less sense of fun than original

Rating: 5/10 (10 May 2001)

What I liked the most about the original Mummy was it's sense of how absurd it was--the fate of the world really wasn't at stake, it was all just an excuse for some fun. That sense is missing from the sequel, where the filmmakers seem to think we will take it seriously if the world is threatened with apocalypse in 1933 (I suspect that if the world had been overrun by Annubis warriors in 1933 I would have read about it in my history books).
What I also find odd is that several scenes that were featured prominently in a "The making of" special on AMC were noticibly absent from the final film. That indicates the film may have suffered from some last minute script/editing changes. The special effects in the finale are also not that special, indicating last minute tinkering. The Mummy Returns is competently done, but give me another Indiana Jones installment.