Product: The Mummy Returns [VHS] (2001)
Rating: 4.0
The Mummy Returned but the "magic" didn't
"The Mummy" is one of my favorite films. The effects were excellent, the music was good and the film was exciting and action packed, but most of all there was a special chemistry on screen between the actors and that made the film so much fun to watch.In "The Mummy Returns" I was expecting and hoping for the same magical chemistry that made the first one so much fun to watch and it just didn't happen. I can't help but feel that the special effects were enhanced and, it seemed, made more important then the story or the acting. Both of which felt contrived, almost as though the director felt as if he put the cast on the set together the same thing would happen on screen as did in the first movie and that just didn't work. The actors still need a script and some direction to recapture that same feel. Unfortunately, neither the script, with all it's witty moments in the first movie, nor the screen moments and expressions were present, which leads me to feel as though the director didn't provide the actors with the right stimulus to draw out an equal performance.So why did I give the movie four stars? Bottom line... I still enjoyed the film and although I felt somewhat slighted compared to the first one, I only had to remind myself "it's a sequel," never as good as the original and take the movie at face value. See it just for what it was a special effects film designed more to push the technical envelope of special effects for sheer entertainment then for it's acting and on-screen moments between the characters and at this they succeeded admirably.Whether you have seen the first movie or not, if you like special effects and allot of action you will enjoy this film. Buy it!This review relates to the cinematic release