Rating- * * * (3/5)
There is a growing trend in the Hollywood studios that I like a lot. Rather than waiting till mid-summer, the studios are taking their prime picks among the big-budget films and releasing them just before the start of the summer season. This has worked particularly well for several films mainly because it gives them a few weeks of non-competition to gain word of mouth advertising among the hardcore moviegoers and film buffs. It worked in ’99 with The Phantom Menace and before that with the Universal Studios hit The Mummy. Needless to say it worked again with the sequel, The Mummy Returns, which set the record for the highest gross for the first weekend of May in history. If you’re not familiar with the premise of The Mummy, it follows the same basic storyline as the classic Universal horror film by the same name. An adventurer by the name of Rick O’Connell (Brendan Fraser) goes off into the deserts of Egypt to search for the legendary site of the ancient City of the Dead. He is accompanied by a beautiful British archaeologist named Eve (Rachel Weisz) and her bumbling idiot brother as well as a rival troupe of explorers searching for the same city. When they find the city, they discover a relic known as the Book of the Dead that contains ancient Egyptian incantations for resurrecting the dead. As soon as the archaeologists finish spouting out all their warnings of terror, Eve opens the book anyway (of course), reads from the book and revives the evil high priest Imotehp who goes on a wild rampage to reincarnate his girlfriend, Anak Su-Namun. The mummy kidnaps Eve to use as the host body for his girlfriend and its up to Rick to save her and stop the mummy. In The Mummy Returns, Rick and Eve are now married and have a child and just when they are beginning to enjoy life, you guessed it, the mummy returns. While the plot is a little cheesy and contrived, the dialogue is witty and fun and the special effects are fantastic and range from breathtaking to grotesque. The whole thing is a send up of the classic Boris Karloff Mummy-movies of Universal’s early days. The sets are reminiscent of the great Egyptian epics of early Hollywood. Fraser does a great take on the old Hollywood adventure hero, with his dry humor, a square jaw, and, even though he’s been in the desert for God only knows how long, amazingly perfect teeth. Weisz also makes a great adventure movie heroine; the clumsy, timid librarian forced turned damsel in distress. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that she’s one of the best looking up and coming actresses in Hollywood. Aside from the acting, the special effects are dazzling, especially the shots of the ancient Egyptian cities shown in their prime during a battle between the great Scorpion King (played by The Rock) and an army of computer-generated demons. There are several special effects sequences that make this movie worth seeing, but none more so than the canyon-water chase scene. The Mummy Returns is, without a doubt, one of the best action movies I’ve seen in a long time and a must-see for action/adventure lovers.