A hoot

Rating: 8/10 (3 August 1999)

Having already done solid business Stateside, The Mummy rumbles to our shores like a minor sea squall before the Star Wars tsunami sweeps eveything before it on July 16. Don't be put off, however, by the inevitable comparisons to the Indiana Jones movies (hardly an insult to any Hollywood actioner, anyway), as this is a marvellous way to while away two hours of anyone's time.
Basically a big-budget makeover of those Forties Saturday morning serial adventures your parents always rave about, The Mummy doesn't have an original moment throughout Â– but it really doesn't matter. Director Sommers is no Spielberg, and Brendan Fraser is certainly no Harrison Ford; but the film careers along from scene to preposterous scene without stopping for breath. It's not until you've left the theatre with a stupid grin that you realise you've actually witnessed nothing new to the canon of adventure movies. The actors wisely allow the story to develop through big, brash effects, adopting instead the school play style of faintly embarrassed hamminess.
Basically Indiana Jones meets Scooby Doo, with the story largely influenced by the latter. It would be easy to pick fault with such an enterprise (one gripe would be that the mummy shows himself too early), but that would just be mean. Abandon all notion of film theory, order your popcorn (large), and enjoy the ride.