Good fun action adventure Film with superb special effects

Rating: 8/10 (26 January 2015)

**** MILD SPOILERS ****
The Mummy is one of the most fun and entertaining good action adventure horror films that can be seen over and over again. This film is best described by the word "fun", there isn't much not to like and the film is overall well put together. The films starts out with a very promising layout of ancient Egypt in the time of Pharaoh Seti I. The special effects shown are very good and are far better than "normal" blockbusters of that time, the sequel, The Mummy Returns (2001), has far worse special effects, but is still an entertaining watch. The acting starts out a bit weak and the delivery is not too convincing for the setup of the story, luckily, the rest of the film improves greatly on this. Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz gave a good performance and Brendan Fraser as O'Connel just works. The comic relief is given by Kevin O'Connor as Beni and John Hannah as Jonathan, who both do an excellent job. O'Connor's role in aiding Imhotep is also very refreshing from the generic "funny guy" who is "just there", he has a purpose and never feels unneeded. One of the most hilarious scenes is when Beni tries to complement Imhotep on making a giant wall of sand to kill O'Connel. "I love this whole sand trick... it was beautiful... bastard", I laugh every time I see this scene, especially since Fraser was perplexed they kept that scene in the Film.
The action plays a very important role in The Mummy and refreshingly, it's done well and the camera-work is smooth and the editing doesn't dull the experience. Many blockbusters today make the mistake of editing too much, making a cut at the moment of impact, taking all the energy out of it. In The mummy, the camera lets you see when a hit is a hit without shaking the camera like a little child who has to get a flu-shot. The camera angles are wide and there is never annoying zoom-ins or weird close-up-and-then-pan-to-more-action-shots. Everything is just good and solid.
What makes this movie timeless, however unintuitive, are the special effects. Watching it, even in 2015, will not make you look at some effects and laugh about how bad they are. There are few classics that hold up this well to time. The half "juicy" (funny scene) mummy is ever as convincing and terrifying now as it was back then, a very impressive feat., It isn't intrusive or overdone, at the same time, the special effects are not the only thing that hold this movie up to being a very good experience. The music is very well done and is perfect for creating the atmosphere which makes this Films believable and exciting.
Watching the Film with Brendan Fraser's commentary is also a must, it makes re-watching the Film refreshing and it makes you laugh at even more scenes because you will remember Fraser's commentary the nth time you watch it.
The Mummy is a good Film, it knows what it is and is not afraid to sometimes mock itself. A must watch for when you want to see a very entertaining and excellent Film. Don't nit-pick every aspect of the movie and then, even if you have seen it 10 times before, it remains one of the best action Films in the action/adventure genre. Don't expect it to be a story without plot holes and just sit back and enjoy.