You Call Him Dr Jones, Maybe?

Rating: 7/10 (6 February 2007)

This is less a remake and more a re-imagining of the original Mummy movie. Where as the Boris Karloff version is pretty much an out and out 1930's horror, this is very much an action adventure in the style of Indiana Jones, a movie that The Mummy cannot help being compared to.
Much like Indiana Jones it harks back to the Saturday matinées of years gone by, but with a budget. The plot is, of course, simple. Ancient evil lovable rogue race against time comedy characters yadda yadda yadda. Let's be frank; this is standard adventure stuff, but here it is done well. Very well.
What this movie excels in is set scenes. Considering that this is an action flick it of course should be a given but let's be honest, it isn't always. From a wonderful opening sequence set in the past we have a fantastic 'Time Passes' effect to a bunch of Legionnaires facing off against the approaching Arab hordes. This pretty much sets the tone for the whole movie. From biplanes to river boat battles, this movie has everything you could really ask for. The highlight being a Harryhausen tribute with Brendan Fraser as Rick O'Connell battling re-animated mummies. How he manages to look so dashing with his tongue stuck so firmly in his cheek I'll never know.
Which brings me to the true strength of this movie, the humour. Again, much like Indiana Jones, The Mummy is a movie that is prepared to not take itself too seriously, but without verging into the overly camp, a trick that writer/director Summers failed to pull off with Van Helsing.. However the humour in The Mummy is even more pronounced than with Jones. Kevin J. O'Connor and Omid Djalili both create fantastic comedy side-kick types that manage to actually be funny, as opposed to just grating. But even the main stars show a flair for comedy. John Hannah's one line deliveries are bang on and Fraser, who has already played the comic role in movies such as George of the Jungle and California Man has a fantastic sense of timing. However the big 'comedy surprise' for me with this movie is the Leading Lady; (with this kind of movie, that term just feels right) Rachel Weisz. Her reactions to the insanity around her are fantastic, and she also provides us with one of the biggest laughs in the film as she single handedly destroys a library in a moment reminiscent of any number Howard Shore or Buster Keaton movies.
This movie is wonderful and, while some of the scenes may be frightening for young children, I think it is great fun for all the family.