a movie with mythical allusions

Rating: 10/10 (10 May 2001)

*vague mild spoiler warning*
First, I must say this movie is not so much a sequel but a
*continuation* of the first movie, even though it takes place 8 years
later. Alone, Mummy Returns does not work; it requires the movie
goer to know the first film well before seeing it.
As for the film itself, it uses some interesting story telling
techniques that further defines Evie's and Rick's character; they
have mythical origins. That is what makes this movie great. Evie
is an important reincarnated Egyptian character from the past and
Rick is the hero who discovers himself (he realizes his origins
near the movie's end) -- this is stuff Joseph Campbell would talk
about. To see them riding that hydrogen balloon-boat was
reminiscent of the solar boat that Ra sails in on his daily journey
across Egypt (i.e. the Sun's daily journey). The technology used to
represent this image was highly appropriate, in my opinion. For
the characters, they are like gods out to do justice and good
against the sea of corruption and evil (which Anubis, Imhotep,
Scorpion King and Anck-Su-Namun represented).
While the CG is not as great as the first movie, there was new stuff
tried out which doesn't quite work. The vast armies of Anubis
warriors and Magi soldiers were fine, but the cg work on the most
basic of tricks (i.e. the oasis jungle as it is being sucked up) just
didn't work for me. It looked too crisp. Perhaps if the spfx people
used traditional special effects methods, the resulting shots would
have looked better. Also, the Rock's final appearance would have
been better if he was actually there for filming instead of a cg
rendered version of him.