The Mummy (2017)

Review

110min

Genre:       Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Horror

Director:    Alex Kurtzman

Cast:         Tom Cruise, Sofia Boutella, Russell Crowe…and more

Writers:     David Koepp, Christopher McQuarrie, Dylan Kussman…more

-Synopsis-

The malevolent spirit of an ancient Egyptian Princess is awakened by modern conflict, unleashing a darkness which threatens the world while a shadowy organisation committed to fighting this evil is unmasked, in this lavish reboot and re-imagination of the 1932 classic and latest incarnation of the Universal Pictures movie monster legacy.

For nearly one hundred years—beginning with the Lon Chaney classics and followed by films like the original ‘Dracula’, ‘Frankenstein’ and ‘The Mummy’—Universal has been frightening and entertaining audiences with their treatment of classic literary monsters and deviants . . . even creating a few of their own along the way. Now screen superstar Tom Cruise brings his all-action and elaborate stunt sensibilities to the table, teaming up with writer/producer/director Alex Kurtzman (Star Trek, Cowboys & Aliens) to resurrect the ancient Egyptian dead—and help the studio which practically invented the movie franchise to get into the shared universe game, by launching its own ‘Dark Universe’.

Tom Cruise stars as US soldier and scoundrel ‘Nick Morton’, scouting the deserts and towns of the troubled middle-east searching for precious artefacts and treasure with his sidekick ‘Chris’ (Jake Johnson), when they inadvertently awaken the notorious ‘Ahmanet’ (Sofia Boutella)—ancient daughter of a Pharaoh mummified alive for her dark sins, now determined to hunt Nick as her new ‘chosen’ and release darkness upon the world. Together with Egyptologist ‘Jenny Halsey’ (Annabelle Wallis), Morton is chased across the world back to Britain where the mysterious ‘Prodigium’ organisation and its leader ‘Dr. Jekyll’ (Russell Crowe) are revealed, setting the stage for the final stand against this evil . . . but only the opening act for many more.

When we first heard about the development of ‘The Mummy’, we expected a rather typical big-budget, CGI-heavy all-action remake of the camp 1999 Brendan Fraser romp of the same name—but our expectations were then raised by the announcement that it would be a reboot (of sorts) to launch a new monster-based cinematic universe, possibly paying a worthy tribute to Universal’s long monster legacy while adding some substance and star power. Unfortunately it seems that our initial suspicions were right, as director and ‘Dark Universe’ supremo Kurtzman serves us a mashup of unimaginative Hollywood formulas in a mediocre monster package, relying on the star and stunt power of its leading man to carry it through . . . with very limited success.

Make no mistake though, ‘The Mummy’ is packed with elaborate action-sequences like only Tom Cruise could pull-off, from the much discussed zero-G airplane scene to fight and chase sequences, all entertaining enough and expertly shot, as is the rest of the film by experienced action cinematographer Ben Seresin (Unstoppable, World War Z)—but there’s no real sense of adventure here and no sign of the camp light-entertainment tone which made the 1999 version so popular.

Neither is it frightening or particularly gripping in any way, let alone a legitimate horror film to terrify moviegoers the way the classic Hollywood versions did—unsurprising considering the extremes to which the genre has gone to shock modern audiences—but the results sits meekly in between, taking itself way too seriously while moderately entertaining with visuals but failing to captivate with characters.

Even the effort to introduce some levity is paltry—with Jake Johnson being wasted as the comic relief in his sidekick turned cursed undead role, a clear tribute to Griffin Dunne in ‘An American Werewolf in London’—in fact much of the acting talent is misused and underutilised but none more so than Russell Crowe as both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. A trend which would be a travesty to continue with throughout this franchise, particularly considering some of the impressive on-screen talent and classic characters that will be involved in the years to come.

All-in-all ‘The Mummy’ is a reasonably enjoyable piece of popcorn entertainment for audiences not looking for much, but proves an underwritten and frankly rather dull fantasy adventure that’s saved only by some elaborate action sequences and the charisma of its star. A meek launch-pad for Universal’s ‘Dark Universe’ which is hopefully a stumbling-start rather than a sign of things to come—but we’re sure the already huge international box-office earnings will take the sting out of the generally savage critical response . . . but make no mistake it’s warranted.

The Bottom Line . . .

Underwritten, underwhelming and lacking in captivating characters, ‘The Mummy’ isn’t nearly adventurous or frightening enough, ultimately amounting to blockbuster movie-making by the numbers and filmmaking by committee. Despite some entertaining action set-pieces and the always watchable Tom Cruise, Universal have stumbled out of the gates in their effort to get into the shared cinematic universe game—the good news for them is that international audiences are thus-far flocking to cinemas to see for themselves, and the good news for us is that it can only get better . . . hopefully.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

The Mummy (1932)

Buried alive for millennia, a living mummy is awakened and unleashes evil on unsuspecting souls as he stalks a woman who he mistakes for the reincarnation of hi long-gone lover, in this early Hollywood monster movie classic from the Universal stable.

Directed by Karl Freund and starring Boris Karloff, Zita Johann and David Manners among others.

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