Fraser knows that this is all good fun, and he's having a good time playing his role with comedy. Every once and a while you can catch a wink at the screen that lets us know that he knows what he's doing.

2001 brought a sequel to "The Mummy" named, of all things, "The Mummy Returns." I found it just as fun as this film though some critics begged to differ. Summer 2002 brought yet another "Mummy" film, this one a prequel called "The Scorpion King" - it was a following of a co-star of the first sequel. The Mummy was not in it at all. It was a horrible film that wasn't near as fun as this one. So I recommend you see "The Mummy" as soon as humanly possible. After that, see "The Mummy Returns."

Either way, you simply can't go wrong.