La mummia

If #TheMummy is supposed to be the beginning of Universal's ambitious Dark Universe that showcases their classic monsters in one big shared cinematic crossover, then they're off to a terrible start.

There's probably only a couple of sequences that somewhat thrill, the rest are just a continuous string of one poorly written, poorly acted and poorly executed scene after another. It feels more like sitting in a dentist's waiting room as opposed to rockin' on a roller coaster ride. And Tom Cruise is just wrong for this role, a huge case of miscast. Perhaps they should just press the reboot button again.

Sofia Boutella plays an evil ancient princess imprisoned in a tomb deep beneath the unforgiving desert. When a couple of treasure hunters and an archaeologist awaken her in our present day, she returns to life to reclaim her destiny while at the same time unleashing unimaginable terrors in this new take that ushers in a new world of gods and monsters. Co-starring Tom Cruise, Annabelle Wallis, Russell Crowe and Jake Johnson, directed by Alex Kurtzman.

The concept of what the writers and director Alex Kurtzman is trying to present to us with "The Mummy" is nothing new, in fact it's quite predictable, but the biggest problem about it is that along the way from point A to point B, they fill it in with moments that just don't work. And it gets even more frustrating when they bring it up again the second, third and fourth time as if shoving it down our throats would make it better. The jokes fall flat so much so you kinda feel sorry for Jake Johnson who clearly wants to make some effort as this film's comic relief. There are also parts that are just absolutely pointless and unnecessary. The characters including Dr. Jekyll frequently draw conclusions out of their butts. I do think "The Mummy" is what happens when the story is forced to serve the visual spectacle instead of the other way around. That said, rising star Sofia Boutella is a marvelous choice, she exudes that thirst for power effortlessly in addition to being incredibly seductive.

But of course, just as expected, instead of it being a movie about Sofia Boutella's The Mummy, it becomes all about Tom Cruise, who as I said earlier is just awfully wrong for this role. I understand that the studios probably think that banking on a A-lister would translate into box office results, but fact of the matter is outside "Mission: Impossible" franchise, Cruise just doesn't fit anywhere else anymore. The character that he plays here is is a thieving treasure hunter, much like Nathan Drake from "Uncharted" games, but all you see on the screen instead is special agent Ethan Hunt desperately trying to be someone he's not. By the end of "The Mummy" you're going to have second thoughts about anticipating the next installment of this Dark Universe, and you're going to want to wish Brendan Fraser had still been around.

-- Rama's Screen --

I'm a fan of this "type" of movie, i.e. Indiana Jones, clean cut fun. I liked the '99 Mummy version (Brendan Fraser & Rachel Wiesz) a lot, but this movie is not in the same vein. It is not meant to be campy, but it still light hearted.

I like the stories arch, and how it was told. Though Sofia Boutella, Ahmanet, was actually quite good in her role.

Maybe people we expecting a remake of the '99 version, or maybe people didn't expect this from Cruise. Whatever the reason, count me as someone who wasn't disappointed.

Based on all the bad reviews I was worried this would suck, but I have to say that while it wasn't as good/charming as the 90s mummy movie, it wasn't bad either. Cruise's character was likable, and while his arc wasn't that deep, it didn't really need to be. The mummy actress impressed me more than I expected, since I didn't really like her that much in Kingsman. People said that this spent too much time setting up the following movies, but I didn't think that was the case. There were small seeds planted, but save for the ending and lack of background for Jekyll, this felt self contained enough. Overall the movie had some fun action sequences and decent characters, and made for an enjoyable popcorn flick. I do not regret watching it.

This movie is a classic case of design-by-committee ruining a production. What makes it special is... you get the feeling that everyone understood this. They didn't even try to make a serious product. This movie makes choices that are so bafflingly silly there's no way the people signing off on them didn't know. They didn't care, and this lack of seriousness opens up the space for some decently fun moments. This is a bad movie of the enjoyable kind.

One of the biggest blockbusters to come out in the summer of 1999 was an Egypt-set action thriller starring Brendan Fraser. While the film was pretty campy and over-the-top, it worked well and resonated with audiences. Fast-forward 18 years and we have a film of the same title - 'The Mummy' - only starring Tom Cruise in the role of Nick Morton, a treasure hunting renegade who stumbles upon a 5,000-year curse.

The only problem is, this film is far inferior to the original. Whether it's Cruise's schtick not jiving with the plot, or the lackluster CGI, or the wooden script, it's hard to say. There's really nothing thrilling about 'Mummy,' as everything feels borrowed, used or broken - nothing is shiny and new. Even fresh faces like Jake Johnson and Sofia Boutella aren't enough to up the excitement factor, and vets like Russell Crowe come off as looking to be in need of a paycheck rather than delivering a performance to be happy with. The action sequences are boring, the "comic relief" is far from funny and the acting itself is nothing to marvel at.

Cruise can usually find a way to make his films at least somewhat entertaining, but he fails here. There is no chemistry between any of the characters, including Nick and his love interest, Jenny Halsey (Annabelle Wallis), so the onus is really on Cruise to shoulder everything. In this case, it's an insurmountable task.

'The Mummy' is a half-hearted attempt to revive a franchise that started strong and has since faded, so it's likely it will be put back in a sarcophagus.