Universal Studios is perhaps best known for the numerous monster films that they produced over the span of four decades (i.e. the 20’s to the 50’s). Classic films like Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Wolf Man were huge critical and commercial hits back in the day, and have since been regarded as some of the most iconic films in the horror genre. One of these films was 1932’s The Mummy, starring Boris Karloff in his second major Universal Monsters role after playing the monster in Frankenstein as an ancient Egyptian priest named Imhotep who is buried alive when he attempts to resurrect his forbidden lover, Princess Ankh-es-en-Amon. Centuries later, he is re-awakened by a group of archeologists and continues his quest to reunite with the love of his life. I previously reviewed this film during my Universal Monsters retrospective this past October. In that post, I noted that while I felt that it was one of the weaker entries in the Universal Monsters lineup, it still had some great elements to it, from some effectively atmospheric moments to Boris Karloff’s underrated turn in the title role; at least, underrated when compared to his turn as Frankenstein’s monster. After the original’s release, it was followed by four sequels in the 40’s and 50’s, though the term ‘sequel’ is used loosely in this instance because these films focused on a different Mummy, Kharis. The last one even featured comedy duo Abbott and Costello in what was one of their many crossovers with the Universal Monsters, including the previously reviewed Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. Four years after Universal’s franchise ended, famed horror studio Hammer Films would create their own Mummy franchise. It ran from 1959 to 1971 and the first film, simply titled The Mummy, starred the studio’s biggest icons, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, the latter of whom played the title role.
But today, we’re looking at Universal’s first major attempt at rebooting this classic franchise; an attempt that shifted this horror classic into an action-adventure series. In 1999, director Stephen Sommers’ The Mummy was released in theaters and it became a massive commercial hit. It was so successful that it spawned two sequels, a spin-off prequel that spawned a few sequels itself albeit direct-to-video ones, an animated series which ran for two seasons on the Kids’ WB block in the early 2000’s (one that I do distinctly remember watching as a kid), and a popular roller-coaster ride at several Universal theme parks. This week, Universal revives this classic franchise with a new reboot, starring Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe, and Sofia Boutella, in what is intended to be the first installment in a new line of Universal Monster films set within a shared universe. Only time will tell if this ‘Dark Universe’ (as they’re calling it) manages to work, but in honor of the new Mummy’s release, today we’ll be looking back at the previous Mummy trilogy, which ran from 1999 to 2008 and starred Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz. To be clear, I’m only covering the theatrically-released Mummy films. I will not be reviewing any of the direct-to-video Scorpion King films. However, just for the hell of it, I will be including the theatrically-released Scorpion King film from 2002 in this retrospective because it is the series’ official spin-off. And, really, this is the only instance where I could possibly do so because I am not planning on reviewing those direct-to-video sequels anytime soon and probably never will. With that in mind, it’s time to do what Brendan Fraser does best in these films; ‘Rescue the damsel in distress, kill the bad guy, save the world’. Okay, maybe not all that but, still, here are my reviews of the recent Mummy trilogy.
THE MUMMY (1999)
It all started in 1999 when director Stephen Sommers released his remake of Universal’s seminal horror flick, The Mummy. But instead of maintaining the atmospheric horror elements of the original, Sommers opted for a big-budget action-adventure blockbuster reminiscent of the Indiana Jones films. And while watching this film, you can certainly sense the similarities that it shares with a film like Raiders of the Lost Ark. It’s nowhere near as iconic as Raiders, mind you, but it is still entertaining even if it’s basically just a dumb action flick. Most of the film’s action set-pieces are solid as is its overall production design. The visuals, on the other hand, though… yeah, the CGI in this film has dated quite a bit, something that’s quite noticeable anytime that it pops up (e.g. the titular Mummy (Imhotep) when he’s first re-awakened, many of the wide shots, etc.) despite being one of the major elements of the film. As for the cast, Brendan Fraser is solid enough in the role of lead Rick O’Connell, Rachel Weisz is arguably the biggest standout of them all as female lead Evelyn Carnahan, and John Hannah provides some funny bits of humor as Evelyn’s bumbling brother Jonathan (“Americans…”). In short, the 1999 remake of The Mummy is far from perfect, but as an old-fashioned summer blockbuster, its unabashed spirit is there in spades and that’s at least appreciated. Sure, it’s aged quite a bit compared to today’s standards (pun not intended since this film is about mummies), but it does deliver, for the most part, on what it’s trying to be.
