Note: The following review contains portions from the previous HD-DVD review of "The Mummy." The technical sections for Video, Audio and Extras have been updated to reflect the differences between the two formats´ releases. The entire review has been re-edited and updated, but the majority of the text is simply recycled from the earlier review.
The 1999 film "The Mummy" was quite successful and a sequel was quickly developed and rushed into production, arriving two years later. This second film is a formulaic sequel that films at times like a rehash of the original and includes all of the primary characters from the first film and introduces a second villain in the form of the Scorpion King, who is brought to life by wrestling´s Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. "The Mummy Returns" succeeds easily in delivering the fun and excitement of the first film. This is another picture that is wall-to-wall action that doesn´t relent until the credits roll and even then you are expecting something else to happen. The film is a bit unusual in the fact that even the nemesis of the first film is written back into the story and has an important role in the second film. The franchise continuation I had surmised would have been to have Rick O´Connell (Brendan Fraser) set out on all new adventures and face different foes and circumstances, but "The Mummy Returns" is a sequel for its heroes and its villains.
The events of the film take place roughly eight years after the first film. Rick O´Connell and Evelyn Carnahan (Rachel Weisz) married just after the defeated Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo) and now have a son, Alex (Freddie Boath). Alex is a smart and curious boy who works with his parents on their archeological digs and is inventive and poised to continue in his father´s footsteps. One night, at the O´Connell manor, Alex takes a shiny gold bracelet and replaces it with a candlestick to emulate it weight. He puts on the bracelet, and is shown a holographic image of ancient Egypt. He is also unable to remove the bracelet from his arm. The bracelet is that of Anubis and it will lead the wearer to an Oasis and is useful in the reincarnation of the Scorpion King, a warrior who sold his soul to Anubis in exchange for almighty power in conquering his rivals in a bloody war five thousand years earlier and upon his return, possesses the powers to destroy the modern world.
The princess shown during the Imhotep flashbacks in the first film, Meela Nais (Patricia Velasquez) has been reincarnated and is working towards reincarnating Imhotep once again. This time, Imhotep is needed to battle the forthcoming return of the Scorpion King and gaining control over the vast armies of Anubis. Meela and Imhotep are not the only reincarnated folk in the sequel. Both Rick and Evie previously existed in ancient Egypt. O´Connell was a Medjai warrior and was in charge of protecting the princess Meela. Evie is the true reincarnation of the princess Nefertiri, who was to protect the bracelet from evil doers in ancient times. To cleanly summarize these reincarnations, Rick formerly protected Evie, who formerly protected the bracelet from the likes of Imhotep and Meela. Of course, young Alex is the only person that can use the bracelet and this all is used to explain how Rick and Evie were destined to be together and how they form three sides of a pyramid that represents a cycle of power and reincarnation of the ancient powers of Anubis.
The film features many exciting and action filled sequences as the family of reincarnated ancients battle Imhotep and the Scorpion King´s legions. Ardeth Bey (Oded Fehr) returns to join his friends and help bring an end to the forces of evil and Jonathan (John Hannah) is back with his bumbling ways to slow down the efforts of Rick and Evie as they battle pygmies, mummies and the War Dogs of Anubis. My personal favorite sequences involved the Double-Decker bus chase through the ancient streets of London, as the O´Connell clan is chased by four amazingly quick and amazingly agile mummies. This scene occurred fairly early in the film and set the tone for the roller coaster ride that followed until the poorly rendered CGI Scorpion King monster battled against our favorite hero.
When it comes to sequels, "The Mummy Returns" is an above average attempt. It ups the octane of the action and presents far grander action sequences and events for the film´s hero and heroine to be thrust into. The film´s plot works in conjunction with the previous film and makes for a clean ´Second Chapter´ to the story of Imhotep. With all of the major characters returning, aside from the deceased Benny, "The Mummy Returns" benefits from its humorous and colorful characters. I loved the first film because it was just fun to watch. The second film is just as entertaining as the first and is another perfect example of a summer popcorn film. The writers of the first film were onto something when they decided to forgo the original intention of revisiting the 1932 monster film with another entry in the horror genre and instead decided to mimic the "Indiana Jones" films of the Eighties. The films have Saturday Serial feeling and are the sort of mindless escapism that helps make a relaxing summer an even better time of year.
