A worthy, enjoyable ride.

Rating: 6/10 (4 May 2001)

I liked the new direction they took Evie, making her more like a
Cameron woman: tough. Very different from how she began in the
first film, but it still works. I like strong women in film. I hate the
"Help me, James," you so often get in Bond movies. So seeing
Rachel come out as this tough broad willing to risk her neck and
not afraid to get down and dirty with the boys in order to save her
family was very cool.
Rick's a bit older, and more cautious. He's got a family now and
doesn't want anything to happen to them. His best moments are
when Evie or his son, Alex, are in danger.
Speaking of Alex, the kid (Freddie Boath, I think) who plays him is
really good. A fine addition to the cast.
The rest of the returning cast is fine as well, especially Oded. He
gets beat up pretty good, but he's got some great scenes.
Acting-wise, the film is strong.
It's the effects that really mar the film. You can tell the movie was
rushed into theaters, unfortunately. They really should have
pushed this back till November. The old Mummy effects and
assorted returning tricks from the original look fine, but a great
many of the new stuff looks bad. The hot air balloon, in particular,
looks fake in almost every shot. And the final CG for the Scorpion
King, not too give too much away, is almost laughable. It really
looks silly. I've heard complaints that Anubis's dog warriors looked
fake, but hey, they're dog warriors - how real did you expect them to
look? They're fine. They get the job done.
There's also much less humor this time. The film is darker. The
gross factor has been pushed up a bit. What humor there is
depends a great deal on having seen the first film.
What works, though, are the personal relationships of the
characters. I really bought into Rick and Evie's relationship, and
that these people care for each other, and were willing to die for
one another. There is a very interesting juxtaposition of their
relationship and the one between Imhotep and Anck-Su-Anum,
culminating in a final moment for all four. The way each reacts to
their corresponding counterpart in that one moment is the real
resolution of the film, despite anything else that may occur after it.

As for the action, everything has been turned up a notch. While the
first had a fairly long passage in the middle with only one short
action sequence (on the boat), this film races from one action
sequence to another. It never really stops to take its breath. Some
may say this is a bad thing, but it never loses sight of the principal
characters along the way, and the action is strong.
The threat is also more real this time, culminating in the death of
one of the returning leads, rather than a side character like Beni
from the first film. It's a shock that works for its immediacy and
potency.
Like its predecessor, the film is driven not by the men, but by
women (and, in this case, children). It is Evie and Anck-Su-Anum
who propel the story forward, along with young Alex, and who force
things to their eventual conclusion. Even The Mummy himself
almost takes a back seat on the ride, as the O'Connells are forced
to deal with myriad bad guys. But he pops up every once in a while
to muss their hair and make up. To see an action film driven not by
men but by women is a rarity, and even more rare is one that
works for a male audience. But this one does.
All in all, the film is a fine sequel. I missed the humor of the
original, and the effects should have been given more time, but the
action is good, and the characterization is strong. This isn't just a
remake of the original. They took the story in a new direction and
turned things up a notch. The core of the film is the O'Connell
family. If you buy into them and their relationship, and care for them
as they care for one another, then you'll live with the occasional
awful CG and won't bemoan the lack of humor too much. If not,
then it's going to be a very long film.