Rating: 3.5/5
THE MUMMY RETURNS (2001)
After the first Mummy proved to be a smash-hit at the box-office, Universal immediately greenlit a sequel; thus, Sommers and the main cast returned for the fittingly titled sequel, The Mummy Returns. This film notably served as the feature film debut of the one and only Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, who plays the villainous ‘Scorpion King’. However, his role in the film is ultimately a minor one; he only appears at the beginning of the film and at the end (somewhat; I’ll explain in a bit). It wasn’t until the character’s spin-off the following year when he finally ascended to the status of leading man. As for Returns, though, it’s basically the same general situation as its predecessor. Admittedly, in some areas, this one is more entertaining, kind of, due to a faster pace. But, at the same time, this means that the film is basically an onslaught of action sequences that leave little time for any character development. By comparison, the first film, even though it, too, was a dumb action flick, at least took the time to flesh out its main characters. Like the original, though, the film does have some solid action set-pieces and a great production design which, for the most part, makes up for the visuals which, once again, have dated horribly. I mean, many have already pointed out the infamous scene in which Rick fights the re-awakened Scorpion King (hence what I said earlier about Dwayne Johnson’s ‘appearance’ in the finale) but, really, the same can be said for almost all the film’s CGI effects. For a film that had a budget of $98 million, a budget that clearly must’ve been focused on the effects… I have the feeling that these effects were regarded as subpar even back when it was released. Thus, I ultimately find myself rating this film the same way that I did the first; it’s entertaining in parts but there are other elements in it that have not aged well.
Rating: 3.5/5
THE SCORPION KING (2002)
Before he became known as one of the most charismatic actors in the business, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson was transitioning from his career in wrestling to one in film in the early 2000’s. As noted earlier, he made his official film debut in The Mummy Returns. But, as noted earlier, he basically only had a cameo in that. However, the studio liked his character, Mathayus the Scorpion King, enough that they decided to give him his own spin-off. Thus, one year later, the Rock finally got his first leading role in The Scorpion King, in which his character was re-tooled into a protagonist. And, overall, it’s very much a spin-off of the Mummy films; it’s a generally mindless affair and it’s even a bit derivative at times. For one thing, the main character’s love interest is a sorceress who will lose her powers if she loses her virginity… you know, like Solitaire from Live and Let Die? But even with this in mind, I will admit that I found it to be an entertaining film, even if its kick-ass theme song, ‘I Stand Alone’ by Godsmack… is basically the only thing that people remember about this film nowadays. For one thing, I will give the film credit for not taking itself too seriously, as there is a pleasantly light-hearted feel to it. Sure, this does sometimes result in bits of humor that try way too hard to warrant laughs, but at just 92 minutes long, this is an easy watch. Plus, after the highly mediocre effects of The Mummy Returns, this film does at least utilize as many practical effects and stunts as it possibly can (e.g. Dwayne Johnson recently revealed in a YouTube video that real killer ants were used in the scenes where Mathayus is about to executed by the main villain’s guards). And while it may only be his first leading role, Johnson does show some early signs of that great charisma that he’s well-known for. Thus, while it may be a bit forgettable, The Scorpion King is, at the very least, a decent attempt at a spin-off… a spin-off that somehow managed to warrant a prequel and two sequels in the years since despite Johnson’s absence.
Rating: 3/5
THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR (2008)
This rebooted franchise concluded in 2008 with The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. As the title suggests, it shifted the action from Egypt to China and it also saw a change in direction, with Rob Cohen (director of the original Fast and the Furious) taking over as director. However, it’s also the weakest installment of the trilogy by a long shot. The potential for some decent action sequences is wasted via shoddy editing and cinematography which, based on what I’ve heard about Cohen’s infamous adaptation of Alex Cross, is sort of becoming a common factor in his films. And, once again, the film’s visual effects are quite mediocre; seriously, this franchise never managed to catch a break when it came to CGI. Ironically, though, this film had the biggest budget of any entry in the series to date at around $145 million (Here’s hoping that the new Mummy will have better effects). Another big detriment is the loss of Rachel Weisz in the role of Evelyn. Though, to be fair, if she didn’t come back because of the script, which is one of the rumored reasons as to why she didn’t, then I wouldn’t blame her. Maria Bello takes over the role in this film and while she is a good actress, she’s severely underused and her chemistry with Brendan Fraser lacks the great dynamic that he and Weisz had. As I alluded to earlier, I’d argue that Rachel Weisz was the best part about the first two films, as her character was both the most charismatic and most interesting (e.g. in the second film, we learn that, in a past life, she was an Egyptian princess). Here, though, the character isn’t given anything to do despite what we’ve seen from her in previous films. It also doesn’t help that the film overdoes it when it comes to humor; seriously, even The Scorpion King was better at this. In short, I don’t mind the idea of this franchise exploring different ‘mummy-type’ scenarios outside of Egypt. However, that concept went nowhere because Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, despite doing as well commercially as its predecessors, ended up being a massive dud that effectively killed the franchise, hence why we have the new film that’s coming out this week.
Rating: 0.5/5
No comments:
Post a Comment