**1/2: Fun, but nothing remarkable

Rating: 6/10 (10 May 1999)

Admit it. The Mummy is one of the most derivative,predictable, and unoriginal movies around. It uses every old plot device and cliche from a hundred adventure movies, and stuffs them into two hours of special effects...but does it REALLY well. It's a lot of fun to watch, as long as you can get past that simple fact. There really isn't anything in this movie we haven't seen before, but we've probably never seen it done quite this well.
It's very much in the spirit of the Indiana Jones movies (heck, Brendan Fraser really just plays Indy in a different job...and without a hat). I admire Brendan Fraser as an actor, and his performance is definitely one of the best things about The Mummy. The effects were nice too, but personally, I don't think digital effects have gotten to the point where you can make a fully CG character that doesn't look at least a little bit like a cartoon, so the effects didn't impress me all that much. Call me jaded. Besides, effects aren't the reason I go to see a movie. I want to be told an entertaining story. And The Mummy delivers on that point, for the most part.
Overall, The Mummy is nothing new or particularly remarkable, but it's a pretty good way to spend an afternoon. It's entertaining, but nothing to write home about.