RATING: 8 / 10 --> Great Movie
Review Date:.............May 5, 1999
Director:.............Stephen Sommers
Writer:.............Stephen Sommers
Producers:.............James Jacks and Sean Daniel
Actors:.............Brendan Fraser as Rick O'Connell
Rachel Weisz as Evelyn
Genre:.............Adventure/Horror
Year of Release:.............1999
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.
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