Awesome roller coaster adventure!

Rating: 9/10 (22 March 2012)

I will have to say that "Mummy" was an action adventure film in the spirit of "Raiders of the Lost Ark". I know there have been other attempts over the years, but "The Mummy" comes the closest to hitting the mark.
"The Mummy", directed by Stephen Sommers, is the story of librarian and aspiring archaeologist Evelyn (Rachel Wiesz), accompanied by her brother Jonathan (John Hannah), enlisting the help of French Foreign Legion soldier Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser) to find a lost Egyptian city. I prefer not to say more as this type of plot is best when the story unfolds before you.
Sommers directing is fast paced. There is never a dull moment, never a talky interlude to break the tone of the action. Every scene in the film is necessary for the plot advancement. Director Sommers knows an inherent part of any action film is to keep the camera moving. There are very few "static shots".
The special effects, by ILM, are fantastic. I was hooked from the opening sweeping shot of a bustling city in ancient Eygpt, beautifully recreated.
Brendan Fraser is a very credible action hero. As Rick O'Connell, he has such a clumsy, boyish charm you can't help but like him. With a half smile and his perchant for the understatement ("You brought a new friend back from the desert, didn't you Beni?"), he is almost the equal of Harrison Ford's Indiana Jones. Rachel Weisz is wonderful as the aspiring archaeologist Evelyn and John Hannah is fun as her near do well missionary brother Jonathan. Kevin J. O'Conner as scared of his own shadow Beni (I won't reveal what his role is in the story) is delightful.
What keeps this film from being the equal of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" is the lack of character curve. Unlike Indiana Jones, who learned the hard way to respect powers he can't touch or see, I can't think of anything any of the characters in "The Mummy" learned.
However, "The Mummy" is still rip-roaring entertainment. Sommers and Executive Producer Kevin Jarre (screenwriter, "Glory") wisely created a film with an emphasis on action. They must have figured (rightly so) that any story about the Mummy presented to 1999 audiences would just not be scary, so the tone was changed to action/adventure.
Action films greatly rely on the ability to make the audience believe that what they see is possible within the first five to ten minutes. If this doesn't happen, the viewer will have a poor experience for the rest of the film. Most action films cannot achieve this. They "shoot their bolt" too early, rendering the rest of the film unbelievable. Also, the closer an action film is to related reality, the more difficult this becomes. Like "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (still my all time favorite action film), "The Mummy" allowed me to suspend my disbelief within the first ten minutes.