The Mummy
The Mummy
Reminiscent of the rollercoaster ride that was Raiders Of the Lost, The Mummy tries to deliver the same twists and turns that we all fell in love with almost twenty years ago. But where Indy was a mile long journey of thrills, excitement and laughter, The Mummy is 50 foot, one turn ride. But it has to be said that single twist is fun.
Who is the mummy you ask? Does anyone really care. All he has to have is a motive to kill people gruesomely and suck their souls, or skin or what ever the hell he chooses. All you have to know is that he a terrified of cats (big baby), won't kill the girl (in a Dracula kind of way) and has some really cool man-eating beetles scurrying around inside of him. But if you have to know, the mummy was once a prince who fell in love with the pharaohs wife. They are caught and he receives the worst curse that can be possible dished out. The curse is so bad that it has never being done to anyone before or after this. So the Prince gets his tongue cut off, mummified alive and encased in a tomb with dozens of friendly man eating beetles.
But there is a catch. It seems that priests have made it very easy for someone to actually resurrect the Mummy. So easy in fact, he has screamed and shouted his way out of his tomb within the first thirty minutes, by the pesky Americans (Stay in American, you Americans. BOOH. HSSSS- sad, very sad ). Once our boy is out what does he what to do? Control the sands and take over the world with his main squeeze (an Ox and a Moon, well that's what it sounded like to me) of course. Now why in all the sense of those guys back then, would they give this adulterer this sort of a loop hole. It like a three thousand years anniversary present.
"Congratulations, you have spent the last 3 thousand years doing time, so now you take over the world."
Somebody tell me I am wrong.
From there, we go to 1926, Cairo. Weiz is a hieroglyphic reading librarian who discovers a map to a lost city. She hires O'Connell (Fraizer) who is one of the few people to actually have been there and come away alive. So off they trot to find the mysteries of the Lost City of the desert.
Its really up to actors and the special effects to carry this film right to end. And they do. Some congratulations should be given to Brendan Fraiser and Rachel Weiz for the chemistry that comes off so well on screen. He is like a humorous Indiana Jones and she is an Audrey Hepburn like librarian. Weiz has got potential for the future. She has the charm of the old era beautiful, elegant and a little bit ditsy. Suits you sir.
The first thirty minutes have a great pace. A nice little battle scene in the desert and a rip roaring shoot out on a boat. The film is made up of moments, moments of pure entertainment. Its just a serious pity that is wasn't carried right through to the end. With all the CGI characters there just was not enough originality in the story and not enough really happens. The sets are a bit boring and with the main action happening in the lost city in the desert, they were is just too plain. We should have been in awe. But we not. The story opens in the Lost City then moves to Cairo, then back to the Lost City again, returning to Cairo and back to, guess where? the Lost City. Its a simple thing but for the climax we should have been taken to an extra special lost city, I see long pull-outs on grand ruined ancient city rising up from the sand. There you go. That would fooled the audience into making them think they are watching a better film than they actually are. Well, maybe just the people in the front rows. I certainly think something more should have been done with this. There is a classic opportunity to come up with some breath-taking locations and all we are given is a Hollywoody bit of a ruin and underground locations are uninspired.
But the main problem lies on a dodgy script and some flat dialogue. There are no real memorable moments, like in Raiders Of The lost Ark when Indiana just gets pissed off with fighting and just shoots the swordsman. With this film you remember some of the special effects and nothing else.
There is also a serious problem with the mummy. He is definitely nicely designed and animated, but he is not a bad guy, just someone who is a little annoyed. And as the film goes on you loose so much respect for him, why? Because there is nothing scary about a mummy that is no longer mummified and back in its human form. It does not work. He starts off as a "scare-the-pants-off-you" type of creature and by the end of the film I heard a girl with horrible fuzzy hair giggle to her friend "He's so cute". THIS IS THE MUMMY SHE IS TALKING ABOUT FOR GODS SAKE. IS ANYONE ELSE UPSET WITH THE FACT THAT THE UGLY, BLOOD SUCKING, BAD ASS ZOMBIE LIKE THING SPENDS HALF OF THE FILM AS A STUD. IDIOTS!!!
Ahhhh....
Its so good to get that off of my chest.
Don't let me give the impression that I hated this film. I DIDN'T. I walked into this film with my mind blank and with no preconceptions. Open your eyes and shut down your brain. This film will entertain. Not a great summer blockbuster, but not a bad one either.
