Fun and entertaining modern rethinking of an old classic.

Rating: 9/10 (28 September 2003)

What a wonderful adventure! This is one of my (many) favorite movies!!
Let me start this by saying that badly done CGI, like bad acting, should be avoided at all costs and should NEVER be allowed to be included in the finished product of any production.
Case and point: the Scorpion King from Mummy Returns. It was horrible; deplorable; and just downright nasty-looking. He was no better than the worst video game character ever drawn by an 8 year old in green crayon.
Okay, that having been said, the argument in the industry is that CGI is taking jobs away from LIVE actors and giving them to computer nerds.
That is simply NOT the case. Case and point: again, Mummy Returns. Do you honestly believe the producers would have paid two million extras the standard SAG fees and make up artists for these two million extras, or wardrobe for these two million extras to comprise the Army of Annubis? The answer is a resounding H*LL NO!
My point is that before the diversity of CGI became known, movies lacked SO MUCH in detail. You either had the omission of the army all together, or about 20 shots of the same fifteen guys, all in different costumes, trying in vain to make it SEEM as though there was an army. Either way, what you got was deplorable.
CGI definitely has its place in cinema.
Another prime example of excellent CGI in use is in this production, "The Mummy." The opening sequence of the WORKING ancient Egyptian city of Thebes is one of the most awe-inspiring film sequences I've ever experienced, but Ancient History is a hobby of mine.
The only time I have any problem at all with CGI is when it's badly done, as in the example I mentioned earlier.
It greatly enhances our ability to enjoy the story when the eye-candy is well done and in place. Those shots of the Army of Annubis are simply staggering. They look realistic and they are so well done as to make you believe, if only for a moment, that they ARE real.
The love story between Imhotep and Anck Su Namun is a classic, and is as historically correct as that of Isis and Osiris, and while this is classified as a "remake," I simply do not care to compare this epic to the original hit.
How can you compare a true masterpiece of horror from 1932; a time when there were NO believable effects, no mastered technology of CGI, and the standard SAG fees for extras was around $6 a day. (It WAS the depression era, after all) Since the development of the technology used in "Star Wars, Episode 4, A New Hope," computer effects have evolved into a true state of art. I have absolutely no beef with CGI, its use, nor the use of it over live actors. As I have already stated above, my only problem with CGI is when it is badly done.
In this movie, it was NOT badly done. I loved the "Indiana Jones" adventure feel of this movie. I loved the fact that they took a dark and dreary (badly done, in my opinion) original campy old horror flick and turned it into an absolute feast for those of us who love the eye candy.
I am also an Ancient History hobbyist, and this movie really sparked my imagination. As I've already stated, the opening scenes of Thebes were so inspiring, I was hooked from the very first moment this movie began to play on the big screen.
Brendan Fraser, to me, demonstrates his acting abilities in this production, showing his agents and all those around him that he is SO much above frivolous drivel like "Monkey Bone" and "Encino Man." I hope he never EVER has to resort to such a waste of his talents, again.
Rachael Weisz is a sheer delight. Her character is totally believable, romantic, soft and lady-like while maintaining a tough interior personality. Not easily done. Bravo, Ms. Weisz! What an excellent performance!
I will not detail the plot here, as there are hundreds of reviews already posted to this site about this movie, alone.
It will suffice it to say that, in the Fiend's opinion, this movie is a wonderful adventure, featuring stellar performances and outstanding effects. I adore this movie.
It's one of the Fiend's many favorites.
It rates a 9.2/10 from...
the Fiend :.