The Mummy (1999)

This intellectually harmless summer popcorn flick is a real pleaser. Featuring an attractive cast of rising stars, plenty of flashy break-neck paced action, and mostly decent special effects, The Mummy is sure to entertain you with two hours of loud, silly fun.

The film begins in ancient Egypt. The lover of Pharaoh Seti I has been canoodling with the high court priest Imhotep. It doesn’t take long for the Pharaoh to figure this out but he is killed by the two lovers before he can wield his authority over them. Imhotep gets away but his lover is captured by the guards and executed. Imhotep attempts to resurrect his lover but is caught in the process and has a curse laid upon him- he is buried alive with a swarm of flesh-eating scarabs and cursed to immortality, thereby suffering in agony for eternity.

Fast forward to the 1920s- Egyptologist Evelyn Carnahan (Rachel Weisz) is searching for Hamunaptra, the fabled city of the dead. With the help of a rough-and-tumble American named Rick O’Connell (Brendan Fraser), they lead an expedition to find the city. At the same time though, another band of explorers are out to find the lost city and exploit it for material gain.

Both teams reach the city at the same time but are confronted by a group of Arabs sworn to protect the city from intruders. They warn of a curse on the city and that any disturbing this place risks unleashing Imhotep from his grave. The consequences, he assures them, would be dire. Naturally, everyone ignores the warnings. Evelyn’s team discovers the Book of the Dead and stumble upon the tomb of Imhotep while the other team loots other sections of the city, including the jarred remains of Imhotep’s lover.

Evelyn’s curiosity about the book of the dead leads to trouble. After reading a few passages at night, she accidently awakens Imhotep, who is none too pleased to be disturbed, let alone have his lover’s tomb ransacked. Imhotep breaks free from his bonds and tracks Evelyn and Rick down in Cairo, killing anyone who stands in his way. At this point, the film becomes a race against time to survive Imhotep’s onslaughts and to find a way to kill the mummy forever.

Many will view The Mummy as Indiana Jones lite. Frankly, this is probably the best mindset to have going into the film. If you are expecting anything more serious than a popcorn adventure flick, you will be disappointed. The cheeky humor and abundance of convenient escapes and bright ideas plays out like the old 30s serials the filmmakers were trying to replicate. It doesn’t capture the spirit of those old movies like Indiana Jones does but that’s not really the point.

Brendan Fraser was the right choice for Rick. The character doesn’t take things or himself very seriously and Fraser strikes me as someone who can’t be taken too seriously. Maybe it’s his boyish face or maybe it’s the films he has done in the past, but the name Brendan Fraser evokes thoughts of 'goofy action' rather than 'action hero.' Fraser rises to the occasion during some of The Mummy’s most intense scenes though. He never overacts or forces his lines, keeping the film rolling at a merry pace with its tongue planted firmly in cheek when need be.

While Rachel Weisz is used mostly as a pretty face and a damsel in distress, she gets enough opportunities to act toe-to-toe with her male counterparts and even gets to kick a little butt. The rest of the cast live up to expectations, especially Arnold Vosloo as Imhotep. His ice cold stares and relishing of destruction make him a great villain.

The Mummy boasts several interesting set pieces and plenty of action for the summer movie crowd. Most of the stunts and special effects look pretty good for 1999 but the filmmakers go a little overboard on the CGI towards the end. It doesn’t come as such a surprise though because the amount of effects escalates right along with the action.

Some viewers will think The Mummy is a bit too dumb and simple but these people are missing the point. This film is designed to be a little bit of brainless fun, not the second-coming of Indiana Jones. Unlike Indy, there is very little historical information to be learned from this film. It’s all mostly made up, which will disappoint history buffs but let’s remember that people don’t watch Brendan Fraser flicks to learn much of anything.

RATING: 3.25 out of 5