A sumptuous feast in the truest sense of the word.

Rating: Null/10 (11 May 2001)

Like a Toy Story 2 complex, more of everything, they reference the original and a million other movies in no small way, through Terminator 2, to The Lost World, and an ending that borrows heavily from Star Wars Episode I. Everyone knows they got the energy from Indiana Jones for both movies but this one doesn't really rip off any particular part of the series. The acting is great, there is no woodenness or badly spoken lines, and every character gets a claim to fame. The biggest problem is that there is so much luscious digital that it leaves a pretty cartoony feel, I think perhaps they did go overboard with that effects work.
The story is comprehensive and relentless, it just keeps on moving. They had to take the characters to the next level or it would not have been enough. In the words of Liam Neeson "it's probably a bit too much to take in in one sitting, that's why you have to see it two and three times" he said that of Episode I, which I disagree with, EI was pretty cut and dried after one sitting but this twists and turns with maximum content all through.
Basically the beginning leaves you dying for more and more. The Scorpion King and his army after many a battle, ending in a failed war campaign is exiled and as the sole survivor he makes a pact with the Coyote God Anubis, dirt simple, his soul in exchange for not dying of thirst. A bit of a Spawn type of arrangement. The god accepts and he leads the Army of Anubis Warriors and after all is conquered him and his army are put on the back burner for 3, 000 or so years.
The exact details of how he and his army are raised and what determines when are a little hard to follow but basically, a week after Rick and Evelyn open the chest containing his bracelet he and his army will be out and about. Now theres a bad guy who wouldn't mind having the army lead against the world but the only problem is, in order to control the army you have to kill the Scorpion King, thats where Imhotep Aka, The Mummy (Arnold Vosloo) comes into it. Imhotep resurrected is the only being who could ever do so (or is he). So fossilised in an amber like substance (from the original) he gets shipped to London along with the baddy and his enterage in pursuit of the Oconnels who split with the Scorpion Kings bracelet. After a hell of a chase sequence from four mummies, courtusy of a resurrcted Imhotep the action heads back to Egypt for a million more fight scenes and chase sequences, mummies, mini-mummies, armed guards and thier Seti Bodyguard Descendant from the original who gets a much larger and cool part.
To get a clear overview of this movie you have to see it more than once, which is not to say there isn't plenty to warrant doing so. This movie is rich with all the summer blockbuster goods and a record breaking weekend gross to prove it. It made nearly 70 million winter dollars by then but has only moved just past 80 since. I wish it all the best, this a worthy sequel to The Mummy and may just succeed where it failed, I would like to see it lop Hannibal off within another 5 weeks, a not unrealistic possibility, see this one, you'll definitely get your moneys worth.