|
|
The Mummy Returns... |
|
Movie Review: The Mummy Returns
Starring: Brendan Fraser,
Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo, Oded Fehr
|
This movie takes place in 1935, 10 years after the original
"Mummy". Rick (Brendan Fraser) and Evelyn |
|
(Rachel Weisz) are now married with a 9-year-old son Alex.
They happen to be upon the bracelet of the Scorpion King (The Rock), the most vicious and
powerful warrior of all time. The owner of the bracelet can resurrect the dog-faced sand
warriors that were used by the Scorpion King after he struck a deal with the Dark Lord
Anubis, and use them to take over the world. But in order to do so, they must also raise
the Scorpion King and kill him. The only one powerful enough to kill the Scorpion King is
our old friend Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo). Rick and Evelyn must race to stop Imhotep from
fulfilling his destiny of |
|
immortality and prevent the end of the world, one more time.
Much like the original, this movie has a lot of special effects and humor. Many times they
jokingly refer to the first movie, and the plot is pretty much the same, stopping Imhotep
from taking over the world. This |
time however, there is an even greater power in the Scorpion
King to add a little more punch to the side of the bad guys. Also along for the ride is
the 9 year old comic relief in the form of their kid. Many of the laughs in the movie come
from him. The cast is pretty much the exact same from the first movie, and the special
effects are the same. Instead of using sand to take down an airplane, they use water to
take down a dirigible. So, this movie, is basically getting a rehash of the first movie, |
|
|
with slightly different locations, and a slightly different
story.
You never even notice the time passing as you watch this movie. It is fun. Unlike the
first movie, there is a lot less down time here. Much more action, still a lot of comedy,
and still some pretty impressive special effects. The fact that the movie starts off with
a huge battle between tens of thousands of people (or |
|
computer generated people), and involves WWF superstar The
Rock, is enough for people or more aptly kids to fall in love with this movie.
The sets are very cool looking, much more than that of the original. The special effects
just over the two year period since the first movie have come a long way. Other than the
strange looking face of the Scorpion King at the end, the rest of the effects are
seamless. The |
|
acting is what you'd expect from
an action-adventure pic. And the music is enjoyable, especially the track that played over
the closing credits, performed by Live.
Filmmaker Sommers has an excellent balance of action and humor, with a racing pace
leavened by enough character moments to keep us emotionally engaged. Fraser hits all the
right notes with charisma, Weisz is likably erudite , Hannah is a hoot, Vosloo is richly
menacing and Fehr has appealing gravity. Patricia Velasquez as the mummy’s beloved
Anck-Su-Namun is even more alluring than in the original, with wickedly good presence.
Boath is bright without being overly cute. The cast all play off one another with
confident, precise timing and do superb work in shots where they are playing opposite
special effects added in post-production.The visual effects supervised by John Berton are
pretty spectacular here, especially with the enormous number of Anubis soldiers.
Overall, The Mummy Returns is worth a watch.
|
|
