The Mummy Returns

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The Mummy Returns

The Mummy Returns... and this time he's in a good movie

The Mummy Returns successfully brings back a style of adventure movie that is all too rare these days. From the disappointment of the first movie--The Mummy-- of course one would have reservations about seeing this sequel. The two movies are actually so different, it's like night and day, though surprisingly, both movies were written and directed by the same person, Stephen Sommers. It's now safe to assume that the two years between movies has added a certain wisdom for the writer/director because his new attempt to bring the High Priest Imhotep (the Mummy) back to life is a success.

This sequel to The Mummy brings back most of the original actors to reprise their roles. Brendan Fraser, of course, returns as Rick O'Connell to save the day. Arnold Vosloo is back playing the ominous mummy. Reprising the role of Jonathan, the comic relief, is John Hannah who does it vibrantly. Oded Fehr returns as the gallant warrior, Ardeth Bay. But most importantly, a leaner & meaner Rachel Weisz no longer portrays the helpless damsel in distress waiting to be rescued. Instead, she is out there kicking butt with the best of them, and very convincingly at that. New additions to the sequel include a young talent, Freddy Boath and professional wrestler Duane Johnson (a.k.a. The Rock).

To say the plot has many twists and turns would be an outright lie. It can, in fact, be summed up in one sentence: our heroes are taken through Egypt in a race against time to save the world from certain destruction. Sound familiar? Even though the plot seems used, the execution of the storytelling in this sequel is actually much better than The Mummy. That's not to say that the story is very much better than in The Mummy -- it's not. Although most of the main characters in The Mummy Returns are from the first movie, this time around they are better written, stronger, and better developed. Brendan Fraser's lead character has a much more daring attitude. Arnold Vosloo gets to play the mummy character with a lot more emotion and awareness. And, as mentioned before, Rachel Weisz actually gets to play a part that makes a difference in the story rather than simply yelling for help and getting rescued. The characters in The Mummy Returns actually do a huge part in holding the movie together. Had they used the same shallow, superficially written characters as in The Mummy, most of the audience would probably fall asleep.

Entertaining pieces throughout The Mummy Returns make it a fun movie to watch, be it the well choreographed fight scenes, the comic timing of John Hannah, or the subtle mumbling (a la Indiana Jones) of Brendan Fraser. This sequel also includes armies of dog-like creatures, little pygmy-creatures, mummies of course, and a new villain called the Scorpion King. There are sword fights, gun fights, fist fights, cat fights, car chases, huge battles, and tons of special effects all brilliantly edited together to keep the simple story moving forward at a very fast pace. Action and adventure packed, this is one of the movies you will want to see this summer.

-Tso