I did not particularly enjoy the manner in which the plot brought ancient Egyptian routes to Rick and Evie. It cemented the Rick O´Connell character into the Mummy story and abused the amount of convenience I will typically allow a popcorn film. The character just battling mummies and ancient Egyptian War Dogs would have been cool enough, but forcing him as an intricate part of the backstory and mythology just felt cheap and lessened the ability to send O´Connell on more adventures in future films. Yes, it did create a more coherent and tightly woven story between the two "Mummy" films, but I just disliked how everybody fit into the same jigsaw puzzle that was ultimately created to explain how everybody fit neatly together and everybody needed to fight in the battle between Imhotep and the Scorpion King. This is a franchise that is supposed to be fun. There is no need to come up with crazy concepts to explain things. The audience is fully prepared to just go with the thrills and excitement of the film. We don´t want heroes that are willed by their ancient ancestry to fight the good fight. We just want them to do so and to crack a few cheesy one liners in the process.
Regardless, I enjoy "The Mummy Returns" almost as much as I did the first film. The visual effects are an improvement over the first film and the filmmakers did a fine job of coming up with a sequel so shortly after the success of the original film. These movies would not have succeeded without the work of Brendan Fraser. He IS the franchise and is one of the sole returning characters in the upcoming third film. I had initially hoped for an all new adventure for the second film, but this continuation of the original story worked just fine. This is another film that I can sit back to and just enjoy. I don´t have to dedicate 100% of my attention to it, but it helps pass a night when I just want to relax and not leave the house. It was meant to be a fun film and it does its job with aplomb. The only complaints I have are the decision to make Rick and Evie mythical entities and the horrible CGI Scorpion King at the film´s end. A sequel is seldom superior to the original, so I can accept these flaws and still enjoy the film.
Note: The following review contains portions from the previous HD-DVD review of "The Mummy." The technical sections for Video, Audio and Extras have been updated to reflect the differences between the two formats´ releases. The entire review has been re-edited and updated, but the majority of the text is simply recycled from the earlier review.
The 1999 film "The Mummy" was quite successful and a sequel was quickly developed and rushed into production, arriving two years later. This second film is a formulaic sequel that films at times like a rehash of the original and includes all of the primary characters from the first film and introduces a second villain in the form of the Scorpion King, who is brought to life by wrestling´s Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. "The Mummy Returns" succeeds easily in delivering the fun and excitement of the first film. This is another picture that is wall-to-wall action that doesn´t relent until the credits roll and even then you are expecting something else to happen. The film is a bit unusual in the fact that even the nemesis of the first film is written back into the story and has an important role in the second film. The franchise continuation I had surmised would have been to have Rick O´Connell (Brendan Fraser) set out on all new adventures and face different foes and circumstances, but "The Mummy Returns" is a sequel for its heroes and its villains.
The events of the film take place roughly eight years after the first film. Rick O´Connell and Evelyn Carnahan (Rachel Weisz) married just after the defeated Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo) and now have a son, Alex (Freddie Boath). Alex is a smart and curious boy who works with his parents on their archeological digs and is inventive and poised to continue in his father´s footsteps. One night, at the O´Connell manor, Alex takes a shiny gold bracelet and replaces it with a candlestick to emulate it weight. He puts on the bracelet, and is shown a holographic image of ancient Egypt. He is also unable to remove the bracelet from his arm. The bracelet is that of Anubis and it will lead the wearer to an Oasis and is useful in the reincarnation of the Scorpion King, a warrior who sold his soul to Anubis in exchange for almighty power in conquering his rivals in a bloody war five thousand years earlier and upon his return, possesses the powers to destroy the modern world.
