Not Indiana Jones.

Rating: 5/10 (8 May 2001)

This review is a warning to potential movie goers. Watch Indiana
Jones (again) if that's what you're hoping for. This is no substitute.
"The Mummy Returns" has lots of props and effects and action, but
no depth, pacing, or inspirational force.
"The Mummy Returns" is so blatantly manipulative that it fails to
manipulate in a way that you can really appreciate. It is
cookie-cutter to the max with no transitional spaces between
moods. In fact it moves so quickly that it fails to establish any sort
of mood except a caricature of chaotic bewilderment. There's no
character development, so the characters remain largely one
dimensional. There's no depth to the story or the acting. It breaks
all "show don't tell" rules by exposing the background through
thickly applied 'convenient dialogue' between characters, who 'just
happen' to explain complex elements of the historical background.
There's enough action and rough plot material for three films, but
cramming it all into one just makes for a cartoonish spasm of a
movie.
Oh, and with $100,000,000 to spend, you'd think they'd at least get
someone with a mastery of English to read the script; characters
kept using "magi" (which is the plural of "magus") as a singular
noun when they'd certainly have known better.
Yes, the CGI is good in places, but it would be nice to use it in
service of a story instead of in place of a story. The Phantom
Menace had similar failings.