THE MUMMY RETURNS (2001) / ** 1/2
Directed by Stephen Sommers, from his screenplay. Starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah. Running time: 129 minutes. Rated AA for violent scenes by the MFCB. Reviewed on October 28th, 2001.
By SHANNON PATRICK SULLIVAN
Synopsis: Ten years after defeating the mummy Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo), Rick (Fraser) and Evie (Weisz) must confront the immortal Egyptian menace again when his servants kidnap their son, Alex (Freddie Boath). With the assistance of their old friends, including Evie's brother Jonathan (Hannah) and enigmatic Ardeth (Oded Fehr), Rick and Evie must stop Imhotep from seizing the power of the Scorpion King (The Rock), an ancient warrior who controls the armies of Anubis, god of the dead.
Review: Although "The Mummy Returns" is by no means a model for all future movie sequels to follow, it's an enjoyable enough rehash of "The Mummy", 1999's surprise hit. Writer/director Sommers hews closely to the original, but manages to throw in enough new material to keep viewers interested. The whole thing still feels like "Indiana Jones"-lite, and moves even farther away from its horror roots, but "The Mummy Returns" is fun summer popcorn fare nonetheless. The returning cast slide back into their old roles comfortably, and there is even a nice usage of the Egyptian mythos surrounding the Mummy to flesh out the background of some of our heroes. For younger viewers, "The Mummy Returns" includes Alex as a point of entry, and fortunately Boath is not too cutesy or annoying. The inclusion of a new threat unaligned with Imhotep, the Scorpion King, is inspired, making the movie's final stages less predictable than would normally be the case. Visual effects are splendid, with the notable exception of the poor computer animation of the Scorpion King, which stands out like a sore thumb. Sommers' screenplay does feel sketchier and less cohesive than the first outing, though, and suffers from some appalling dialogue. When one character makes reference to the "next" Armageddon, the audience is left to wonder how we could have possibly missed the first one.
Copyright © 2001 Shannon Patrick Sullivan. Archived at The Popcorn Gallery, http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sps/movies.html
| Shannon Patrick Sullivan | shannon@mun.ca | +---------------------------------+---------------------------------+ / Doctor Who: A Brief History of Time (Travel) go.to/drwho-history \ \__ We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars __/
========== X-RAMR-ID: 29369 X-Language: en X-RT-ReviewID: 247018 X-RT-TitleID: 1107715 X-RT-SourceID: 886 X-RT-AuthorID: 1699 X-RT-RatingText: 2.5/4
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