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The Mummy Returns (Widescreen Collector's Edition) Customer Reviews (1 - 3 of 35 Reviews)

A dissapointment
The first Mummy was an enjoyable, if tedious, romp about the struggles of an adventurer and his companions to stop the apocalyptic agenda of an ancient Egyptian priest. Far from perfect, The Mummy nevertheless boasted an infectious blend of high adventure, low-scare horror, and special effects that transformed it into a surprise hit. Now comes the sequel; The Mummy Returns along with most of the original cast. The rather jumbled plot is as follows: A cult of power-mad Egyptologists have concocted a plan by which they can obtain world domination. First, they must resurrect Im-Ho-Tep, the mummy from the first film. Since they are being led by the ancient priest's re-incarnated girlfriend, Anck-Su-Namun (Patricia Velazquez), this proves to be surprisingly easy. Then, with his powers restored, Im-Ho-Tep heads off to do battle with the mythical Scorpion King, whose tomb lies in a pyramid at the center of a hidden oasis. In order to find that oasis, Im-Ho-Tep needs an artifact which happens to be in the possession of Alex O'Connell. And, when the boy is kidnapped, that brings his parents, his uncle Jonathan, and their old friend, Ardeth Bay, into the conflict. This results in a lot of chasing around the globe and a climax that features a special effects-laden battle between two armies. Unfortunately, it becomes obvious real fast that the only reason The Mummy Returns exists is because of Universal Studio's greed, and not due to a creative process. Of course this is the thought process that kills most sequels. The story is told so sloppy and is so unnecessary, the characters are eventually abandoned and it becomes really hard to care about anyone or anything. The plot pot is boiling so furiously with silly deaths-and-rebirths and various attempts at sub-plots, it turns to overkill.

Fraser has never seemed more smarmy; he doesn't retain a smidgen of his usual bumptious charm. Weisz, who must shift from being a strong woman at one instant to a helpless damsel the next (and endure some really embarrassing fight sequences with Velasquez in flashbacks to her former life in ancient Thebes -- she's been reincarnated -- don't ask), is surprisingly nondescript in all these guises. Even the CGI is a let down: The computer generated Scorpion King is simply awful (the warriors of Anubis are so startingly fake you can feel Ray Harryhausen crying out for vengeance). While roller-coaster rides can be fun, even they need proper timing: they require occasional pauses from the plunges, and certainly shouldn't drag on forever. Oh well, I hope Jurassic Park and Planet of the Apes score better than The Mummy Returns.

Everything for the Mummy Fan
I greatly enjoyed "The Mummy" when it was resurrected several few years ago. I can recall many late hours spent watching Zacherlee and Shock Theater, entranced by the antics of a whole slew of monsters, with The Mummy being one of the most memorable. In those days movies still had to have plots and spooky atmospherics to do what we do with special effects and a truckload of gore today.

What made the new "Mummy" fun was not just the updated effects. It also had just the right tongue-in-cheek attitude. Let's face it, mummy movies are high camp. Abbott and Costello figured it out first, but it took decades before Universal Pictures discovered the same secret. Now, as in the original film series, we are offered a sequel, once again called "The Mummy Returns."

Set 10 years later than the time of the first movie, Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser) and Evelyn Carnahan (Rachel Weisz) have married and have an 8-year-old son, Alex (Freddy Boath). They have returned to Egypt seeking the Bracelet of Anubis, an ancient artifact associated with the legendary Scorpion King of Egypt's fabled past. In doing so they trigger an adventure that will have them chasing all over the Egyptian map. For, not far from the O'Connell dig, a group of nefarious cultists are once again resurrecting the mummy of the evil Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo), the real star of the first movie.

Imhotep's has plans for the Scorpion King (The Rock) and his minions which require the bracelet. He would also like to even the score with the O'Connells, who foiled his first return. When Alex inadvertently puts on the Bracelet of Anubis, and is kidnapped, he triggers a chase scene that stretches from England to Abyssinia. Imhotep and his beloved Ankh-so-namun (Patricia Velasquez) use every dirty trick in the book in their plan to conquer the world. Before Alex (and life as we know it) is rescued, our doughty heroes will be treated to every kind of adventure and mishap, including reincarnation, dirigible rides, pigmy zombies, and the Scorpion King himself.

