Blood Diamond (2006)

Capturing both the physical beauty and social ugliness that makes up the African continent, Blood Diamond is a traditional heavyweight drama. Its goal is not to entertain but to captivate and illuminate. Exposing the dark corners of the diamond trade that most people are ignorant to or choose not to acknowledge, this film ties big business, organized crime and human drama all into one.

When his village is destroyed by rebels, Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou) is torn apart from his wife an children and forced to work in a rebel-owned diamond mine. When the Sierra Leonean Army attacks the rebels, Vandy escapes knowing the whereabouts of a massive pink diamond. Vandy crosses paths with Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio), a Zimbabwean diamond smuggler with powerful connections. Their relationship is shaky at best and, with the help of an American journalist (Jennifer Connelly), they set out to retrieve the diamond before anyone else can as well as Vandy’s son, who has been forced to join the rebel army.

The above paragraph is actually a pretty poor description of the entire plot of this film. The three central characters are operating on a grander scale than I can put into one paragraph. Colonialism, capitalism, barbarism, and humanitarianism all interplay in Blood Diamond. With all that’s going on, the film can’t help but get bogged down in the intricate weaving of plot details. While the diamond is the focus from 30,000 feet, this film is more like a collection of smaller conflicts, internal and external.

While DiCaprio is the star of the film, Connelly is its conscience and Hounsou is its heart. The combination of DiCaprio’s hard-nosed determination, Connelly’s lectures about the evils of the diamond trade, and Hounsou’s intense emotional roller coaster, this film will leave you feeling mentally and physically exhausted. Is it rewarding though? Pre-credit text encourages audiences with the fact that a super-minority of diamonds come from such entities since conferences between the diamond powerhouses in the 1990s. That either leaves you feeling a little warmer inside or it enables you to distance yourself from the events of the film.

The one thing that bugs me throughout the film is DiCaprio’s accent. It’s bad enough that his youthful looks make it hard to believe him as a seasoned smuggler, but his never-consistent accent is distracting as all get-out. They needed someone of DiCaprio’s pedigree and popularity to anchor the film and secure audiences but, just as I have issues with Americans playing British roles, there’s just something off about having him play an African white man.

While it may be a little too much to take in at one time, Blood Diamond is a very good film. The locations look sharp and Hounsou’s performance is wonderful. One might think this film was intended as Oscar bait but I disagree. This was a film made by people who appreciate the true dramas of old. It won’t likely become one of your favorites, and you may not even feel the urge to watch it a second time, but one viewing is certainly worthwhile.

RATING: 3.5 out of 5

The Mummy Returns (2001)

Despite a satisfying conclusion to The Mummy, the film made a ton of money and, these days, that means a sequel. How exactly does one create a follow-up to a film that saw the titular antagonist destroyed in the end? Psh! Nothing a little ret-conning and distraction can’t fix.

Main characters Rick and Evelyn O’Connell (Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz) are now married and have a son. While exploring a pyramid, they find the Bracelet of Anubis, which contains both the location of the oasis of Ahm Shere and the power to unleash the Scorpion King and his legion of monstrous warriors upon the earth. Naturally, Rick and Evelyn’s son puts the bracelet on out of curiosity, setting in motion a week-long countdown to potential doomsday.

Little Alex O’Connell is abducted by an Egyptian cult who have also somehow managed to resurrect Imhotep, the evil mummy from the first film. The cult wants to use Imhotep’s restored powers to defeat the Scorpion King so they can control the Army of Anubis. This leaves Rick and Evelyn one week to find the oasis of Ahm Shere, rescue their son from imminent death and defeat the Scorpion King and Imhotep before either can conquer the world.

If this sounds like an awful lot of action for two-hour movie, you’re right. The Mummy Returns is quite relentless in bombarding you with fight scenes and special effects pieces while also yanking you from scene to scene with a pace that, once it picks up, never drops back a gear. Despite all the seeming complexities and rapid flow, the film is still pretty easy to follow. It’s a journey from Point A to Point B in the hopes of stopping Bad Guy #1 and Bad Guy #2 from succeeding. Despite this fairly easy setup, there are some elements of the film that don’t make a lot of sense.

For instance, was it really necessary to bring Imhotep back for the sequel? From a marketing standpoint, it makes perfect sense to bring back the cold, evil villain, especially since they chose The Mummy Returns as the title. Without the reemergence of Imhotep, one could argue that the film would have no reason to exist as titled. The problem is that, at the end of The Mummy, he was made mortal and stripped of his powers. How exactly does the Egyptian cult restore all of these things for Imhotep? This is never explained. We’re just told that he’s back and bad as ever. It seems to be the filmmakers’ hopes that we will be too distracted by all the action to ponder such things.

The Mummy Returns also relies on significantly more CGI and special effects than its predecessor. Universal Pictures only sank an extra $18 million into the sequel’s budget and, considering they had to up their stars’ salaries, it's clear they didn’t pull enough out of the piggy bank. As ambitious as some of the scenes try to be, their ambition is undone by weak looking effects. Sometimes it’s only a matter of a monster warrior looking flat or just a tad too fake. Other times, like in the case of the emergence of the Scorpion King from his chamber, it is impossible to suspend disbelief because the visuals are terrible.

It was the zombie pygmy mummies that killed it for me though. Dozens, if not hundreds of these odd and horribly fake looking things dwell in the lush oasis of Ahm Shere and protect the temple of the Scorpion King. The filmmakers try to use them as fearsome adversaries and a comedic device at the same time. Due to this, they come across as too goofy to be taken as real threat, no matter how many people they end up killing. The Mummy had its goofy moments and so does this film but the zombie pygmy mummies cross a line that's better left uncrossed.

Fans of the first film will easily enjoy this sequel and there are plenty of references to events and artifacts from the predecessor to draw a knowing smile from Mummy devotees. For the rest of us, this will still entertain but the continuing adventures of Rick O’Connell don’t satisfy quite like the first time. While it’s still harmless popcorn adventure fun, The Mummy Returns starts to descend into ‘dumb’ territory, which is never good.

RATING: 2.25 out of 5

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