Year:
1999
Studio:
Universal Pictures
Movie:
4/5
DVD:
4/5
Teaser
In the tradition of Indiana Jones comes a tale set in 1920's Egypt.
Evelyn Carnahan (Rachel Weisz) and her brother Jonathan (John Hannah)
have the key to an ancient Egyptian treasure. All they need is the map
to the City of the Dead -- which is accidentally burned. Not to worry,
the man that provided the key has been to the City of the Dead, or so
he says. All they have to do is free Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser)
from prison before he is executed. The good news is that they will find
the treasure. The bad news is that they'll also free Imhotep (Arnold
Vosloo), a mummy that has lain waiting for three thousand years to be
freed.
Movie
"The Mummy" has great special effects combined with lots of action in a
two fisted tale of horror and adventure. Brendan Fraser plays the
dashing and incorrigible hero, reluctant to return to the City of the
Dead for he well knows the dangers. But he has a debt to repay and he's
not going to leave the fair damsel to face danger with only her flighty
brother for protection.
My favorite scene is O'Connell's introduction. A detachment of French
Foreign Legion versus a horde of desert raiders. A fast and furious
battle that ends in defeat for the brave soldiers. I just like seeing
regular army troops fight, holding the line bravely against the savage
hordes. It's quite a sight.
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Actors
At the time, Brendan Fraser was well known for comedic roles. What
dramatic roles he had done were small ones in not particularly
successful movies. "The Mummy" really helped his career though he
hasn't been able to really bank it and has remained mostly a comedic
actor. This movie was also the first big movie for Rachel Weisz. She is
a proper British beauty -- sort of a prim school marm that you know is
wild in bed. For John Hannah this was the first big American role since
"Four Weddings and a Funeral", which wasn't a big-budget blockbuster
movie.
DVD
The disc is full of extra features. The menu system is well done. There
is a commercial at the beginning of the movie but you can skip it.
"Building a Better Mummy" is a 50-minute documentary on the special
effects in the movie. Writer/Director Stephen Sommers and Editor Bob
Ducsay provide the audio commentaries, which are fairly good. Visual
Effects Supervisor John Berton provides short explanations for four of
the special effects scenes.
There is a Mummy Game and other DVD-ROM goodies which are of course
Windows only so I couldn't use them. Cast and Filmmaker bios are ok.
Deleted scenes is presented as one clip with three parts. Egyptology
101 is a bunch of trivia you can read. A couple of Universal
commercials, some Production Notes, and two Theatrical Trailers round
out the package.
Recommendations
It's a really good action movie. Indiana Jones with more special
effects. Highly recommended. |