Product: The Mummy Returns [VHS] (2001)
Rating: 5.0
Pure escapism at its best
I absolutely loved the first movie "The Mummy". The storyline was different than the old black and white film adaptation. I thought the writing was a lot better than the original black and white movie. Anyways, after loving the first movie, I knew I had to see the sequal "The Mummy Returns". I loved the sequal even moreso and had to own a copy of the movie on tape. Most movies, the sequals [stinks] unless it is Star Wars or Jaws. I must say that I found myself enjoying "The Mummy Returns" even more. Arnold Vosloo as Imhotep was made for that role. I was extremely excited to see Oded Fehr return for the sequel as the dashingly handsome warrior Ardeth Bay. Oded and Arnold are two of the handsomest acts I have ever laid eyes upon. There is an unspoken intensity in their abilities that made their characters more believable. Although his role was relatively short in the film, I thought The Rock did a believable job as The Scorpion King which laid the foundation for the prequel "The Scorpion King" out now in theatres. The computer graphics of The Scorpion King was cheesy as velveeta but I can't really complain. I absolutely loved Patricia Velaquez as Imhotep's love interest the deliciously wicked Anck Su Namuth. I think my favorite scene with Patricia and Arnold was when Imhotep was bringing his long lost love's soul. Without giving too much information away, it broke my heart to see Anck's true colors revealed, that she was more concerned about herself than Imhotep himself. Frankly I thought Rick's and Evie's song Alex was a bit on the annoying side as was Evie's brother. I also thought it was very corny tto see that Evie was the reincarnated soul of Anck Su Namuth's stepdaughter Nefertitti. Cheesy but it was entertaining to watch Evie's visions of her as Nefertitti. Purely fictional, I thought both "The Mummy" and "The Mummy Returns" did a superb job at not patronizing or disrespecting Egyptian culture with stupid stereotypes which often happens in a lot of movies. Yeah there were a lot of velveeta moments in "The Mummy Returns" but overall I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It is a good popcorn movie. Pure bliss in terms of escapism and fantasy. Excellent special effects and graphics and of course the presence of Arnold Vosloo, Patricia Velasquez, and Oded Fehr really made this movie for me.