Yay! Just Plain FUN!

Rating: 9/10 (14 May 2001)

I didn't see "The Mummy" at the theater. I only saw it on DVD after Christmas, and I loved it.
I was afraid "The Mummy Returns" would be disappointing, as sequels so often are, and then I heard Ebert and Roeper both panned it, while they love "A Knight's Tale" (the trailers of which set my teeth on edge.) So, I was really leery when I went into the theater.
I LOVED it. So Izzy's accent was too cultured for his character? His character was building dirigibles in the middle of nowhere. Gee, he must have been someplace civilized. So Evie is a little more buxom? It's now the 1930s and she's almost ten years older. So why was the curator working for Imhotep? Try power and the anticipation of helping Imhotep run the world. You need to have that spelled out for you? Evie's fighting abilities are explained in the plot. Jonathan may be a cad, but he comes through in the clutch (and he HAS made the adventures profitable for our heroes, both times.)
I have a degree in anthropology. When I was a kid, I read everything I could on ancient Egypt and I still keep up on it. (I remember reading a passage on how to embalm a mummy to my mother at the lunch table.) But I still can appreciate Fantasy Ancient Egypt. I'll put this movie's Eqyptian scenes up to both "The Ten Commandments" and "The Egyptian." It's light years beyond "Land of the Pharoahs" - and Patrician Velazguez sure has Joan Collins beat.
Any of you read the Amelia Peabody series of books by Elizabeth Peters? I think Rick, Evie and their son bear a passing resemblance to Emerson, Amelia and their son, Ramses. No plagiarism, but I think someone with a hand in the script has read those books, too.
There was a British film company from the 1930s-40s that started their films with a man striking a big gong. Can't remember the company name, but somebody in the production of this movie sure did.
I will admit that the Scorpion King looked like he escaped from the "Screk" trailer.
So, all of you people agonizing about plot and character and lighting and nuance and what they had on the set for lunch, go make comments on "Shadow of the Vampire" and let the rest of us enjoy ourselves.