The actors are perfectly in character, capturing the thrill and fun without any sense of overacting. The effects are gorgeous. The DVD does a wonderful job of capturing the film, modifying it to fit the television screen without excess or glaring distortion. As on would expect, there is a host of bonus features, including interviews, outtakes and countless explanations of the effects. Several games and the required screen savers and wallpaper are all provided. Great fun for all.

Poor followup to an underrated film
Director Stephen Sommers must've known he had a hit, because he didn't bother to introduce logic or sense into the script with this movie. He was probably next door all the time at ILM, playing with the CGI nerds because he obvious left any type of storyline with The Mummy Returns.

To quickly go through the plot (what there is of one). Rick and Evelyn are now an architectural duo, finding old egyptian artifacts. They come upon a bracelet that is said to have belonged to a famous warrior called the Scorpion King. Through several events, they activate the bracelet and have 7 days to find the Scorpion King and stop him to rising from the dead.

At the same time, another party finds and resurrects the evil Priest Imhotep (the original mummy) who is also looking to find the Scorpion King, kill him and take over his army of the dead. Meanwhile, Evelyn is having flashback dreams that is leading her to something she is not aware of and Rick has a symbol on his arm that Magi warrior Ardeth Bay realizes means that Rick is also a Magi (personal quests).

There are some good things about this movie. Rick and Evelyn still have some good chemistry with each other, even though at times it feels forced. The sexual tension is no longer there, since they already have a son and have been married for nearly 10 years. However, they still work together well as a duo (even though they bicker all the time). John Hannah, who plays Evelyn's bumbling brother Jonathan also comes back and maintains his role as the comic relief, joined this time by Freddie Boath as the protagonist's son. Boath does a good job (meaning natural) being a kid, without going overboard on the annoying factor.

But the cons far outweigh the pros. I gave this movie a break because it was a summer flick, but it still flunked as a movie. This is because....

1. The director takes no time explaining things. He throws ideas into the air and expects us just to swallow things. Why does Evelyn suddenly have these visions? Why does Meela know all these things about Imhotep? How does Izzy fix the airship with no tools, helium or hot air? A person cannot just present these thoughts without any back drop or explanation. I was shaking my head repeatedly througout the movie.

2. The Airship: I'm glad that the rocket booster was created years ahead of the German V1 rockets. Did you see the handling on that balloon? Wow! Just plain stupid.

3. The duals: I like catfights, but they have to have some sort of purpose. Firstly, a Pharoah would never let his daughter dual another, even if it is step-mom to be. Secondly, what was the purpose of this fight? Oh yeah, to channel some mysterious Bruce Lee energy into Evelyn. How about she took some lessons? That would make more sense.

4. Outrunning the sun. I didn't know Rick O'Connell was part Roadrunner. He would have had to break the sound barrier to run faster than the approaching sunrise.

5. The kids intelligence. I can buy him reading the Book of the Dead, but I can't buy those clues. I wish I could make as professional a sandcastle as that kid could.

6. Bad CGI: Talk about a poor Scorpion King rendition. After seeing the preview for the movie Final Fantasy, I laughed outloud when I saw the Computer Graphic for the Scorpion King. He looks more like a water drawing than a person. And why did they have to make him half scorpion? That was lame and I would have preferred a fight between men, not men and pixels.

Also, those doglings of Annubis must have been real pathetic, since not one of the 12 tribes of the magi appeared dead. Maybe those undead weapons were made of dry sand as well.

7. Opportunity Lost: What would have been cool was for Imhotep and Rick to team up against their nemesis, an uneasy alliance. Just when I thought it was going to happen, Sommers goes all conventional with the bad guy chickening out.

There were many more things that I found annoying missing or added (without explanation) but I think you get my drift.

I like mindless movies, but all the action has to serve the story that the director is telling. In the Mummy Returns, the bad effects and actions was left holding the bag while the story slipped out the back and disappeared into the Nile....Rating: C-

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