Romance makes movie complete

Rating: 10/10 (2 December 2001)

After seeing "The Mummy" in the theaters for the first time two years ago, I knew I would be hooked. I've watched it about twenty times since then, and as many people know, this movie does not get boring or less funny after watching it numerous times, in fact, I think it gets more and more thrilling each time. I began hoping for a sequel to be released, and when I heard that one was in the making, I was relieved that they weren't going to end this great storyline with just one film. When "The Mummy Returns" was finally released in theaters, it didn't recieve very many good reviews right away. I was dissapointed because I didn't understand how Stephen Sommers could direct such a great movie classic and then totally botch a promising sequel. I let the reviews get to me and I didn't see the movie while in the theaters. I waited until this past weekend to watch TMR on pay-per-view not expecting much due to the bad reviews, but I soon found out that, boy, were some of those critics wrong.
Right from the opening scene I knew I wasn't going to be disappointed. The action, special effects, acting, comedy, and romance were all better than it's prequel in my opinion. The plot was a little confusing, and the Scorpion King graphic at the end looked like the same one used in the video game, but all in all it was an extremely fun and enjoyable movie. I actually found myself watching it three times in a row. I probably could have watched it 24 hours straight, but I didn't want to ruin it right away.
The SFX in TMR were outstanding. The pymies were so amazing, and the Anubis warriors were excellent as well. But, on to the greater aspects of the film. I thought that Jonathan, played by John Hannah, is one of the funniest characters ever, his one-liners are terrific, I was laughing out loud during his lines. Arnold Vosloo is great as the title character, but could have been more like the original, he was not as powerful in this film but was good anyway. Many people disliked Alex O'Connell, played by newcomer Freddie Boath, but I found him to be quite funny and likable. He had many great lines and was sarcastic when the film needed it. He is a cute kid and l hope he will have a good acting career. Oded Fehr is wonderful as Ardeth Bay. He keeps the heroes grounded.
Meela/Anck-su-namun, played by Patricia Velasquez has some good scenes, but I found her to be not as great as the rest of the cast. I wasn't really looking forward to seeing The Rock as the Scorpion King in this film, but he wasn't as bad as I thought, even though he was only it for about three minutes, I would have labled him as an extra. It was all hype for him. My favorite part of "The Mummy Returns" was the great chemistry between Brendan Fraser (Rick) and Rachel Weisz (Evie). They looked like an actual couple in this film, unlike other recent movies. This was why I liked this one better than the prequel. A little bit of romance was what was missing from the first 2/3 of "The Mummy", and I am so glad it was included much more in this film. Brendan Fraser is very easy on the eyes and he looks like a down-to-earth guy, not like a stereotypical moviestar. I think this is why the two seem so believeable in TMR, they are just two normal people who are still very beautiful people. I am glad they made Evie more attractive in TMR, she deserves to show off her pretty eyes. Rick is great because he is still the same sarcastic, wise-guy, handsome hero, who has all the females in the theater (including myself) drooling and sighing, that he was in the first mummy movie.
I hope that they will make another sequel with Fraser, Weisz, Hannah, Vosloo, Fehr, and Boath all included. They can't take out any of these characters without the movie being butchered. I probably won't see "The Scorpion King" since Brendan and Rachel, my favorite characters, won't be in it. I know there are many others just like me who love the romance in this film. I highly recommend this film to anyone who likes action, SFX, comedy, romance, and good clean fun. I would give this movie a 9.9 out of 10 points with the 0.1 being subtracted because it wasn't long enough to really explain the plot in more depth. When it ended, I wished it wasn't over. This goes in my top 5 movies of all time.