A review of 'The Mummy' (1999 film)

Written and directed by Stephen Sommers, 'The Mummy' (1999) is an enjoyable sci-fi/horror romp starring Brendan Fraser. Although it is not a film that is designed to stretch an audience's cerebral cortex, the movie provides plenty of thrills and features dialogue that is delivered in actual Ancient Egyptian. The film spawned popular sequels and an animated television series. A review of 'The Mummy' follows.

Synopsis

The film was apparently originally intended to be a loose remake of the 1932 movie
'The Mummy', as a series of low-budget horror movies. However, the movie has more of the feel of an old-style action romp, a kind of B-movie version of a 'Boys' Own' adventure story or a low-rent Indiana Jones. The premise of the film is set up by events in ancient Egypt. The High Priest Imhotep has a love affair with the Pharaoh's wife. He is cursed and is given an undead existence as a mummy. In 1929, the former French Foreign Legionnaire Rick O'Connell leads an expedition to Imhotep's resting place. He is in search of treasure and he is in competition with a group of similarly inspired Americans. Imhotep's 'resting' place is disturbed and a string of heroic and not-so-heroic events ensue. Industrial Light & Magic provided some of the special effects.

Characters and cast

The cast is headed by Brendan Fraser, an actor who was at the beginning of his career at the time. Rachel Weisz is the Egyptologist Evelyn Carnahan and the Scottish actor John Hannah plays Jonathan Carnahan, Evelyn's older brother. The South African actor Arnold Vosloo plays Imhotep. Kevin J. O'Connor is the cowardly Beni Gabor. He is a craven ex-Foreign Legion comrade of Rick O'Connell's.

Other points

The film received mixed reviews from critics at the time of its release. Often commenting about the same aspects of the movie, some hailed it as brainless fun and appreciated its special effects, while others were negative and occasionally scathing. The American film critic Roger Ebert, for example, wrote in the Chicago Sun-Times: "There is hardly a thing I can say in its favor, except that I was cheered by nearly every minute of it. I cannot argue for the script, the direction, the acting or even the mummy, but I can say that I was not bored and sometimes I was unreasonably pleased." The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Sound, as well Best Visual Effects at the BAFTAs. It lost out in both instances to 'The Matrix'. The film's immediate sequel was the 2001's 'The Mummy Returns'. It was followed by the spin-off movie 'The Scorpion King'. The wrestler The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) starred in these latter two films.