Hi there! Welcome to Pakalang's Favourite Corner at CIAO.com.. (JUST MOVED UNI, so will be AWAY to s...
Hi there! Welcome to Pakalang's Favourite Corner at CIAO.com.. (JUST MOVED UNI, so will be AWAY to settle in!! SORRY!!)Reaching my 60th op soon! Watch this space coz it's definitely not another film review! ;)
Member since:13.07.2000
Reviews:59
Members who trust:73
Intro: ~~~~~~ Well, it’s been a long time since I last wrote an op at CIAO. For the past few weeks I was in the process of updating my profile with a better looking HTML page. But I guess that can wait.. Well, to mark my return, I think I start off with a film review (a subject that I’m quite fond at, though haven’t achieved ‘Jonathon Ross’ standard yet!) Here goes!
The Mummy Returns: the review: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hollywood has a trend of making movie sequels that achieve huge success at the box office. Most fail because they can't produce the magic the second time. However, there are sequels that prove to be better than the original where the filmmakers took the sequel in a completely new direction, making sure that they are not simply rehashing the same formula. Films like "Aliens" and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" comes to mind. Stephen Sommers's "Mummy Returns"
actually for me FAIL miserably to join that exclusive list. Here’s why;
Plot summary: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ten years have passed since their first encounter with the evil mummy Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo); adventurers Rick O'Connor (Brendan Fraser) and Evelyn Carnahan or Evie (Rachel Weisz), are now happily married with a son, Alex (Freddie Boath). While many families choose to have their holidays on sunny beaches or somewhere, this family unearths Egyptian mummies and artifacts for leisure. Trouble, however, is lurking around the corner when they located a bracelet that bears the power to release the spirit of the Scorpion King (The Rock), a warrior who traded his soul to a god.
Then there is Anck Suck Namun (Patricia Valazquez), the woman whom Imhotep tried to resurrect in the first movie. She is now reincarnated as a modern day femme fetal, who is down right evil. With the help of Lock Nah and a group of mean mercenaries, they set out to bring back Imhotep. When Alex finds himself wearing the bracelet and subsequently, kidnapped by the bad guys, it is up to the parents with the help of Jonathan and warrior Ardeth Bay to save the smart little kid. This sets a chain of events that will lead to a showdown between the forces of good and evil. Of course, to tell you more would spoil everything for you.
Why is it bad?(my trashing and bashing!!) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Though having bigger budget and more CGI creatures, Mummy Returns is another typical popcorn movie. According to Sommers in a press release, “Everything is bigger now – the stunts, the effects, the whole concept.”. Clearly Sommers believes SIZE is everything! He hopes to create movie magic not by something as old fashioned as imagination or characterisation, but by taking the standard action sequences, big set pieces and so called “special effects”, and just piling them up all together and making everything bigger, faster and louder, and then adding all the wham! and bam! Hollywood money can buy. The result? One bland and bloated monster of a blockbuster.
Everything that made The Mummy(the first installment) so appealing – charm, a light comic touch, endearing characters – is consipicuosly absent! The various computer-generated baddies – carnivorous pygmies, skeleton attackers and armies of canine warriors – are not at all scary or clever. As for the giant, half-man, half-spider Scorpion King, it looks as if it escaped from a cheap computer game for children!
Conclusion: ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Overall, The Mummy Returns is for me like an “escapism fun” movie for all with no real substance.(maybe not a lot will agree with me, but who cares?) Yeah, yeah it does blow the boxoffice and make a lot of money (like Pearl Harbour!), but the best blockbusters (eg Star Wars, Indiana Jones series) prove there is no instrinct conflict between making good movies and making a lot of money. Why, in the name of “pure entertainment”, must we accept lazy, second-rate efforts like the Mummy Returns? In this case, I know I didn’t! We should always demand more of our blockbusters, not less!
(Well, I’m not surprised at all if this op will get loads of unhelpful ratings coz loads of ciao people loves the movie!, But, hey, that’s why I said I will return wif a BANG!! LOL!!)
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2000 - Horror - Director: Keenen Ivory Wayans - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Carmen Electra, Anna Faris, Kurt Fuller, James Van Der Beek, Keenen Ivory Wayans
My brother thought it was a good film but I'm still reluctant to see it - I think it will be as bad as you say it is! :)
angela.muscat 02.09.2001 19:03
Excellent opinion. I haven't seen this film but I have considered it. By the way, just because
you don't agree with an opinion is not a reason to rate it unhelpful. Angie
Defiler 01.09.2001 06:23
Good opinion and I agree with what you say here. Despite this though I quite liked the film myself, I didn't expect much from it other than a film I could watch without thinking much and I felt it was fairly enjoyable in that way even though it didn't leave any lasting memories or made me want to watch it again.
Advantages: brilliant acting, great special effects, tonnes of special features, cheap Disadvantages: feels as if special effects are prioty over acting, storyline wasn't as good
Aug 26th, 2001
(Aug 28th, 2001)
very helpful by (100%):
