The Mummy Returns (2001)

The mummified body of Imhotep is shipped to a museum in London, where he once again wakes and begins his campaign of rage and terror.

Director:

Stephen Sommers

Writer:

Stephen Sommers

Stars:

Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah

6 wins & 19 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brendan Fraser	...	Rick O'Connell
Rachel Weisz	...	Evelyn Carnahan / Nefertiri
John Hannah	...	Jonathan
Arnold Vosloo	...	Imhotep
Oded Fehr	...	Ardeth Bay
Patricia Velasquez	...	Meela / Anck-Su-Namun
Freddie Boath	...	Alex
Alun Armstrong	...	Mr. Hafez
Dwayne Johnson	...	The Scorpion King (as The Rock)
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje	...	Lock-Nah
Shaun Parkes	...	Izzy
Bruce Byron	...	Red
Joe Dixon	...	Jacques
Tom Fisher	...	Spivey
Aharon Ipalé	...	Pharaoh

Storyline

Many years ago, in Ancient Egypt, the Scorpion King led a menacing army, but when he sold his soul to Anubis, he was erased from history. Now he is only a myth...or is he? Rick and Evelyn O'Connell are still discovering new artifacts, along with their 8 year old son Alex. They discover the Bracelet of Anubis. But someone else is after the bracelet. High Priest Imhotep has been brought back from the dead once again and wants the bracelet, to control the Scorpion King's army. That's not the only problem. Imhotep now has Alex and with the bracelet attached to him, doesn't have long to live.

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Plot Keywords:

mummy character | good versus evil | evil woman | villain | villainess | 

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Taglines:

The most powerful force on earth is about to be unleashed by the two people who should know better.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for adventure action and violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

The scene near the beginning where Alex accidentally knocks over the pillars in a domino fashion is similar to the scene in the original Mummy (1999) where his mother knocked down the bookshelves.

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Goofs

The dirigible is equipped with a period brass carbon tetrachloride fire extinguisher, yet when Izzy Buttons is trying to put the fires out after Imhotep causes it to crash, he is clearly using a modern dry chemical extinguisher (resprayed so as not to be obviously modern) - this extinguisher was not invented for over 30 years after the film was set. In fact, the model used dates to 50+ years after the film is set.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Ardeth Bay: [narrating] 5,000 years ago, a fierce warrior known as the Scorpion King led a great army on a campaign to conquer the known world.

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Crazy Credits

The end credits feature objects in the background such as embalming cloth and walls with hieroglyphics. Some of the backgrounds relate to the character. When Arnold Vosloo's and Patricia Velasquez's credits appear, a mummy is seen in the background. When The Rock's credit appears, a scorpion crawls in the background. When John Hannah's credits appear, gold statues can be seen in the background (for his obsession of all things gold).

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Alternate Versions

Early UK releases removed a headbutt during the Rachel Weisz/Patricia Velasquez fight scene, in order to qualify for a '12' rating. The 2008 DVD release is fully uncut.

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Connections

Referenced in Pompeii (2014)

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Soundtracks

Forever May Not Be Long Enough
Written by Glen Ballard and Edward Kowalczyk (as Ed Kowalczyk)
Performed by Live
Courtesy of Radioactive Records, J.V.

User Reviews

Yeah, right, and no harm ever came from reading a book. You remember how that one went?

After the financial success of "The Mummy" two years earlier, the sequel was inevitable. The big players from the first film are back, Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo and Oded Fehr. Stephen Sommers once again directs (and writes), Patricia Velasquez comes in to be a main player after her cameo in the first film, and young Freddie Boath plays the son of Rick and Evelyn who are now married. This time the cameo goes to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson who plays The Scorpion King and who is replaced by a very bad CGI version of himself at film's finale.

When the second sequel, "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" (2008), was released, Brendan Fraser went on record as saying that for "The Mummy Returns" they basically remade the film they had already made in 1999! This is absolutely true, some new characters and an expansion on the O'Connell romance have been put in to beef it up, while some Zombie Pygmies are around to add extra monster factor, but yes! It's a re-tread only with more money spent, more effects (and better effects apart from Scorpion King) and more noise. This actually is OK for those who enjoyed the first film immensely, because "Returns" is every bit as enjoyable as family blockbuster entertainment. The Worldwide box offices rang to the tune of over $330 million in profit. That's a lot of happy families you would think!.

So yes, it's a bit of a cheat, but much like the film before it, it gets away with it because the makers do everything they can to entertain the action/adventure loving crowd. With legions of Anubis warriors, those awesome Pygmies and the all round funny by-play between a cast comfortable with the material (again), "The Mummy Returns" delivers exactly what can reasonably be expected of it. 7/10

Details

Official Sites:

Universal Pictures

Country:

USA

Language:

English Arabic

Release Date:

4 May 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Mummy 2

Filming Locations:

A Stage, Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$98,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$68,139,035, 6 May 2001

Gross USA:

$202,019,785

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$443,280,904

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Alphaville Films, Imhotep Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS DTS (DTS: X)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1