SPOILER FREE
Let me start by saying that prior to going into this film, I was a fan of both The Mummy and The Mummy Returns as a young moviegoer in the early 90's and early 2000 era. The Mummy worked as being a great adventure and mystery thriller, that was slow-paced yet exciting while paying homage to the original monster movie classic from the 1930s. The Mummy Returns, although not as good as The Mummy, is more of a wall to wall action adventure that does it's best interpretation of Indiana Jones while continuing the storyline from the first movie. What makes both Mummy films work so well and why they resonated with audiences (Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor does not apply here, it ruined what could've been a strong action-adventure trilogy), is not only the movies being highly entertaining, but how much you care about the characters and connect with them. All the explosions and special effects in the world are meaningless unless you have characters the audience becomes connected with, and want to experience their adventures with, With both films, the characters of Rick O Connor and Evie played by both Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz are well played and acted with Imhotep being an effective movie villain played by Arnold Vosloo. While the third Mummy film was viewed as being the critical dud of the original trilogy, it was clear the Mummy franchise was burnt out and in need of a reset button. Fast-Forward to 2017, the filmmakers behind Tom Cruise's The Mummy hope to use the film as an introduction for their dark universe of monster movies taking place in a modern day timeline. A lot is riding on this movies success in order for that to happen which makes the critical and box office reception of the film even more gut wrenching to those hoping for the universe to expand. The new Mummy film is darker and more serious toned than the Stephen Sommers films, ditching the camp and fun-spirit of those films. Having seen the new Mummy film, I can say that while the film is not as disastrous as many reviewers make it out to be, the film also misses some of the key essential things that made audiences connect with the earlier Mummy predecessor films before it with one in particular being that it lacks the heart of those films.
The Mummy is a average at best retelling of the classic Mummy story except modernized to fit in todays society with an ancient princess being awakened from her tomb beneath the desert, bringing with her malevolence grown over millennia, as well as terror that defies human comprehension. It becomes up to Tom Cruise and his female partner and love interest played by Annabelle Wallis to put the Mummy to rest and undo her awakening and path of terror. The Mummy tries very hard to be it's own definitive telling of the classic tale but it's problem lies in the fact that it lives in the shadow of it's 1999 predecessor with the film lifting essential plot elements from that movie such as the Mummy being awakened in the desert or Cruise's character having a partner in the desert who turns against him much like Rick O Connor and his shady partner Bennie, who begins with being O Connors Wingman before going over to the Mummy's court. Cruise's character feels like an attempt to recapture the awesomeness of Fraser's character despite coming off as being Tom Cruise essentially, who just happens to go toe to toe with a Mummy. One is never convinced that Cruise truly becomes the character he's playing in this one, with his female counterpart played by Annabelle Wallis, delivering a much stronger performance even if she comes off as an attempt at being a modern day Evie type character. The performance of the female Mummy played by Sofia Boutella is effective and carries the film when the story stumbles, although she isn't as memorable of an antagonist as Arnold Vosloo's Imhotep. One of the things that made Vosloo's character so compelling as a villain is you understood his motivation for wanting to take over humanity because of his desire to bring back his love/mistress from the grave so they can rule humanity together. The thing about The Mummy is even though you cared about Rick and Evie, you also wanted Imhotep to succeed in his mission as he was too cool of a villain to not care about and love. The problem with the new Mummy film is rather than the character being the central focus of the movie, the character of Ahmanet takes a backseat in the film as Cruise is the main focus on the movie. The film comes off as being Tom Cruise fighting Mummies rather than the audience fully grasping the nature of this character. Russell Crowe is one of the films saving graces in a brief role as Dr. Jerkel and Mr. Hyde, delivering an effective scene stealing cameo that is a tad awkward but leaves the door open for future dark universe stories to tell as he feels like this universes version of Nick Fury. It's not that The Mummy is a terrible movie nor a boring one, it's that the film lacks a true soul for audiences to become connected with. It wants so desperately to achieve the same kind of legacy that Brendan Frasers 1999 film achieved in pop culture but never dares to reach further than it's grasp which it feels confined to. The relationship between Cruise's character and Annabelle's, feels like a mediocre version of Rick and Evies romance, and the movie lacks true thrilling moments that made the first one work such as the airplane trying to evade the sand storm created by the Mummy in Frasers film. The scene in the new film in which a similar sequence is shown involving a city draws clear inspiration from that film but isn't quite as memorable. It's not that Cruise's film provides no clear competition to go up against Sommers work, it's that the film lacks true charm and is too serious with it's type of story. Given that the movie boasts some of the more popular screenwriters in the business such as Jurassic Park's writer David Koepp and The Usual Suspects writer Christopher McQuairre, one looks at the final product and wonders where all the talent and effort went in the story department as the film literally feels like a remake rather than being an actual telling of The Mummy story.
Overall, The Mummy despite it's major flaws that weigh it down, is a mildly entertaining Tom Cruise ride, that offers reasonable amounts of entertainment, despite the film never truly achieving a soul of it's own. It lacks the heart of the Brendan Fraser films, that made audiences fall in love with the first two films as well as the fun and campy nature. Perhaps the film would've worked if a less demanding actor was able to take over the lead role, allowing audiences to become more acquainted with the films main antagonist rather than have her in the background as second to Cruise's screen presence. One feels that he was clearly trying to create a serviceable vehicle for him to move from action to try his hand at monster movies, but the film struggles with giving him the spotlight while laying out the groundwork for the rest of the dark universe. The film does have moments where it channels the feels of the original classics, which also becomes the films main highlights, but the movie never rises above being just average entertainment that isn't quite sure what it wants to be as it's main actor is the primary focus. As for the film being destroyed by critics, the picture doesn't deserve the excessive bashing it received on rottentomatoes putting it at just 16 percent in approval, but it's also not worthy of the nostalgia that Stephen Sommer's first two Mummy films have on audiences. As being the door that opens up the rest of the dark universe stories that are set to come, the film is a rocky start that gets the door cracked but never fully opens it as audiences are not yet sold on the new universe of films, giving the next batch of filmmakers for the dark universe extra pressure in hopes of getting them hooked on what's being mapped out for them. As a Tom Cruise flick, it's entertaining but as a dark universe monster flick, the film is at best ok but leaves much room for improvement.
6 out of 10
No comments:
Post a Comment