In the 1990's, a stream of remakes came out after the universal horror films with the monsters: Dracula(Bram Stoker's Dracula),Frankenstein(Mary Shelley's Frankenstein),The Wolf Man(Wolf) and now The Mummy made after the same title. The original stared Boris Karloff and is truly a haunting movie. Despite the fact that slow moving mummies are not as scary of a villain, Boris brought in an incredible eerie performance that is so memorable that made mummies scary. How could we update the story to make mummies more terrifying to a newer audience? Make them faster? Make them smarter? How much they could control? How dangerous they truly are? They put a bunch of CGI into the film but somehow despite it being over the top at times, the story is what makes The Mummy into a great remake and respects the original making the mummy scary again.

In 1926, Cairo librarian and aspiring Egyptologist Evelyn is presented with an intricate box and map by her bumbling brother Jonathan, who says he found it. After the pair discover the map leads to Hamunaptra, Jonathan reveals he actually stole it from an American named Rick O'Connell, who is currently in prison. Rick tells them that he knows the location of the city because his unit reached the fabled city, only to be overrun by hostile Bedouins. He makes a deal with Evelyn to reveal the location of Hamunaptra, in exchange for Evelyn saving Rick from being hanged. Rick leads Evelyn and Jonathan's small expedition to the city, where they discover a mummy who Evelyn accidentally wakes up and he's after a band of American treasure hunters who have taken his treasures and wants Evelyn to bring back his true love that he died for.

I really liked the actors they put in this film. I know Brendan Fraiser isn't the best actor, but he really made me believe in him as an adventure hero almost to the likes of Indiana Jones. He's funny, smart, strong, charming and handsome, everything you could want. Rachel Weisz as Evelyn was beautiful, stubborn and smart, she was exactly what all these boys needed and had great chemistry with Fraiser. The humor is a lot, they use a lot of jokes which at times could take away from the film. The CGI is also a lot, but it added to the story and wasn't to the point of unbelievable. I thought the idea of having a faster mummy was more terrifying and that he wouldn't stop coming after his victims in such a horrific way was a great idea. I really did like The Mummy, I know it certainly has it's flaws, but it's just a fun adventure horror movie that really hooks you from beginning to end. The sequels just didn't add up well to this movie, I would recommend The Mummy any day. The haters honestly just don't know how to have any fun, any flawed film could still be a good time and The Mummy certainly is one one them.

8/10

As the latest overblown big-budget remake hits our cinema screens, once again I despair at the direction Hollywood is taking. If it's not making cheap, sentimental dross, then more likely than not the new offering will be a film full of CGI effects and nothing else. And THE MUMMY falls into this latter category amiably enough, not being bad enough for me to rant on endlessly about the faults, just being boringly average and entertaining enough on a superficial level for me to moan about the state of the world these days.

Forget about the original MUMMY film for a start, as it had Boris Karloff in it. Karloff was an actor. A real, true, actor. Sadly there is little acting in this film, and what there is instead is atrocious comedy filler which is recycled and totally lame in concept. The 'actors' are required to run around and react to various pyrotechnic or computer generated effects, and that's exactly it. There is little plot, with the film merely being a string of action sequences, so many that it's hard to label this film horror at all.

The 12 certificate means there is virtually no blood in the film, so the deaths are not very good, and those which are left to the imagination are the most effective. A variation on the black slime from THE X-FILES turns up in the form of a flesh-burrowing scarab beetle in an amusing scene, but the effects of the beetles never look for a moment convincing - they look like exactly what they are, computer graphics. The ten plagues are understated (a fountain runs red to show 'rivers running with blood' - talk about disappointing) and merely an excuse for more special effects, briefly done. The action scenes are probably the best thing the film has to offer, and Fraser leaping about firing two handguns is enjoyable enough.

Unfortunately, the mummy itself is most disappointing. The original form is fine, but then some idiot had to give it eyes and a tongue so it could talk, ruining the effect. The mummy makes scary faces like it's in a Disney film, so that also ruins any frights there might have been. It's just ludicrous and downright embarrassing. The regeneration moments are okay, but Arnold Vosloo is not exactly a frightening person, and his naked torso and eye make up just make him look like a drag queen in his/her finest silk dressing gown.

Which leads me on to the acting. Rachel Weisz is a bad actress and therefore well suited to this film, she fits in nicely. Worst of all she's British, and her grating accent soon becomes apparent. Look, nobody speaks English like this and the portrayal borders on stereotypical. John Hannah is a bit better as a timid, weak coward type, and to be fair I found myself liking him. Brendan Fraser is also okay as the brainless Indiana Jones-type explorer, and he's good in the action scenes. The rest of the characters are all one-dimensional stereotypes and not worth bothering with. The special effects are pretty bad, with Vosloo's stretchy jaw being the worst offender. Gosh, it's ridiculously bad! The beetles are fake, and only the sand faces are effective. Stephen Sommers, with this and DEEP RISING, shows himself to be a competent director, but I only wish he could get better material and steer himself away from these FX-filled bloaters. Then perhaps he might make something interesting. THE MUMMY is a bit enjoyable in a loud, superficial, disengage the brain kind of way, but otherwise it's sorely disappointing, much as you would expect from Hollywood these days. And something of an embarrassment all round. And this was a hit? What's the world coming to?

The Mummy is a fun and likable horror adventure, that doesn't take itself too seriously. True, there are a few discrepancies in the script, it is a tad overlong and Kevin J.Connor's Beni mayn't be to everyone's tastes, but it is a solid film of its genre. The visuals are absolutely stunning, every scene with the Egyptian desert is enough to take your breath away, and the costumes are very nice too. The music by the one and only Jerry Goldsmith is a very creepy and atmospheric score, and just goes to show what a talented composer Goldsmith was. I will admit some of it is quite scary, and that is an understatement, I do confess being scared of the film when I saw it for the first time when I was 9(I'm 17 now),and there are some scenes that still scare me now. It is no wonder because Arnold Vosloo's Imhotep was a masterstroke, very, very frightening at times, especially when the Mummy disguises himself on the ship, and takes off his cloak to claim his first victim. The other performances are fine, with a dashing Brendan Fraser and a stunningly beautiful Rschel Weisz. John Hannah, if you forgive his accent, was on the whole fine. Overall, a fun and likable horror adventure, flawed yes, but guaranteed to give you entertainment and perhaps nightmares. 7/10 Bethany Cox