Product: The Mummy Returns [VHS] (2001)
Rating: 1.0
This is Why Sequels Shouldn't Be Made
While 1999's remake of "The Mummy" was an enjoyable enough film, with interesting characters, something happened along the way to the word processor while drafting the script for the sequel. The charm that the characters had in the first film (the smart but snappy librarian, the witty, urbane, but ne'er-do-well brother, and the American adventurer) just disappeared and the characters bear little resemblance to their namesakes in the first film. Even worse, there are too many special effects in this film. Some day, Hollywood will learn that special effects do not make a film. Endless computer-generated armies, computer generated mummies that move en masse across the scene, and so on. This film is so formulaic with its supporting characters (and of course, don't forget the special effects with the most high-powered dirigible the world has ever seen. Who knew a dirigibile could fly at warp speed????) It's all a tiresome bore. And the biggest logic flaw in the film---no cats! If they learned in the first film that mummies are afraid of cats, why wouldn't they stop at a pet store and pick up as many kitty-cats as they could while heading to the accursed cave? and if that's not all, the background music is too loud throughout the film. If this film doesn't leave you with a throbbing headache, then you better check yourself carefully. You may have become a mummy. Or, you'll just realize you wasted 2 hours and ten minutes on a film that seems to have been written in the same amount of time.