"The Mummy" is a great blockbuster film mixing adventure with humor in the right measure

Rating: 8/10 (4 July 2020)

Mummies, Ancient Egypt, mysticism, curses, legends are ingredients that have always aroused the public's fascination, especially as it is a very distant time for humanity that holds many secrets and mysteries. When "Raiders of the Lost Ark" was released in 1981 and we were introduced to archeologist adventurer Indiana Jones, success was immediate with a story that mixed action, adventure and legends involving historical and mythical artifacts. A few decades later, Universal brings yet another adventure that explores the theme, being written and directed by Stephen Sommers and starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah and Kevin J. O'Connor, with Arnold Vosloo in the title role. like the revived mummy. Filming began in Marrakech, Morocco, with the crew having to endure dehydration, sandstorms and snakes while filming in the Sahara.
In 1926, a group of archaeologists discovered a tomb in the lost city of Hamunaptra. Inside the tomb found the body of Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo), the priest of Pharaoh Seti (Aharon Ipalé), who was mummified alive as well as having received the most terrible curse for having slept with Pharaoh's lover and, moved by sickly jealousy and love, to have killed Pharaoh. However, when one of the expedition members reads a manuscript that was found by the group and brings Imhotep back to life, he resurfaces full of hatred and only thinks about meeting his beloved and destroying everyone who crosses his path, bringing with him the ten plagues from Egypt.
"The Mummy" is a loose remake of the 1932 film of the same name starring Boris Karloff in the title role. Originally intended to be part of a low-budget horror series, the film turned out to be a blockbuster adventure film, with its vision of The Mummy "as a sort of Indiana Jones or Jason and the Argonauts with the mummy as the creature giving the hero a hard time. Universal liked the idea so much that it approved the concept and increased the budget from $ 15 million to $ 80 million. This version of Sommers is very happy to develop a script with all the elements that a big blockbuster should, mixing comedy, mysticism, romance, adventure and terror in the right measure, counting also with impressive visual effects and a soundtrack that give a more realistic and imposing tone to the work.
In this work, the director knew how to bring together that ingenuity already lost in the 70s / 80s, all the elements that make a blockbuster easy to appeal to the public, whether in the charismatic conception of the characters, in the sense of grandeur, a humor that he never abandons. the tape, or in the attachment to the climate of adventure. Sommers, at the time of The Mummy, a reboot of Universal's classic franchise, was a nostalgic. Establishing his atmosphere of adventure from the first seconds with the visual joke on the Universal logo, Sommers not only gathers all the visual and narrative elements that establish an adventure, but also punctuates his film with a rich (even if never deep or complex) range details, facts and theories about, fictional or not, involving archeology and all its symbology, which guarantees a constant verbalization of curiosities about ancient Egypt, almost a historical joke.
The script follows only a few points in common with the feature film of 32: the mummy is called Imhotep and aims to recover his great love, which was also called Anck-Su-Namun and the fact that his powers increase over time. But Stephen Sommers changes a little: instead of making a tense film, he decides to go on an adventure with influences from pulp literature and with hints of 1930's adventure films. Just pay attention to the characterization of Rick, who resembles the typical adventurous hero from that time, in addition to Fraser sometimes being inspired by Errol Flynn. But what Sommers does with skill is how both in the script and in his direction he mixes these classic elements with modern elements in the cinematic language. Unfortunately, one of the negative points is that the Imhotep tragedy ceases to be the main focus of the story and ends up that the high priest is not developed as he should fall into the old cliché of wanting to take over the world. The viewer feels as if Imhotep were more distant, but such a change is understandable in certain parts since it is an adventure film, but the sense of disappointment is present in any case.
