The Mummy (Full Review) - 1999

`The Mummy'' (Universal) is a far cry from its spare, black-and-white 1932 predecessor which starred horror legend Boris Karloff. For $80 million you get on-location shooting (in Morocco, substituting for Egypt), golden sandswept color cinematography and all manner of spooky special effects to enlarge upon the story until it resembles a lavish epic.

However, matters get off to a clumsy start with a risque prologue detailing a prehistoric murderous romantic triangle before finding sure footing after the opening credits by transporting viewers to 1923 Egypt.

In surviving a desert battle, Yank mercenary Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser) stumbles upon the fabled hidden city of ancient Hamunaptra, where priceless treasures rest -- and the cursed mummy Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo) has been entombed for 3,000 years. He returns with his secret to Cairo.

Three years later, the adventurous Rick agrees to lead a treasure-hunting expedition to the area with Brit Jonathan (John Hannah) and his prim librarian sister, Evelyn (Rachel Weisz), an antiquities specialist who can read hieroglyphics. Heading up a rival group of American gold diggers is sneaky Beni (Kevin J. O'Connor), who intends to beat Rick to the underground burial grounds.

Watching their approach is an armed band of natives sworn through the centuries to ensure that the mummy is not disturbed. If uncovered, evil Imhotep will revive to unleash 10 plagues upon Egypt. Before they can be stopped, the Americans uncover the mummy, which gradually goes about stripping them of eyes, tongue, teeth and skin to become the now- indestructible Imhotep.

After one glance at Evelyn, he also intends to use her body to revive his mummified ancient lover. With each human organ the mummy adds to his skeleton his power strengthens.

As the horrified plunderers plot to defeat bulletproof Imhotep they suffer swarms of locusts, hideous invading scarabs, lightning firestorms, a solar eclipse and huge sandstorms. Only Evelyn can read the sacred incantation that will destroy him -- if Rick and Jonathan can find it within the Book of the Dead before Imhotep sacrifices her to re-create his lost love.

Written and directed by Stephen Sommers with unrestrained gusto, the movie has an old-fashioned feel of a rousing yarn updated technically with a bombardment of special effects. There's never a lull as the characters are besieged by sword-wielding skeletons, mobs of zombie-like avengers, nature gone berserk and those pesky insects that literally get under the skin. However, the violence is largely stylized with little gore, shown off-screen in silhouette, or it falls into the fantasy-horror category. Much effort is also made to incorporate comedy into the proceedings, so that any mean-spiritedness is diminished.
 
Fraser cuts a dashing figure as daredevil Rick, but his unfailing ability to fight off hordes of attackers single-handedly is overdone. His superheroics nearly eliminates suspense.
 
Attractive Evelyn is mostly window dressing but her introduction atop a ladder is quite funny as she manages to bring the entire library to its knees, so to speak. But the comic tone often seems forced and the tentative heart-fluttering between Evelyn and Rick is strictly formula material.

There is no shortage of colorful lesser characters to populate all the story's thrills and spills -- from Evelyn's duplicitous boss (Erick Avari), a venal jail warden (Omid Djalili), a crusty military flyboy (Bernard Fox) and the sinister native protector of the burial site (Oded Fehr). The sole other female, Patricia Velasquez, who plays Imhotep's scantily clad mistress in the prologue, is so dreadfully stiff in her delivery she effectively ruins the scene. Sommers clearly uses the ``Indiana Jones'' movies for inspiration, but the script lacks the sly wit that Harrison Ford delivered in the title roles.
 
While not entirely successful in crowding in comedy, romance, special effects and horror into the adventure, ``The Mummy'' still delivers two hours of escapist entertainment on a grand scale. Because of recurring stylized violence and fleeting partial nudity, the U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents are strongly cautioned that some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. - - - Pare is on the staff of the U.S. Catholic

The Mummy Returns (Full Review) -2001

 Bigger is definitely not better as proven by ``The Mummy Returns'' (Universal), the overblown sequel to the 1999 blockbuster ``The Mummy.''

The film is again written and directed by Stephen Sommers. Making the story denser and the special effects grander is taken to ridiculous heights -- or dreary depths, as it turns out. The original (which itself was loosely based on the 1932 Boris Karloff horror classic) was rousing escapist entertainment, not mean-spirited -- and the largely stylized violence wasn't overdone.
 
This time, it's all about constant physical confrontations, with an onslaught of shootouts, swordfights, hand-to-hand combat and armies attacking. The fun has fled. Characters are merely at the service of huge special effects and they get lost in all the sound and fury of an absurdly overwritten plot. Also, there's a nasty undertone to the proceedings, where its predecessor had a sprightly sense of humor. With a pace both frantic and ultimately chaotic, this mummy is pretty crummy.

The action picks up with much the same cast eight years later in 1933 Egypt. Dashing Yank Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser) has married English Egyptologist Evelyn (Rachel Weisz) and they are parents to plucky, precocious Alex (Freddie Boath). In a convoluted chain of events the O'Connells must do battle with their ancient but newly revived nemesis Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo), as well as the fierce warrior Scorpion King (wrestling star The Rock) who commands an army of horrible hellhounds who can destroy civilization.

Also ready to attack are an evil curator (Alun Armstrong), a vicious femme fatale (Patricia Velasquez), plus assorted evildoers, zombies and poisonous dart-throwing pygmies. Helping the beleaguered family out are Evelyn's goofy brother (John Hannah), brooding tribal leader Ardeth (Oded Fehr) and comic-refief figure Izzy (Shaun Parkes).

To be sure, the sets and costumes are lavish and the special effects impressive. But it's all way too much, with each action set-piece extended and ultimately wearying for the viewer. It's like a violent video game come to life in the form of a live-action, cartoon-like movie. The only character not wielding a weapon (and that includes the very aggressive female characters) is little Alex, unless you count his always well-aimed slingshot. After a while, it all becomes a blur.

The deafening sound effects are another reason to hope future mummies will continue to rest in peace, far from Hollywood and its tendency to go overboard in search of a monster hit.

These movies have been evaluated for artistic merit and moral suitability by the media reviewing division of Catholic News Service. The reviews include the CNS rating, the Motion Picture Association of America rating, and a brief synopsis of the movie.

The classifications are as follows:

A-I -- general patronage;
A-II -- adults and adolescents;
A-III -- adults;
L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. L replaces the previous classification, A-IV.
O -- morally offensive.

Note: Some movies previously were designated A-IV. Older films with this classification should be regarded as classified L.

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