The mummy as starred in by:
•Brendan Fraser as Rick O’Connell
•Rachel Weisz as Evelyn
•John Hannah as Jonathan
•Arnold Vosloo as Imhotep
•Kevin J. O’Connor as Beni
•Jonathan Hyde as The Egyptologist
•Oded Fehr as Ardeth Bay
•Stephen Dunham as Henderson
•Erick Avari as The Curator
•Corey Johnson as Daniels
•Tuc Watkins as Burns
•Omid Djalili as Warden
•Aharon Ipalé as Pharaoh
•Bernard Fox as Winston
•Patricia Velazquez as Anck-Su-Namum
and expertly Directed By Stephen Sommers
The trailers for the mummy looked like any other summer action film. I saw pieces of reviews that claimed the movie was ok but nothing special. But I knew that the special effects were done by the special effects company, Industrial Light And Magic (ILM). So if the film was naff at least it was going to look good.
But more to the point does the film have a plot, one of those little things that all summer blockbusters seem to forget about. Well yes it does. The film starts off with one of the high priests of ancient Egypt ’getting it on’ with the kings beautiful young wife. The king who is wondering where his wife is finds the two lovers. The wife commits suicide claiming that she will never love the king. The high priest kills the king and makes off with the dead girl into the night
The priest and his followers take the body to the city of Hamunaptra, the city of the dead. It is here that he plans to resurrect his lover so that they can be together again. But before he can finish his ritual the royal guards burst into the temple and capture everyone. Everyone is mummified alive. But the priest is punished with a curse that is so evil it had never been performed before. His tongue is cut off and he is mummified and placed in a sarcophagus with flesh eating scarabs and then buried for all time.
Fast forward to the early 1930’s and the foreign legion discovers the ancient city of Hamunaptra, or what is left of it. They are being attacked by mysterious black robed men. One man, Rick ’O Connel fights for his life and when he tries to hide in the ancient temple, his plan is thwarted when his friend Beni shuts himself in, therefore locking out Rick. The mysterious men find Rick but don’t kill him. They tell him to leave and never come back, and then they leave him be in to die desert alone.
The next time we see Rick he is in a prison. An English brother and sister have come to see him, Jonathan and Evelyn. Jonathan has found the map and the mysterious key to the city of Hamunaptra. This proves that the city really exists because until then it was regarded as a myth. They have been informed that Rick could take them there. Her interest is purely archaeological as she works at the local museum. Rick agrees to take them.
On the way up river on a passenger liner, they meet a group of Americans who are also on their way to Hamunaptra, but they are seeking gold and treasure. Their guide turns out to be Beni. Rick throws him overboard. But thats the least of their problems. They come under attack from the mysterious black robed men again. Their after the key. They defeat them and make their way to the city of the dead.
They arrive at the city the same time as the Americans and they decide to camp together and help each other out. Its on one of these little expeditions that Evelyn reads aloud the resurrection passage from the book of the dead that is found. Little does she know what she has done. The priest is awakened and starts taking victims. He sucks the life force from them to rebuild the flesh of his own decaying body. But the worst is still to come...
This film is underrated and it is a good thing it came out before that other film this year. The most obvious comment about the film is that this is really and Indiana Jones movie in all but name. While the comparison is there, I think this movie deserves to stand out on its own. What did worry me at first was the humour. A lot of good action films are ruined by inserting humour in various places to lighten the tone. Quite frankly this doesn’t work very often and I believe it distracts from the scene in question. But in this film the comedy element works very well and doesn’t distract. The action is also very good in places and there is enough of it to keep you entertained.
The special effects are excellent. While the sandstorms are impressive, the real star of the show is the computer generated Mummy. Another piece of good work by ILM. The actors are also very good and likeable with some very good comedy moments from Brendan Fraser. I recommend that you see this movie as it is very entertaining and a good balance of humour and action.