The Mummy (1999)

I don’t see how this movie is in the horror genre. Sure it started out as a low budget horror project in the mid 90's but thanks to director Stephen Sommers, “The Mummy” became a box office hit and spawned a franchise. The movie is full of gags and but having them played against the epic backdrop makes them very fun to watch & enjoy. There are some horror characteristics but no more than “Raiders of the Lost Ark” had. “The Mummy” also had some classic character archetypes such as the adventurer protagonist, the damsel in distress and the comic scaredy cat mercenary. There is also the competition provided by the Americans led by Beni that adds to the fun. The movie's special effects have dated the movie but despite that, "The Mummy" is fun to watch more than once and that is what counts.

This movie is an unrestricted remake of the Boris Karloff film of the same name. “The Mummy” is obviously in the same class as Indiana Jones and reflects more the classic horror genre than the modern day horror genre. Sommers also wanted an adventure that resembles “Jason and the Argonauts”. His vision of the movie and the change in management at Universal allowed the budget to be significantly increased to great results. Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck either turned down the role of Rick O’Connell or were too busy. Funny enough, Cruise would later star in yet another remake of this story almost twenty years after this encarnation but that 2017 film failed to connect with audiences. Sommers noticed the success of “George of the Jungle” and a protagonist was eventually realized. Brendan Fraser fights and fires a lot of guns which appeals to us Indy fans but he sets himself quite apart from Harrison Ford. Indy does most of his fighting with Nazis while Rick has to deal mostly with the supernatual. Also, Indy would stash his loot in a museum while Rick has a little more mercenary in him. Future Oscar winner Rachel Weisz portrays well a female in danger but there is an intelligence and wit that is apparent. Other performances that I enjoyed came from John Hannah, Oded Fehr and Kevin J. O’Connor. The religious charms that Benny has really symbolize his character. It is not just a gag but shows his backstabbing attitude, forsaking one religion in the hopes that the next one will save him. I like Ardeth but he is more entertaining in the second movie because he had more screen time.

“The Mummy” has two opening prologues: the first establishes Imhotep and the second introduces Rick and his first visit to Hamunaptra. Having two prologues is uncommon but it works well in this case. I like how after Gad makes a deal with Evie, he then realizes that it means that O’Connell will have to live. The movie is full of humor such as that and I also enjoy the one-liners. Fraser makes a lot of them work. Some examples include “That happens a lot around here” after the wind blows yet again and “Look what I got”. Fraser’s delivery of the line “Oh my God” is original and pretty funny when he sees the sandstorm behind the plane. One of my favorite moments in the movie is when both exploring parties meet at the feet of Anubis underground. More humor comes about thanks to the ironic line of Rick where says that the Mummy must have got a little too frisky with the Pharaoh’s daughte. Rick’s reaction to the Mummy having come to life is also quite funny. A really funny moment is how Jonathon fools the zombies outside of the museum. I sort of like it when an element of pop culture changes the subtext of a certain line in a film from the past. Because of Harry Potter, the inscription “He that shall not be named” brings to our current minds another villian (it would be funny if Lord Voldemort came out of the sarcophagus). The special effects in the movie are cool as The Mummy transforms to full regeneration. “The Mummy” contains exciting plot twists such as when Evie chooses to go with Imhotep. I also like the irony of how after the Americans are dead, the treasure of Hamunaptra is found during the climax and it is bigger than we could have imagined. I admit that the battling of the mummies during the climax can feel silly and cartoony but I feel this is an attempt to be similar to Indiana Jones and “Jason and the Argonauts”. That I can tolerate. As Imhotep dies, I love the animation as his transformation is reversed. Almost two decades later, the special effects do look a little phoney but "The Mummy" is one film that was restored almost perfectly on blu-ray. Other films from the 90's tend to look grainy in HD. As a final note, the sound mixing was nominated for an Oscar but lost to "The Matrix".

This movie my 30th favorite fantasy film. Some interesting facts about the filming include how the cast had kidnapper insurance and that Fraser lost consciousness in the hanging scene. In terms of the music, Jerry Goldsmith did a fitting job. His work for “The Mummy” really captures adventure in Egypt. I really don’t see this as a horror film because of the adventure, scale and special effects. The gags may be silly and cliché at sometimes but the acting and epic scale of this movie justify them. The characters are also fun. I enjoy the second film in this franchise because the level and type of entertainment/fun was not lost.

4 Stars out of 5