The princess shown during the Imhotep flashbacks in the first film, Meela Nais (Patricia Velasquez) has been reincarnated and is working towards reincarnating Imhotep once again. This time, Imhotep is needed to battle the forthcoming return of the Scorpion King and gaining control over the vast armies of Anubis. Meela and Imhotep are not the only reincarnated folk in the sequel. Both Rick and Evie previously existed in ancient Egypt. O´Connell was a Medjai warrior and was in charge of protecting the princess Meela. Evie is the true reincarnation of the princess Nefertiri, who was to protect the bracelet from evil doers in ancient times. To cleanly summarize these reincarnations, Rick formerly protected Evie, who formerly protected the bracelet from the likes of Imhotep and Meela. Of course, young Alex is the only person that can use the bracelet and this all is used to explain how Rick and Evie were destined to be together and how they form three sides of a pyramid that represents a cycle of power and reincarnation of the ancient powers of Anubis.
The film features many exciting and action filled sequences as the family of reincarnated ancients battle Imhotep and the Scorpion King´s legions. Ardeth Bey (Oded Fehr) returns to join his friends and help bring an end to the forces of evil and Jonathan (John Hannah) is back with his bumbling ways to slow down the efforts of Rick and Evie as they battle pygmies, mummies and the War Dogs of Anubis. My personal favorite sequences involved the Double-Decker bus chase through the ancient streets of London, as the O´Connell clan is chased by four amazingly quick and amazingly agile mummies. This scene occurred fairly early in the film and set the tone for the roller coaster ride that followed until the poorly rendered CGI Scorpion King monster battled against our favorite hero.
When it comes to sequels, "The Mummy Returns" is an above average attempt. It ups the octane of the action and presents far grander action sequences and events for the film´s hero and heroine to be thrust into. The film´s plot works in conjunction with the previous film and makes for a clean ´Second Chapter´ to the story of Imhotep. With all of the major characters returning, aside from the deceased Benny, "The Mummy Returns" benefits from its humorous and colorful characters. I loved the first film because it was just fun to watch. The second film is just as entertaining as the first and is another perfect example of a summer popcorn film. The writers of the first film were onto something when they decided to forgo the original intention of revisiting the 1932 monster film with another entry in the horror genre and instead decided to mimic the "Indiana Jones" films of the Eighties. The films have Saturday Serial feeling and are the sort of mindless escapism that helps make a relaxing summer an even better time of year.
I did not particularly enjoy the manner in which the plot brought ancient Egyptian routes to Rick and Evie. It cemented the Rick O´Connell character into the Mummy story and abused the amount of convenience I will typically allow a popcorn film. The character just battling mummies and ancient Egyptian War Dogs would have been cool enough, but forcing him as an intricate part of the backstory and mythology just felt cheap and lessened the ability to send O´Connell on more adventures in future films. Yes, it did create a more coherent and tightly woven story between the two "Mummy" films, but I just disliked how everybody fit into the same jigsaw puzzle that was ultimately created to explain how everybody fit neatly together and everybody needed to fight in the battle between Imhotep and the Scorpion King. This is a franchise that is supposed to be fun. There is no need to come up with crazy concepts to explain things. The audience is fully prepared to just go with the thrills and excitement of the film. We don´t want heroes that are willed by their ancient ancestry to fight the good fight. We just want them to do so and to crack a few cheesy one liners in the process.
Regardless, I enjoy "The Mummy Returns" almost as much as I did the first film. The visual effects are an improvement over the first film and the filmmakers did a fine job of coming up with a sequel so shortly after the success of the original film. These movies would not have succeeded without the work of Brendan Fraser. He IS the franchise and is one of the sole returning characters in the upcoming third film. I had initially hoped for an all new adventure for the second film, but this continuation of the original story worked just fine. This is another film that I can sit back to and just enjoy. I don´t have to dedicate 100% of my attention to it, but it helps pass a night when I just want to relax and not leave the house. It was meant to be a fun film and it does its job with aplomb. The only complaints I have are the decision to make Rick and Evie mythical entities and the horrible CGI Scorpion King at the film´s end. A sequel is seldom superior to the original, so I can accept these flaws and still enjoy the film.
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