Universal's Standby Horror Flick, Unwrapped

Rating: 8/10 (19 June 1999)

"The Mummy" is nothing more than a fun ride, that delivers all the chills and thrills as it should. However, it's not an action film for which you need to leave your brain outside; the filmmakers paid attention to the rules, and stick to them. In addition, they finally give us an action heroine who is not reduced to "Screaming bimbo in need of rescue at the end." In fact, it's the female lead, and not the male, who ultimately defeats the big villain, in defiance of all previous film tradition.
The special effects are amazing and seamless, with some see-through mummy effects that work very well, and a quartet of murderous zombies that evoke the memory of Ray Harryhausen, then go him one (or two or three) better.
On top of all that, the acting and casting in this movie is right on the mark -- Fraser, as always, is marvellous, and every minor character has that "Gosh, I know them from somewhere" but yet you don't feeling that is so essential to the genre. (Kevin J. O'Connor is wonderful as a really, really snivelly nasty minor villain who you do and don't want to see get what he deserves -- and he also gives the constant impression of being someone more well known than he is. He seems very familiar and yet (check his credits here) he isn't.
But, anyway -- "The Mummy" is worth seeing just as a real fun ride that goes one better than the original. Probably too intense for the younger kiddies, but a great date movie, if your date finds the assuagement of squeamishness somewhat erotic...