One of the reasons that makes the film work is its cast. Fraser and Weisz, caricatures in the right measure and talented in establishing their chemistry on the scene, clearly embark on the game and play with the interaction of their characters, establishing a necessary empathy for the audience to enjoy the adventure with greater pleasure. Fraser has great comic timing and screen presence. It's as if the camera really almost chases the actor for how good he is to be seen. Rachel Weisz shows herself to be an actress with a very strong personality and who escapes the stereotype of the helpless girl. As much as the character was becoming more badass according to the progress of the franchise, this film shows that only with her intelligence and because of the charm of Rachel Weisz the character was already interesting in itself. John Hanna looks great as the film's comic relief, a character who doesn't think straight about his actions and only thinks about riches. Arnold Vosloo, like the feared monster of the title, hits the antagonist on the scene, even though his threatening power is never really realized for the public, something equally hampered by the constant close-ups on the creature's digitized face.
The grandeur of The Mummy is what first stands out. Almost twenty years after its release, and even though it is far from being one of the visual references of those years, the film still enchants and convinces with its creativity in the design of scenes, manipulation of visual effects and control of action scenes (how not to remember the wall of sand with Imhotep's face?). As much as Sommers is not Spielberg and despite his hand in some comedic moments that just don't work, in addition to some clichés abusive to patience, it is in the constant identity of self-parody and a relaxed atmosphere that The Mummy breathes its cinema identity that entertains an audience that, whether in the 90s or today, is looking for an adventure that is agile, lively, funny, visually exuberant and that brings together characters of great charisma. The package here is complete. These range from the type of humor in the film to more grotesque scenes with Imhotep, something that gets lost during the franchise by overdoing more modern elements like slow motion, frame acceleration and excessive special effects. But as Sommers proposes to the viewer a good matinee adventure film, he delivers it very successfully. In addition to having good scares during the screening and great comic relief from the immense charisma of Brendan Fraser.
And as much as Sommers doesn't cling to realism at any time, the competence of technical work transports the public faithfully to the arid, dry and hot desert climate, whether by Adrian Biddle's photography that hits the color palette, in the costumes of John Bloomfield collaborating for the retro identity of the adventure. In addition to a very detailed reconstruction of the time, not only from the 1930s, but mainly from Ancient Egypt where the prologue takes place. Most of the feature's special effects work to this day, especially when Imothep is regenerating that he is not just a mummy that takes the bands off, but that he shows them along with his degenerated muscles and organs. It is really scary and distressing.
The visual effects were provided by Industrial Light & Magic, which mixed cinema and computer generated images to create the title Mummy. The producers wanted a fresh look at the Mummy so that they could avoid comparisons to previous films. John Andrew Berton, Jr., Visual Effects Supervisor at Industrial Light & Magic began to develop his eye three months before filming began. He said he wanted the Mummy to "be mean, difficult, unpleasant, something that had never been seen by the public before". To create the Mummy, Berton used a combination of live action and computer graphics, combined with the makeup prostheses and digital pieces on actor Arnold Vosloo's face during filming, in order to achieve "a threatening and realistic mummy".
We also have the striking soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith, which highlights the grandeur of that scenario and all the fantasy imagined by Sommers amid deserts and pyramids. Goldsmith's music, with orchestrations provided by Alexander Courage is one of the feature's assets. Like many Goldsmith tracks, the main theme uses extensive brass and percussion elements. The composer also used sparing amounts of vocals, highly unusual for most of his work. The composer changes the tone of the film very well, going from adventure to terror in a constructed way, never abrupt. It ranges from more epic themes with sounds of brass and opera to calmer themes of love. It is a strong element that helps to set the tone of the film.
Being a huge box office success enabling the creation of a trilogy, "The Mummy" is a great blockbuster film mixing adventure with humor in the right measure. Even though in terms of genre and quality, it distances itself a lot from the 32 film, this film deserves to be seen preferably with a big bag of popcorn because it will be a fun trip. Anyway, A Mummy is so competent and honest in the gathering of its elements and in its imposition of great production that it becomes difficult not to be delighted with its successes, that for a film so open to concessions to the public, there are many. It is an organic, nostalgic and absolutely functional adventure.