Well...at least the computer effect-guys had fun.

Rating: 3/10 (4 September 2003)

Small spoilers coming up....
This is the second review I write about the same topic. The cursed priest Imhotep and his forbidden love for Anck-Su-Namun. A wonderful story and one of the most magnificent tales ever told in my opinion. But, to my regret, this review will be a lot less favourable than the ones I did for the 1932 version.
First of all, actor Arnold Vosloo had the unrewarding task to follow into the footsteps of the greatest actor who ever lived....Boris Karloff played the mummy in the original version and to his style and appearance can never be lived up to. In another great Ancient Egypt-story, Christopher Lee portrayed a mummy as well ( he was called Kharis, if I'm not mistaken) so being a worthy follow-up to those 2 screen legends, Arnold Vosloo fails enormously. In fact, he's not a very well known actor at all, I only recognized him from the inferior Darman sequels. That was negative element number one, but so far...I hadn't lost all hope yet. No, that happened when the CGI came along... Such a shame...this version is obviously made for a complete other kind of audience. Young people mostly, I think...the computer generation. I'm not that old or something but I prefer the old-fashioned make-up effects a lot more. There's no love in this version at all and no matter what they may say : Not one computer generated effect has the ability to scare people. The mummy ( especially in his most early phase of decomposition ) is laughable and some of the most unrealistic things I ever saw....Furthermore: the sandstorms, the bugs, the servants of Imhotep etc, they're all a waste of money. One look in the eyes of good old Boris Karloff and you're frightened a 100 times more. The whole traditional story of Imhotep is explained in the first 5 minutes and the last 10...all what's in between is a useless story about treasure hunters looking for the lost city of Hamunaptra and "Americans vs British"-jokes... There are a lot more ( smaller ) aspects about this movie that bugged me, too. For example, the huge amout of comedy in it. I love a good oneliner from time to time but this is just way over the top. I don't have much to say about the acting performances. Brendan Frasier is one of the few actors that I don't care about at all. I don't think he sucks nor do I think he's good. Neutral guy in my opinion. He did make a lot of bad films, but I don't think he was ever to blame for it. I did like Airheads in wich he starred, but in that one Steve Buscemi totally steals the show. I don't care much about Rachel Weisz neither...she looks cute from time to time, that's all.
Now, this review could be taken as very positive too. If you like modern horror with an overload of CGI, instead of good plot twists...I highly recommend it. If you've got any sense of tradition or myth, avoid it. Stephen Sommers totally wasted a piece of true art here. And just when I thought it couldn't get any worse than this, he comes along with the Mummy Returns. I still hate myself for watching that...The Mummy was bad, the Mummy Returns was a complete disaster. My humble opinion...2/10