Product: The Mummy Returns [VHS] (2001)
Rating: 3.0
Definitely an inferior sequel.
The title surmises it all: once again, the power-hungry mummy, Imhotep, returns to wreak havoc and conquer the world with the aid of the Anubis warriors, and only adventurers Rick and Evelyn O'Connell can stop him. Big-budget and incredibly lavish adventure film is filled to the brim with non-stop action, and unfortunately, not much of it is genuinely fun or thrilling. The jokes don't work as well this time around (mostly silly without being funny), background stories on the characters are unbelievably lame and forced (i.e. using reincarnation and prophecies to explain why our heroes act the way do)(I don't know about you, but the fact that they were "destined" to do this all along makes it a lot less fun than simply coincidentally getting caught up in a big adventure, like in the original), the special effects are often too silly and overused, the character interaction that made much of the original film so enjoyable is gone, and what we have here is a "rollercoaster ride" in desperate need of more genuine thrills. Fraser and Weisz still make a great couple, and the movie is still watchable and fairly enjoyable. But, I hate to say this, I just can't highly recommend the film. The 1999 original is still one of the best adventure films around, too bad this one ain't.