Brainless, but it's a lot of fun!

Rating: Null/10 (13 August 1999)

I think Roger Ebert got it right when he said that this film was as loud and obnoxious as the original Boris Karloff film was quiet and creepy. That is the absolute truth. In fact, this film has little to do with the 1932 film, and even littler to do with any other mummy film ever made, which got increasingly dreadful. I mean, who can really be scared of a slow-moving zombie who's tripping on his own bandages? This one, however, manages to bring the mummy genre up a few scales, and as a result, it's a harmless, entertaining trek.
This is the third film to have the title "The Mummy," Karloff's and a 1959 Hammer film sharing the same title. Though it does feature armies of undead zombies, supernatural occurrences, and immense evil, it is quite difficult to label this film as a horror. Indeed, there's really no horror about it. Instead, it comes across as a fun, Indiana Jones-esque adventure yarn about Brandon Fraser and company battling the undead mummy, who kills his victims and sucks the life out of them, thus becoming more and more human. All this trouble starts when they open Imhotep's tomb and unleash his undead body...and that's basically the plotline.
Thin story aside, this movie is really just a series of endless action scenes, featuring one-liners and plently of breathtaking special effects. But that doesn't make it a bad film. In fact, it is quite a good one. It's the epitome of popcorn film, and while it might be brainless, that's okay. If these kind of films are done right, they are very fun and quite memorable. And they do it right, with great timing and a terrific performance by Brandon Fraser. And while it might not be up to par with Indiana Jones, who cares? It's quite a special effects, rollar coaster ride!
Leave your brain at the house and enjoy!
*** out of ****