"Rescue the damsel in distress, kill the bad guy, save the world."

Rating: 8/10 (21 October 2006)

Stephen Sommers' "The Mummy" (1999) is exactly what a summer action-adventure flick should be. "The Mummy" begins in ancient Egypt when the Pharaoh's choice concubine, Anck Su Namun (Patricia Velasquez) and High Priest Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo), kill the Pharaoh and Anck Su Namun kills herself. Heartbroken, Imhotep attempts to raise her from the dead, but is stopped by the Pharaoh's guards. For his crime, Imhotep is mummified alive and cursed, never to enter the after life. But in 1923, an archaeological dig awakens the Mummy. Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser), Evelyn Carnahan (Rachel Weisz) and her brother, Jonathon (John Hannah), vow to destroy the Mummy. They are aided by the mysterious Ardeth Bay (Oded Fehr), a man who's people have guarded the Mummy for centuries. When I first saw the cast list for "The Mummy", I was skeptic; Brendan Fraser as an action hero? But he pulls it off and is exactly what the character of Rick requires- a goofy guy who somehow manages to save the world. Weisz is wonderful as well. Surprisingly, Evelyn Carnahan is a dimensional character, rather than just some floozy stuck into the film as a romantic interest for our hero. But the best performance has to go to John Hannah. Whenever he is on screen, I can't take my eyes off of him and I laugh at almost every line he utters. As it is a Stephen Sommers film, the special effects are of course amazing  for 1999 at least, and are quite good even now. I like to call the mummy a "pre-Pirates of the Caribbean creature". But it's great despite the major advancements since then. The script is also well done (it was written by Sommers as well), containing some incredibly entertaining dialogue and plot twists. If you are like me and enjoy action-adventure films, than "The Mummy" is another film you must see. Definitely in my top 10 films.