Extravagant and sprawling romp through some fairly familiar, but involving, territory which encompasses upstanding protagonists; end of the world plots and slight romances.

Rating: 6/10 (30 March 2011)

The Mummy will begin in that old fashioned, mythical manner in that an off screen narrator verbally informs us of a legacy of events which prelude the body of the film; the tone that of an old storyteller, even fable-like in its sounding as the oral informing us of a time gone by and actions which happened is put across. It's an opening slice of narration that might just as well as seen its scripture begin with the line: "Once upon a time, long ago, there was a great warrior....." Stephen Sommers' film will go on to flit manically from tone to tone and from content to content; a harmless, teen-aged orientated throwaway action flick one minute, a rather hardened and somewhat full on horror piece venturing into territory you just do not initially entrust it will go anywhere near, the next. His film is a romping, old fashioned escapade through adventurous territory and old fashioned mythical sensibilities; a film with a foot in the science fiction, what with its content linked to characters able to bring people back from the dead and flesh eating monsters that do not exist; horror and post-Indiana Jones action adventure.
The aforementioned story of the opening loosely goes on to describe a forbidden romance set in an alternate ancient Egypt between the then Pheroh of that time's partner and one of his entrusted high priests named Imhotep (Vosloo), something that leads to her arranged death and the sentencing of the priest plus his aides to live mummification, a process loosely described by one of the leads a little later on as something not particularly pleasant if we weren't already familiar with such things - although, it does beg the question as to whether it's even possible to actually be alive during said process for anything beyond that of about two seconds.
Fast-forward from ancient Egypt to the same nation in the 1920s and enter the lead, an American mercenary named Rick O'Connell (Fraser); a brave man, a man with the ability to take control of a hostile situation as he leads a band of men against some aggressors at a protected burial site; to use an array of weaponry with consummate ease and who additionally sports an array of meal insignia on his tunic suggesting experience and expertise within this field – he is the ultimate warrior of the age, a modern-day action man eventually going up against the cursed; blood thirsty values and mindsets of that of the ancient. Also in Egypt, and not so far away, is Evelyn Carnahan (Weisz); an educated English woman working in a library whom outlines her credentials and skills to her employer purely for out benefit when he challenges her. She's a little pit perky; a tad goofy because of the mess she makes at her workplace and the manner in which she makes it, at one point having to balance precariously on a ladder.
Her laid back and often amusing brother, named Jonathan (Hannah), then brings into her possession an artifact which could spell some serious archaeological ramifications. Following the obtaining of an imprisoned O'Connell, given he is vital to where it is the artifact will lead them, the trio set off for the deeper; sandier and more barren spots of Egypt to uncover greater truths about the trinket it turned out Jonathan stole from O'Connell, a trinket which is more broadly linked to that of the opening ancient Egypt-set story. What will come to form between Evelyn and Rick is a lightly played but fun enough romance beginning with O'Connell dismissing the moment he kissed her from behind his barred jail window as something which "seemed like a good idea at the time" because he was "about to be hung".
On the journey with them, but in opposing camps, are some greedy American treasure hunters whom enjoy their gunfights along with their own English academic, who's sexist, and led overall by the weaselly, one-time buddy of Rick's named Beni (O'Connor). The two troupés rolling along dusty; desert terrains to orchestral bursts of orchestral music, MacGuffin in hand, as the sun beats down and the treasure lies out there somewhere, is quite good fun at the best of its times; although Rick's ongoing and somewhat inexplicable feud with Beni is hardly the stuff of Blondie and Tuco. One thing leads onto another, the eventual resurrecting of Imhotep spelling disaster for the rest of everyone as he wrecks his revenge on the world he still sees as the one that forbade his genuine love for another. The film engineers into a race against time against the seemingly indestructible villain, the moment he's got all his bits and pieces together to complete the resurrection ritual the moment spelling disaster for all.
Sommers' film is good fun in the long run. It is the sort of film that has its characters crack jokes and break one-liners in the face of an apocalypse, and in light of people formulating angry views on characters constantly outrunning explosions or things that they ought not be able to in films of this ilk, actually has a scene in which it sticks around to see what happens to the poor bastard unable to get away from the proverbial danger: the result is less than pleasant. The film is not without flaw, but it's difficult to get too angry over a piece as self-aware as The Mummy is of the old fashioned, spirited romp that it is. Look at the scene in which the protagonist even identifies his quest as one in which rescuing the damsel in distress; defeating the villain and saving the world must be achieved so as to attain parity, labelling it "the usual". With a well-sewn romance manoeuvred into the film and a great deal of threat persistently looming over proceedings; The Mummy is a decent, enjoyable little B-movie adventure which above most other things, is at least refreshingly honest.