The Mummy (1999) Universal/Fantasy-Action-Adventure-Horror RT: 125 minutes Rated PG-13 (pervasive adventure violence, some partial nudity) Director: Stephen Sommers Screenplay: Stephen Sommers Music: Jerry Goldsmith Cinematography: Adrian Biddle Release date: May 7, 1999 (US) Cast: Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo, Kevin J. O’Connor, Oded Fehr, Jonathan Hyde, Stephen Dunham, Corey Johnson, Tuc Watkins, Omid Djalili, Erick Avari, Patricia Velasquez, Bernard Fox. Box Office: $155.2M (US)/$415.9M (World)
Rating: ***
The Mummy is ostensibly a remake of the 1932 Universal horror classic starring the late, great Boris Karloff in the title role. In life- i.e. ancient Egypt- he was the high priest Imhotep who was mummified alive for attempting to resurrect his dead forbidden lover. He’s summoned back to life when somebody reads the words on a scared scroll out loud. He goes looking for the reincarnation of his lover so he can bring her back to life. The new movie is more like Indiana Jones meets Army of Darkness. It takes the premise of the original movie and builds on it, adding a wisecracking American hero (Fraser, George of the Jungle), a beautiful Egyptologist (Weisz, The Fountain) and an army of the dead. The result is a silly but fun summer movie.
The Mummy opens in Thebes circa 1290 BC with high priest Imhotep (Vosloo, Hard Target) involved in a forbidden love affair with Anck-su-Namun (Native American supermodel Velasquez), the mistress of Pharaoh Seti I. Upon being discovered by Seti, they murder him after which Anck-su-Namun takes her own life intending for Imhotep to resurrect her in Hamunaptra- aka the “City of the Dead”- using the Book of the Dead. He’s interrupted mid-ritual by Seti’s bodyguards and sentenced to be buried alive with flesh-eating scarab beetles (it’s called the “Hom Dai”).
About 3000 years later (1926 AD), a map leading to the now-lost city of Hamunaptra ends up in the hands of Evie Carnahan (Weisz), a clumsy Cairo librarian who jumps at the chance to make such an incredible discovery. Along with her spoiled brother Jonathan (Hannah, Sliding Doors), they arrange for adventurer Rick O’Connell (Fraser) to be released from prison in exchange for him leading them to the City of the Dead. He’s one of the only people that know where it is; the other is Beni (O’Connor, Deep Rising), a cowardly sort who fought alongside Rick in the French Foreign Legion. He’s leading a rival team of American fortune hunters to the same place. Both groups face opposition from the Medjai, a group of warriors led by Ardeth Bay (Fehr, the Resident Evil movies) tasked with guarding Imhotep’s tomb to prevent any and all attempts to resurrect him.
At this point in The Mummy, there are a few givens: (1) they all make it to Hamunaptra, (2) somebody finds the Book of the Dead, (3) somebody reads aloud from it, (4) Imhotep is brought back to life and (5) he’s still looking to resurrect Anck-su-Namun. There are many good reasons I can think of NOT to resurrect a mummy (ANY mummy), but Imhotep is a special case. If he’s brought back to life, he brings with him the original ten plagues of Egypt. This means locusts, earthquakes, fireballs falling from the sky and water turning into blood. Where is Charlton Heston when you need him?
Plotwise, The Mummy doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. It’s a whole lot of hokum and hooey. It’s also a whole lot of fun. Writer-director Stephen Sommers (1994’s live-action The Jungle Book) imbues it with a sense of playfulness not often seen in the huge soulless SAVs (Sensory Assault Vehicles) churned out by the Hollywood machine. Fraser is like a low-rent version of Harrison Ford with the way he wisecracks his way through one crazy situation after another. He takes a decidedly light-hearted approach to the role of action hero. He never for a moment takes himself seriously. Weisz is also quite good as the game-for-anything gal who finds herself falling for Rick despite his lesser qualities. Isn’t that how all great romances get started? The two leads have a nice, unforced chemistry between them. The rest of the cast does a fine job as well. They all look like they’re having fun with the silly material.
The special effects are very nicely done. The titular character is a combination of live-action and CGI. I prefer my mummies wrapped in bandages, but what scared audiences in the early 30s seems like child’s play in the 21st century. So it is that the new Imhotep is a creature made of rotting flesh that gets reconstituted a little more every time he claims a new victim until he’s whole again. The sand effects- this mummy has power over the desert sands- are especially impressive. The army of the dead is also cool. The Mummy is heavy on action and short on terror. It’s not at all scary. The original movie was filled with quiet suspense, something else that wouldn’t go over in a potential crowd-pleaser.
Here’s the deal, The Mummy isn’t quality cinema, not by a long shot. It has no artistic aspirations. It doesn’t seek to understand human nature although it could be argued that it makes a vague statement about American greed. This movie exists merely to entertain. It’s a popcorn movie. Not only that, it’s a good popcorn movie. It’s funny, exciting, thrilling and completely satisfying on a very basic level.
