Brendan Fraser, action star?
Yessiree-Bobby!! Take him, slap him into an adventure/horror flick with a bunch of other
semi-unknowns, some superb mummy special effects, and an updated version of the 1932 Boris
Karloff classic of the same name, and you've got yourself a good ol' rock 'n roll time at
the movies!
PLOT:
Set in 1923, 3,000 years after the horrific mummification of a man who fooled around with
the Pharaoh's mistress, this tale follows three divergent personalities searching for the
ancient City of the Dead, where the mummy and some awesome treasures are said to be
buried. A librarian with a penchant for all things ancient, her goofy brother, looking for
the fortune of his life, and Rick O'Connell, your modern day hero.
CRITIQUE:
The fun summer thrill ride of action-packed popcorn movies with extra cheese has begun
with a major Egyptian blast, in this part-romance, part-action, part-horror, part-comedy
kick in the entertainment nuts! I would qualify this film as being one of the closest
deemed worthy of the title of Indiana Jones Jr., with its charismatic lead actor, in
Brendan Fraser, its non-stop adventurous tone, and its mouth-dropping special effects of
the Mummy and his wonderfully wicked world of evil. This is the perfect movie to go see if
you want to escape to a place of the past, with breath-taking images of the desert,
damsels in distress, swash-buckling and gun-toting heroes and a gallery of mummies ready
to skin you to the bone, in hopes of regaining their own livelihood. Check your brain at
the door, and enjoy the bumpy ride, cause this one will have you laughing, screaming and
sighing your way into the mysterious world of ancient Egypt and its spooky-dooky myths.
Credit the special effects department with most of this film's greatest moments, but don't
take away from the always entertaining script written by the director himself, Stephen
Sommers, and the enjoyable action sequences which mixed comedy and a slick choreography of
guns, knives, swords, kicks and punches. The cast is also very good, with Fraser leading
the way as the man who likes to kick mummy ass, John Hannah as the always amusing brother
of the leading lady, and Kevin O'Connor as the quirky weasel who gets into cahoots with
the bandaged corpse himself. All in all, a fun time at the movies, with plenty of action,
comedy, adventure and romance to satisfy everyone waiting impatiently for THE PHANTOM MENACE, and some of the coolest special effects
this side of THE MATRIX (7.5/10). In fact, it's a perfect place
to take your own "mummy" on Mother's Day this weekend. Then again, thousands of
flesh-eating bugs munching a man alive might not be her cup o' tea :)
Little Known Facts about this film and its stars:
Brendan Fraser was born in Indianapolis and raised in Europe
and Canada. He was the fourth son of a Canadian career bureaucrat whose job for the office
of tourism required him to say the least, do some travelling. His first screen role was
opposite River Phoenix and Lily Taylor
in the underappreciated film DOGFIGHT (8.5/10). He currently resides in L.A. with his wife
Afton and dog Wylie. He stands 6'3".
You may remember actor John Hannah from his gay role in FOUR
WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL (8/10) and SLIDING DOORS (7.5/10)
with Gwyneth Paltrow. Before he decided on a career as an
actor, John was an apprentice electrician for four years. He gave this up after being
accepted by a drama school in Glasgow.
The man who plays the Mummy is born in South Africa and his name is Arnold
Vosloo.
After director Stephen Sommers attended St-Johns University
and The University of Seville in Spain, he spent four years performing in theatre groups
and managing rock 'n roll bands throughout Europe. From there, he relocated to L.A., and
attended the USC School of Cinema-Television for three years, earning a Master's Degree.
He also wrote and directed his last film called DEEP RISING.
Several follow-ups to the original MUMMY film from 1932 include THE MUMMY'S HAND, THE
MUMMY'S TOMB, THE MUMMY'S GHOST and THE MUMMY'S CURSE.
This film took 17 weeks to complete filming in Morocco and the United Kingdom. The
political climate in Egypt during the pre-production period of this film, made it
impossible to set up such a major movie with all of its inherent logistical problems.
The
Mummy is a rousing, humorous, suspenseful and horrifying
epic about an expedition of treasure-seeking explorers in
the Sahara Desert in 1925. Stumbling upon an ancient
tomb, the hunters unwittingly set loose a 3,000-year-old
legacy of terror, which is embodied in the vengeful
reincarnation of an Egyptian priest who had been
sentenced to an eternity as one of the living dead.
(Synopsis courtesy of the Official Site).
May 9th 1999: After
lying dormant for almost 70 years, "The Mummy"
chased record numbers of movie-goers into theaters over
the weekend, setting the scene for a strong summer at the
box office. The special effects-laden update of the 1932
Boris Karloff horror classic earned about $44.7 million
for the Friday-to-Sunday period, said the film's
distributor, Universal Pictures. The figure is more than
the combined total of the rest of the films in the top
10.
March 15th 1998: Rachel
Weisz ("Swept from the Sea") has been cast
opposite Brendan Fraser in Stephen Somers' remake of the
classic 1932 horror film "The Mummy" for
Universal, sources said Thursday. Jim Jacks and Sean
Daniel of Alphaville Prods. are producing
"Mummy," a $70 million tale about an
archaeological expedition.
Editors Note: Stephen
Sommers, director of last years underrated
tongue-in-cheek action/sci-fi flick "Deep
Rising" returns with a re-make of the classic 1932
film, and with an interesting cast as well as effects by
Industrial Light & Magic, this definitely looks like
it'll be worth a closer look.
