Not even close to the first film

Rating: 6/10 (21 June 2006)

The Mummy Returns takes place 9 years after the first film. Rick O'Connell and Evey Carnahan are now married with a 9 year-old son who enjoys exploring as much as they do. Evey has been having strange visions, and it leads her to the discovery of a bracelet that once belonged to the legendary Scorpion King. When her son accidentally puts it on, an evil cult kidnaps him to revive the Scorpion King. Meanwhile, they've already raised Imhotep from the grave once again, and it's up to the O'Connells and Evey's brother John to stop the mummy and find their son. This is a pretty fun popcorn movie, but it lacks the same charm the first film had.
The plot to this movie is okay, but it's just not the same as the first one. Too many ridiculous plot devices have been added to make the movie more meaningful, but it fails. For instance, we find out that Evey is a reincarnation of Nefirtiri, a rival of Anck Su Namun in ancient Egypt. This leads to a fight between Evey and a reincarnation of Anck Su Namun near the end of the movie. Wait...Where was this reincarnation of Anck Su Namun in the first film when he needed her? Whatever. There is an action scene involving a bunch of pygmy mummies, and it is one of the most ridiculous scenes in the movie. The character of the Scorpion King was majorly hyped up in the trailers and through word of mouth, but the sad part is that The Rock appears as the Scorpion King for about 5 minutes at the beginning. The movie also uses a couple of the same scenes, such as pillars falling like dominoes instead of bookshelves, and a wall of water chasing a boat rather than a wall of sand chasing a plane. The special effects are terrible as well. The Scorpion King appears at the end of the movie as well, but as a CGI effect so bad, it looks like an N64 video game character.
Thankfully, the acting is just as good as the first film. Brandon Fraser and Rachel Weisz are great as a couple, and John Hannah is once again hilarious as Evey's brother. Arnold Vosloo plays the mummy once again, and does a good job, but sadly, due to everything else that's going on in the film, the mummy's return receives the least attention.
Overall this is a fun popcorn movie, but nowhere close to as good as the first movie.
6/10