Cool adventure/horror/action film **spoilers**

Rating: 8/10 (25 July 2002)

"The Mummy", while hardly an arty movie, is a very good action/adventure film, with a cool villian.
The movie starts off (as others have noticed) like an "Indiana Jones" film, and could very well be one. From the prologue set in ancient Egypt (setting the background for our bad guy) and the opening battle scene (between the Tuaregs and the French Foreign Legion [?]) to the last scene as the four survivors ride off into the sunset, this is exciting, non-stop.
Well, the basic plot goes: an American mercenary (Brendan Fraiser) fighting somewhere in Africa (here is a continuity problem, I guess; if you're well-read, the Tuaregs live in Algieria, Morrocco, Western Sahara, and Nigeria [though Fraiser mentions being in Libya, which was a Turkish/Italian colony anyway]) gets cornered by his Tuareg adversaries. Just as they're about to kill him, their horses suddenly go wild, and a huge face appears in the sand.
Later, librarian Evy Carnahan (Rachiel Weisz) hires Fraiser to help her locate Hapunatra (sp.?), the city of the dead. With another team of Americans (led by Beni, Fraiser's "friend" from the Foreign Legion), they find the city, only to let loose Imhotep (Arnold Voosloo), a vampiric creature who must suck the organs from those who were present at the opening of his tomb. His goal: to resurrect mistress Anuck-Sun-Ahumn (Patricia Velazquez), using Evy as a sacrifice, with Fraiser, Evy's brother Jonathan (John Hannah), mysterious cult leader (and initially the bad guy) Ardeth Bay (Oded Fehr), and British RAF veteran Winston Havelot (Edward Fox) in hot persuit. There's enough bugs, gunbattles, action, romance, one-liners, organ-sucking, sword fights, undead mummies, and suspense to keep you interested for quite a while.
Very good. If you want other comments, read other reviews, please.
Eight stars.