'The Mummy Returns' a bigger but not as thrilling sequel
By Joko E.H. Anwar
The Mummy Returns (**1/2 out of ****); Action/Horror/Comedy, 129 minutes; Starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo, Freddie Boath, The Rock; Directed by Stephen Sommers; A United International Pictures Presentation
JAKARTA (JP): The inevitable sequel to the highly entertaining The Mummy delivers a bigger and busier reworking of 1999's big hit but misses the bull's eye for definitive blockbuster entertainment.
This time round director Sommers relies heavily on computer- generated images. At times, the film looks like Disney/Pixar's A Bug's Life; at its worst, such as the opening and the closing scenes, it bears a jarring resemblance to a video game.
Gone are interesting characters like the greedy and treacherous aide, and that marvelous biplane. Instead, we've got a bunch of mean jungle creatures and a silly looking hot air balloon equipped with small jets.
We get to see our heroes combating an army of darkness but the stunning roller-coaster ride from the first movie is gone.
Wicked humor from the original, such as when one of the characters tried to repel the cursed man using all kinds of holy paraphernalia, is nowhere to be found here.
And while there was a considerably high quotient of horror in 1999's original, there is almost none here.
Even the mummy is not a scary character anymore and becomes just another ordinary bad guy.
Notwithstanding the above points, however, the film is not totally disappointing since there are several exciting moments and a few chuckles here and there.
The film opens with a narration telling the legend of the Scorpion King (wrestling star The Rock) fighting his enemies some 3,000 years ago in Egypt.
After dying from thirst and exhaustion in the desert, the Scorpion King sells his soul to Anubis, a God, in return for a vicious and undefeatable army of jackal-headed soldiers.
After the Scorpion King defeats his enemies, Anubis kills the Scorpion King and his army, all waiting to be brought to life underneath the soil of a secret oasis.
In 1933, a group of people with dubious motives try to locate the body of the original mummy, Imhotep, led by Meela (Venezuelan model/actress Patricia Velasquez) who happens to be the reincarnation of Imhotep's ancient lover Anck-Su-Namun.
The filmmakers' annoying decision to keep the Imhotep character does not only cost the film its scary moments but also its credibility.
Wasn't it supposed to be impossible to bring Imhotep back to life again after his soul was taken away by that heavenly chariot in the first film?
Forsake any ideas about remaining faithful to the original, for the group's goal is to revive Imhotep and the Scorpion King so that Imhotep can kill him and take command of the jackal- headed soldiers in order to rule the world.
Adventurer Rick O'Connell (Fraser) and Egyptologist Evelyn Carnahan (Weisz) are back. This time, they are married and have an eight-year-old son named Alex (Boath).
To keep the relationship interesting (even though they are married now), there are lots of cute moments between them during the early scenes.
During a routine expedition, poking their noses into ancient tombs, they find a bracelet which can revive the Scorpion King.
After an Indiana Jones-like escape, they take the bracelet back to an unusually subdued London.
Young Alex accidentally wears the Bracelet and is then kidnapped by the evil group and taken back to Egypt.
The mysterious warrior/keeper of Imhotep's mummified body, Ardeth (Oded Fehr), who worked together with our two heroes in the first film is back to help the couple.
Evelyn's fearsome brother Jonathan (Hannah) is also back to add spice to the comic scenes.
Together, our four heroes must return to Egypt and rescue Alex before it is too late.
At the same time, they also have to stop Imhotep and Meela from reviving the Scorpion King and taking charge of his army.
During their quest, Evelyn and Rick learn that their situation has not just occurred by coincidence. Instead, their fate has been determined since their past life and is interconnected with each other and Imhotep.
The Mummy Returns is even camper than its predecessor but it only adds a little spin to the standard-issue story.
To make up for it, the film offers the audiences endless big adventure scenes.
Unfortunately, the fast pace does not make amends for the fact that the film is not brave enough to spill even a little blood in its fight scenes, which end up looking like segments from Xena: The Warrior Princess.
The fight scenes involving computer generated creatures appear to be a cross between Sam Raimi's Army of Darkness (which includes the standard eye-poking scene) and Spielberg's The Lost World.
In the acting department, Fraser is still very likable, although he was more convincing as an action hero in the original.
Weisz plays her role as a brilliant and, this time, tougher heroine (she even gets to do her own fight scenes here).
Wondering how pro wrestler the Rock does in the acting department? Well, he doesn't have many lines and his final scene looks like it was played by a computer generated image with his face merely used as the model!
In spite of some grievances it should be said that, after months of much less entertaining entries, The Mummy Returns, despite not being totally satisfying, makes for enjoyable, eye- catching entertainment.