Cast:

Rick O'Connell - Brendan Fraser
Evelyn Carnarvon - Rachel Weisz
Imhotep (The Mummy) - Arnold Vosloo
Johnathon - John Hannah

Director: Stephen Sommers

I’ve stated before, that somewhere, in the money-grubbing, effects-laden madness that has become Hollywood, that filmmakers forgot that movies are supposed to be fun. People go to the movies to be entertained, and not to have their intelligence insulted. But invariably, a movie will be so full of itself, that it loses it’s fun, or so caught up in giving us eye-candy, that it becomes predictable, and insulting to our intelligence. Sometimes, I just want a movie that sets out have fun, uses some cool visuals, but never too many to dilute the plot, and never losing its fun nature.

I went into The Mummy, expecting special effects, an okay plot, and little else. I left, with a big smile, and lots of energy. The Mummy is very simplistic in nature. It is cinematic eye-candy, with a basic good guy, bad guy plot. Fraser is there to look good, be chased by the bad guys, save the damsel in distress, and win in the end. The damsel, played by Rachel Weisz, is there to look pretty, scream at the monster, contribute something to his downfall, and ultimately be saved in the end. The monster, creepily played by Arnold Vosloo, is here to be a menacing presence, go boo, scare lots of people, kidnap the girl, and lose in the end. These are all typical Indiana-Jones style storyline ideas, that could’ve been put into a very bland movie. The difference here, is that the makers, and even stars, of this film, know of Indy, even acknowledge, and pay tribute to it, but never try to be anything more than a respectable tribute; the honery little child of Dr. Jones adventure, that will never be better than the predecessor, but then again never tries to be. A fitting example is a sequence where Fraser confronts a pilot, about procuring an airplane.

"What are we going to do?"

"Save the girl, kill the bad guy, get the treasure"

"Sounds like fun to me"

That may be off in exactness a bit, but you get the idea. This exchange reflects the prevailing mood here. Everyone here, actors, directors, effects guys, etc., never forget how to have fun. Oh, and let me tell you about the effects, they are quite stunning indeed, most notably, a sequence where a face in the sand chases said airplane across the desert. You have to see them, to believe them, and I believe this is one that you should definitely see.

Don’t get me wrong, this is no showstopping cinematic achievement. There are flaws, if you look deep enough, but this is a movie where you really shouldn’t do that. Just sit back, turn your brain off, open your eyes, and get wrapped up, in the magic and fun that The Mummy has to offer. ($$$ of $$$$)

Actor and movie information courtesy of the Internet Movie Database