The Mummy 2- The Return is a film about a mummy. During the film the aforementioned mummy returns. I hope this doesn't give too much of the plot away although it does leave me in a bit of a spot for where to go with the rest of this opinion.

I think I'll start again. I liked The Mummy 2- The Return. I'm not saying its a cinematic masterpiece that will change the way films are made forever, but its harmless enough as sequels go and definitely watchable.

The plot (if you haven't managed to work it out yet) is basically good-guys-trying-to-save-the-world-from-nasty-mummy-dude. Of course this isn't particularly imaginative, although surprisingly in The Mummy 2 the mummy (Imho-tep) actually wins and ends up ruling the world. OK that's not true but it would have been a nice twist.

First and foremost this is an action movie. If you enter the cinema with a sound knowledge of Egyptology and interest in archaeology you're probably going to leave disappointed, however if you are prepared to be treated as a bag of popcorn you and The Mummy 2 will probably get along just fine.

The film moves along at a startling pace, it begins with the Scorpion King (The Rock) getting his behind whupped in ancient times, it doesn't matter (ahem) as he sells his soul and comes back with an army of darkness and goes on a bit of a rout. Now for some reason or another if the Scorpion King is then defeated in battle this army of darkness will follow the victor (Canine followers of Anubis can be so fickle) and with this army will cause oceans of blood, time of darkness, dead to rise, I'm sure you know the score. Anubis quickly takes The Scorpion King down to the underworld before The Rock's acting ability is required for the start of the film proper. The film proper is of course the bad guys trying to gain control of this army and the good guys trying to stop them.

The film looks great on the big screen, being a healthy mix of appropriate back-drops, pretty actors, impressive set pieces and loud noises. Due to The Mummy 2- The Return being a modern action film it also has its fair share of Crouching Angels, Hidden Matrix fight scenes which are always enjoyable. However some of the special effects brought into the film I feel let it down. Many of the features are computer generated and stand out a little too much to fit in with the rest of the action. At one point you could be forgiven for thinking you were watching the wildebeest stampede from the Lion King rather than hoards of marauding warrior dogs from hell. There isn't the opportunity to get hoards of marauding warrior dogs from hell into a movie often these days, so when it is done I feel it should be done well.

However this small drawback pales into insignificance when compared to the fact that The Mummy 2- The Return is the big screen debut for Donna 'Ooh Biker' Air. What casting! Apparently Ant & Dec are tipped to succeed Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz in The Mummy 3, where some bigger boys want to ride their bikes at the Grove.

Sorry that bit's irrelevant. To sum up, The Mummy 2- The Return isn't the best film you'll ever see, it probably isn't even the best film you'll ever see with a mummy in it. In fact I'd even go as far to say that it probably isn't the best film you'll ever see with the words 'mummy' and 'return' in the title but that doesn't mean you won't like it. Perfectly harmless fun (if you ignore the violence, killing and the flesh eating undead) that is well worth a trip to the local flicks to watch.