A Frantic Second Edition...

Rating: 6/10 (23 September 2008)

"The Mummy Returns" is the bigger and flashier sequel to 1999's "The Mummy", itself a nicely updated homage to the Boris Karloff classic. The good news is that the excellent cast of the "The Mummy" have returned for the sequel. Unfortunately, bigger and flashier does not make up for a lack of plot and character development; "The Mummy Returns" is entertaining but ultimately disappointing. The movie opens with a retelling of the Legend of the Scorpion King (played by The Rock) who vanished in ancient times but can be revived with the right magic. Flash forward to the present of 1933, where Rick (Brendan Fraser) and Evie (Rachel Weisz) have married and had time to raise eight-year-old son Alex while continuing their adventures in Egyptian archeology. Unfortunately, the past, both recent and distant, reaches out to touch their lives. Rachel's never-do-well brother Jonanthan (John Hannah) inadavertently draws the attention of a mysterious group seeking to resurrect the past using a bracelet with magical powers. In a chaotic attack on O'Connell Manor, Alex, wearing the bracelet, is kidnapped. The remainder of the movie is a series of set-piece action sequences as Rick, Evie, and Jonathan, accompanied by the Egyptian warrior Ardeth Bey, chase the returned Mummy Imhotep and his army of the dead in order to rescue Alex. A final confrontation at the edge of the Underworld will pit Rick against both Imhotep and the revived Scorpion King. The special effects are the highlight of the movie, each sequence more visually stunning than the last. The Scorpion King in the final scenes looks sadly out of place is what is otherwise a CGI festival. Lacking is a coherent plot or any sense of reverence for the original storyline that made "The Mummy" worth watching. At two and a half hours, the movie is overlong, and delivers very little originality. This movie is recommended to those who didn't see the original movie and will enjoy the special effects without missing the storyline.