The Mummy's Appeal, Unraveled

Rating: 8/10 (28 August 2015)

No, it's not Raiders of the Lost Ark, and no way, Boris Karloff is not to be found anywhere, but high adventure and winking good humor await in the swirling sands of an Egyptian desert in The Mummy.
Brendan Fraser is American adventurer "Rick O'Connell," a two- pistoled, high booted dude who knows where something big is buried.
Rachel Weisz is "Evelyn," a 1920s British Egyptologist who strikes a treasure hunting deal with Rick and promptly starts building some serious romantic chemistry with him in the classic push-pull, I despise you, I must have you vein.
The buried 'something big' is the property of "Imhotep," Arnold Vosloo's long dead (but not really) high priest of ancient Egyptian myth and magic. Imhotep is more of a plague, pox, locust, scorpion, sandstorm type of guy, someone for whom the kittenish tete-a-tetes between Rick and Evelyn hold no charm.
Oded Fehr and John Hannah come on screen in strong supporting performances to help Rick and Evelyn avoid Imhotep's wrath.
The entirety of the film has an old-timey Saturday matinée feel to it, and although it doesn't rise to the level of a blockbuster summer feature, you could describe it to a novice as perhaps the best B movie of cinema's modern era.
Much of the film's core appeal goes back to the spirited acting Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz supply, and to their significant chemistry together. Although romance must take a back seat to danger in an archaeology adventure flick, it bears noting that their chemistry as a couple is decidedly more compelling than the Indy and Marian pairing in "Raiders." As Raiders is the superior film, that is saying an awful lot about The Mummy's likability quotient, which is high.