More of the same but it's welcome!

Rating: 6/10 (6 May 2007)

This movie is a typical sequel, meaning that everything is bigger. More action, more special effects, more comedy, more new characters and more different plot lines. Is it all better? Perhaps if the movie was more original and not so much an extension of the first movie, then perhaps it would had been.
If you enjoyed the first "The Mummy", you'll probably also enjoy watching this movie. It's in the same style and follows the same characters, with just a few more new adjustments to it. Not all are for the best though.
Compared to the first movie, this movie obviously has an highly budget and it uses this for some more big scale battles, at the beginning and end of the movie. It also puts in some overall more action sequences and more traveling elements, which helps to provide the movie with its fun and adventurous feeling.
They also tried to put some more layers into the story, involving the same characters from the first movie but none of this ever really works out, since these plot line differ way too much from the characters as we got introduced to in the first movie. There also are some new characters in the movie. The O'Connell's now have a son. Why oh why do movies always feel the need to put in kids into the story. As a matter of fact the character is quite entertaining in the movie but at the same time annoying because he just feels so completely redundant. Luckily John Hannah is still present for the comical notes of the movie and Arnold Vosloo as the charismatic mummy. This is the role he definitely will be remembered for, even though it isn't a very demanding role.
Very much like the first movie launched the careers of Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah and Arnold Vosloo, this movie launched the acting career of The Rock. Yes he's painfully horrible in this movie, despite having no lines but he's such a great new action hero star. He definitely is the new Arnold Schwarzenegger, who obviously also wasn't the best actor around but still a big and popular one. It was also fun to see Alun Armstrong in the movie, though he's hard to recognize. Also Patricia Velasquez's role has been extended, which is a welcome thing.
Like most sequels, it's tries (too) hard to surpass its first movie, in terms of size and spectacle. Yes, it provides the movie with some great moments but yet the movie feels more of the same. It's not a bad thing, since the movie is still perfectly fun and entertaining but its lack of originality and new ideas is disturbing at times and makes me worried for "The Mummy 3", if there is ever going to be such a movie.
The ending is sort of an anti-climax, when a computer animated scorpion king appears, that looks nothing like The Rock and looks as if it came straight out of a playstation game. It's a bit of a disappointing ending but luckily the rest of the movie is good enough to compensate for this and still make this is perfectly fun and watchable movie.
6/10
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