The Mummy Returns (Cinema: 2001)

Imagine a world in which George Lucas did not make the CGI nightmare that was The Phantom Menace and nobody had learned the important lessons of marrying form with content in modern Hollywood filmmaking. Well Stephen Sommers lives in this alternate universe and has not learned a thing.

The Mummy Returns picks up nine years after the original with Rick and Eve (Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz) now married with an eight year old son. The incredibly involved storyline has Ihmotep, the mummy of the original film, being reincarnated by an occult group in an attempt to use him to destroy the Scorpion King, an ancient super-warrior played very briefly by WWF star The Rock. The hero and heroine become involved with attempting to stop the diabolical plans of Ihmotep yet again, but with their son providing extra complications this time around. Thrown into this mix are some of the characters from the original film and a new batch of comic-strip characters and monsters. We also have a plethora of sub-plots involving reincarnation, revelations about the first film, ancient mythology, pre-ordained destinies and much more. If all this sounds too much - well it is.

Imagine a new darker chapter in the Indiana Jones series directed by John Woo and you begin to get an idea of the concept behind this film. Following the breathtaking CG opening we get set piece after set piece, the majority of which are well designed and smoothly executed. However as the film progresses these action scenes begin to rely more and more on computer generated effects to carry them and this is where the film falls down. Computer generated imagery can be a useful and often necessary tool, especially when dealing with a fantastical storyline. However without a solid script and reasonable characterisation to back it up you just get a selection of clever graphics that are dislocated from their meaning. The second major problem, again linked to Sommers over reaching himself, is the script. There is too much information involved for a film to successfully build character and create tension even over two hours. Immediately from the beginning of the film you are given far too many details on the various strands of the storyline and this alienates the audience, especially as character development is given no time at all. There is also an irritating tendency of refering constantly to the first film and even stealing complete scenarios. One final major criticism is the old problem of irritating child actor syndrome. The child of the two leads is one of the most hellish on-screen kids ever, he cycles between being quite engaging and completely horrifying very quickly during almost all his scenes.

With all of the above in mind I still maintain that The Mummy Returns is a most entertaining film. The action is brilliantly realised with some excellent Woo styled fight scenes and genuine white knuckle sequences. Once you have accepted the fact that plot development is a tad clunky it is an enjoyable ride from one set-piece to another with some very funny dialogue. The film will probably be more successful on video as the small screen would benefit the CGI involved and audiences will appreciate the film with repeated viewing. If an extra half-hour of character development and scene setting had been included the film could have been a great epic adventure but as it stands it is a flawed but ultimately enjoyable b-movie.

RATING:

(c)Matt C 2001