The Mummy (1999)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Stephen Sommers

Writers (WGA):

Stephen Sommers (screen story) and
Lloyd Fonvielle (screen story) ...

Release Date:

7 May 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

The sands will rise. The heavens will part. The power will be unleashed.

Plot:

An American serving in the French Foreign Legion on an archaeological dig at the ancient city of Hamunaptra accidentally awakens a Mummy.

Plot Keywords:

Priest | Mummy | Mistress | Treasure | Curse

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 4 wins & 18 nominations

Cast

Brendan Fraser	...	Richard 'Rick' O'Connell
Rachel Weisz	...	Evelyn Carnahan
John Hannah	...	Jonathan Carnahan
Arnold Vosloo	...	High Priest Imhotep
Kevin J. O'Connor	...	Beni Gabor
Oded Fehr	...	Ardeth Bay
Jonathan Hyde	...	Dr. Allen Chamberlain
Erick Avari	...	Dr. Terrence Bey
Bernard Fox	...	Captain Winston Havlock
Stephen Dunham	...	Mr. Henderson
Corey Johnson	...	Mr. Daniels
Tuc Watkins	...	Mr. Burns
Omid Djalili	...	Warden Gad Hassan
Aharon Ipalé	...	Pharaoh Seti I
Patricia Velasquez	...	Anck Su Namun

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for pervasive adventure violence and some partial nudity.

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Arabic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Brazil:12 | Iceland:12 | Philippines:PG-13 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Belgium:KT | Canada:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 (re-rating) | Finland:K-14 (original rating) | France:U | Germany:12 (w) | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Spain:7 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 (cut) | UK:15 (DVD) (uncut version) | USA:PG-13 | Greece:K-13

Filming Locations:

Ait Benhaddou, Morocco

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

"Imhotep" was actually the name of the architect who developed the first pyramids in ancient Egypt, most notably the Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara around 2600 BC. His ability was such that he was later said to have descended from the gods. His name means "one who comes in peace"

Goofs:

Continuity: Rick places Evie's clothes in her suitcase. Evie grabs them out and puts them on the bench in the background. Later, she walks right in front of the bench and the clothes are gone.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Ardeth Bay: [narrating] Thebes, City of the Living. Crown jewel of Pharaoh Seti the First. Home of Imhotep, Pharaoh's high priest, keeper of the dead. Birthplace of Anck Su Namun, Pharaoh's mistress. No other man was allowed to touch her. But for their love, they were willing to risk life itself.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Evolution (2001)

Soundtrack:

'Al Bahr Al Gharam Wasah (Love Is As Vast As A River)

Great fun in the vein of "Indiana Jones"...

"The Mummy" is an adventurous yarn in the vein of "Indiana Jones." It's a lot of fun, very charming, and never tries to be more than what it is. What is it? An entertaining summer flick which is not only worth seeing, but perhaps even owning. It's one of those fun movies you can return to over and over again and never grow tired of doing so.

It's hardly a remake of the Universal classic of the same name. It's merely a new way to tell the story with the same basic idea - a murderous mummy is brought back from the dead. This time we have a hero and heroine who must stop him before he takes over the world, or something along the line of world domination.

The hero is Rick (Brendan Fraser), a thief thriving off the very basics out in Egypt circa 1930. Arrested and to be hanged, he is saved by the heroine (Rachel Weisz), who believes he may hold the key to helping them find an ancient Egyptian kingdom buried under the sand, if I recall correctly (though it has been a while since I've seen this). Little does she know what lurks beneath the sand near that old kingdom is none other than the remains of a man who was caught cheating on the king's wife years ago and mummified.

Now, after unearthing the remains of the kingdom, the expedition led by our heroes come upon an ancient "Book of the Dead," which, when read from, brings the ancient mummy back to life. Now he is out to kill, regenerate and bring back his old lover - pretty neat, huh?

I own "Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy," a great movie spoofing the classic film. "The Mummy" isn't exactly a spoof but it's very tongue-in-cheek. It knows it isn't an Oscar-winner, it knows it stands nothing against the older film, and so it goes for pulp thrills. I actually believe that this film is a bit classy in execution - compared to many other entertainments floating around nowadays it stands as one of the only films to return to the roots of the pure adventure films like "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981) so successfully did.

Brendan Fraser is a perfect choice for the lead star. Calm, but with ironic and sarcastic humor; cool, but a strong lead. I wondered what it would have been like if they had casted an actor in his role who would have taken it all more seriously. I bet the results would have been disastrous. Fraser knows that this is all good fun, and he's having a good time playing his role with comedy. Every once and a while you can catch a wink at the screen that lets us know that he knows what he's doing.

2001 brought a sequel to "The Mummy" named, of all things, "The Mummy Returns." I found it just as fun as this film though some critics begged to differ. Summer 2002 brought yet another "Mummy" film, this one a prequel called "The Scorpion King" - it was a following of a co-star of the first sequel. The Mummy was not in it at all. It was a horrible film that wasn't near as fun as this one. So I recommend you see "The Mummy" as soon as humanly possible. After that, see "The Mummy Returns."

Either way, you simply can't go wrong.

4/5 stars.

- John Ulmer