Product: The Mummy Returns [VHS] (2001)
Rating: 4.0
Action, Adventure, and Rachel Weisz
Now THIS is a great popcorn film!! After seeing the trailer on the Ultimate Edition of the original 'Mummy' DVD, I knew this was one summer movie I couldn't pass up. And you know what? I was right. Even detractors of 'The Mummy Returns' will agree: This film packs in more than your money's worth of action, adventure, and special effects. In fact, the film feels very similiar in pacing to 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'. In my opinion, these two rank among the best rollercoaster movies of all time.It's unfair to say that 'The Mummy Returns' has no plot, when really, it has a very interesting, even epic plot. The beginning of the film details the fall of a great warrior called The Scorpion King, and how his resting grounds could unlock an ancient evil that could end the world. Whether or not the mythology is accurate is irrelevant; it's close enough to our romantic images of ancient Egypt, so it'll suffice. Unfortunately, Sommers did very little to explain this complex plot. While the action scenes in the movie are fantastic (I'll praise them later), they force the exposition to be hastily crammed, and mostly given as dialogue by Ardeth Bey. Hey there's so much action that the movie even forgets to show us its title (which we obviously know, but it's a formality that I like). Also, the return of The Mummy and his mistress were unnecessary. While I like Arnold Vosloo and Patricia Velasquez, the story could have been fine without them. Their inclusion adds in another bit of continuity, but with two major villains, both get short-changed on character development.But of course the real meat of the movie is action and special effects, which are here in spades. The movie starts out in a booby-trapped temple, where the O'Connells find a rare artifact. The villains then strike at Connell Manor, where a big fight scene insues. Evie is kidnapped, so the heros storm a local museum to save her, then escape via a double-decker bus while being chased by mummies. And this is only the first hour of the movie!! The sequences are fast, energetic, and backed by an Indidana Jones-worthy score. The huge amounts of CGI work is also worth mentioning. It's not as realistic as ILM's past projects, but I think they weren't trying to go for realism. Plus, George Lucas soaked up the best talent for his Star Wars movies. The only truly bad CGI sequences are the wall of water and the Scorpion King at the end. Everything else looks great.Special mention must be made of Rachel Weisz. If nothing else, buy this film to see her in action!! While she was already a talented actress in the original 'Mummy', nothing in the world prepared me for just how stunningly gorgeous she looks in this one. Her fight scenes are amazingly done, and she'll keep your eyes glued to the screen when the action and effects don't.Universal has done a great job with presenting the movie. The picture quality looks great, and the audio track makes full use of surrounds. Unfortunately the extras are a disappointment. There are a few gems - the commentary track is great, as it re-teams Sommers and Duscay, and their witty, informative, banter. There is a fluffy making of documentary and some good outtakes presented like a music video. There is a section that shows how various CG sequences were created, but they require too much clicking (a common trait of Universal DVD's). All of the rest are advertisments, including tons of preview footage of the new Scorpion King movie, and a worthless tour inside the new Mummy attraction at Universal theme parks (hope they won't really have actors running around inside like they have here)This is a great movie. It has it's flaws, but the action and adventure more than make up for it. And if those don't get you interested, then Rache Weisz's beauty and strong performance are worth the admission price alone. Check this film out!