The Mummy

Starring: Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo, Jonathan Hyde, Kevin J. O'Connor
Directed by: Stephen Sommers
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure
1999

Times Seen:
Tim: 5

Summary: When beautiful librarian Evelyn(Rachel Weisz) and her brother Jonathan (John Hannah) find a strange Egyptian key, they track the key back to down-on-his-luck adventurer/legionnaire/treasure hunter Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser). The trio pair up and travel to Hamunaptra, the city of the dead. Their party and a party of Americans start digging for the treasure. The Americans discover The Book of the Dead, and Evelyn, Rick, and Jonathan find a sarcophagus containing the body of Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo). When Evelyn reads aloud from the Book of the Dead, Imhotep comes to life, and all hell breaks loose in Egypt. Now the heroes must wage an all out war on Imhotep, before he regenerates himself, revives his long dead girlfriend Anck-su-namun, and then will be invincible and able to unleash a plague over the whole world.

Review:

Tim: If you are expecting bandage-wrapped corpses to be limping around in this film, then you have another thing coming. This film takes the decades-old mummy movies, and transplants a slick, exciting, and fun new atmosphere into them. This mummy movie is unlike any ever filmed- here, the mummy isn't wrapped in bandages and lurking around the dark, but is able to turn himself into sand, open his mouth and expel locusts, is able to conjure up giant sandstorms, and bring the dead to life. This film is intense, fast-paced, and so much fun. The action and special effects merge together to form an action movie that has enough suspense to equal out the action and adventure.

The best aspect of this film is its duality. One side of the film is lighthearted- jokes are cracked even when death appears imminent. The characters take their situation very lightly, instead of wetting themselves when they see the Mummy. However, despite the lightheartedness, the film has quite a dark side to it- people die- lots of people. When Imhotep brings the plagues upon Egypt, that is in all honesty quite frightening. I believe that is what makes this film so wonderful- you have all these jokes being made and funny situations against the backdrop of a truly terrifying and adrenaline-pumping situation.

The film also gets much help from its stars. Who knew Brendan Fraser would make such an incredible action-adventure hero? I mean, you've seen hints of it in several of his other movies, but not like this. Fraser seems born to play this role: the tough, seen-it-all-been-there-before gunslinging treasure hunter, but at the same time, brings a quality of humor that few action-adventure heroes can match. When he goes head to head with Imhotep, you truly believe the fight is fair- that simple fact shows how well Fraser acts here.

Fraser gets help from Rachel Weisz and John Hannah. Weisz is intelligent yet naive, very likeable, and has a quality of braveness that is rare to find in leading ladies in action-adventure films. John Hannah is simply hilarious as Jonathan, having some truly memorable lines that just make you laugh. Arnold Vosloo, who plays Imhotep, "The Mummy" is downright chillingly evil. His stare seems to pierce right into your soul. He makes a very believable and very frightening mummy, not someone you'd want to meet on a dark ally... or a well lit one, either.

The Mummy also benefits from some amazing special effects. Whether it's the walking corpse of the decomposing mummy, giant duststorms battering a small plane, scarabs burrowing deep into people's bodies, or the many other effects, it is so incredible to watch. Besides being fun, hilarious, exciting, and smart, the film is also beautiful to look at.

This film blew me away the first time I saw it, and every time after that. You can't get much more action-adventure for your money than right here. The film has everything from excitement and nonstop thrills to humor and fun. If you're looking for an enjoyable time, you need look no further. This is one of my favorite movies, and I think you'll agree with me.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 10



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Mummy Returns, Bedazzled, The Mummy (1932), End of Days, Gladiator, The Matrix