Extremely Disappointing.

Rating: 4/10 (5 May 2001)

THE MUMMY was a surprise hit in 1999. It at all of the elements of the great INDIANA JONES films with a lot of originality. Plus the characters were all likeable and the dialogue was extremely witty. This year, we are presented with THE MUMMY RETURNS, a highly disappointing sequel that is loud, noisy and impersonal.
The movie opens with background information on The Scorpion King. This is handled well and this movie could have been just about him. Then, without ever getting a title credit, we move to Egypt of 1933. We already see our heroes stumbling upon relics that relate to The Scorpion King. They find an artifact and take it with them, but unknowingly start a booby trap. Needless to say, they escape back to London with their son, who places the artifact on his wrist and has 7 days to find The Scorpion Kings lair before he dies. This is an interesting movie itself, but no, we forgot about The Mummy. Well, an Anck-Su-Namun look-a-like and others try to resurrect The Mummy so that he can kill The Scorpion King and be `more powerful.' Confused? I sure was.
The plot to THE MUMMY RETURNS is simply a mess. It has too much going on and doesn't stop to let you relate and enjoy the characters. They give you just enough plot to put action sequences around them. The dialogue, while clever at times, is delivered horribly to even attempt to be witty or interesting. Sure, they are saying something but we really don't care, because if it isn't a Mummy soldier chasing them, it is little pigmy skeletons pulling everyone down under the grass similar to the raptor scene in JURASSIC PARK II. The things that made the first one so good (fun characters, good acting) are abandoned for non-stop and numbing action sequences. And on top of that, the movie isn't scary at all. At least the first film had its tense moments. And when the story tries to be tender and serious, you can't help but think, `It'll be OK.'
The special effects are also a problem. It seems as if the filmmakers want to show the effects to you so quickly that they abandon all tension or horror that the first film tried. You can help but think of the droid army in THE PHANTOM MENANCE when you see the `dog' army in the desert. How many times do we need to see a mummy or another creature stretch their mouth open wide? It was done a lot in the first film. Seeing it now didn't make it more interesting. And when we finally see The Scorpion King, we are just so overwhelmed that we just want it to be over.
It was fun seeing the characters again and how they changed. O'Connell didn't change much. He was given some parental instincts, but the script made them seem forced. Evelyn is much more physical than she was before. She isn't afraid to make a fist and fight and some of this leads to her interesting past. Jonathan is back but he is given the worst dialogue, so it makes him look even more idiotic. The rest of the cast does a good job but is given little to do, including The Mummy himself.
I just can't help but feel disappointed and bored with THE MUMMY RETURNS. If they had taken the time to stop and let us enjoy the characters rather than the effects, this could have been a better film.