I have never been a big fan of sequels, generally they are drawn out and a cheep way to cash in on the previous success and end up being very, very poor. Keeping the original cast is a good idea, and when one of the biggest and one of my favorite films from 1999 ‘The Mummy’ was back for a second helping I was more than mildly interested.
I actually missed this at the cinema, cant remember why but I was lucky enough to get a special edition 2 CD DVD pack of The Mummy Returns from Santa for Christmas. If you have not seen the first film then you may have problems, as all the people have been set out. Rick O’Connell (Brendan Fraser) is an action hero, very athletic good shot and tends to save the day. He is married to Evelyn (Rachel Weisz) whom he met in the first movie. Now moved from a wannabe Egyptologist to a fully fledged one with a curious mind and a tendency to get in trouble. This time around they have a son, Alex. Like his mother he is clever, like his dad he is tough but still has a knack of getting into trouble. Ardeth Bay is a medje warrior whose
job is to protect the world from anything nasty to do with Egypt and its history. Imhotep is a figure from Egyptian mythology, he was a high priest who committed the grave sin of hitting on the Pharoses girl, and was sentenced to the worse fate possible. Since then he has been sworn to take his revenge on the world, with the book of the dead able to raise him from the dead. His love from the previous life the very striking Anak-Su-Nam. Jonathon is the brother of Evie, rather posh though unlucky in love and a bit dithery.
In the original after an American expedition accidentally set Imphotep free on the world Rick and Evie tried with all hands to try and stop him. They did this, though there was still the danger he could return…. Of course this led nicely onto a sequel. Set 10 years later again in Egypt again Rick and Evie are still discovering priceless ancient artifacts and other stuff with a new addition their eight year old son Alex. On one dig the family discover the bracelet of Anubis that will lead the way to the as yet undiscovered oasis that holds the legendary Scorpion King. This was one bad person, nothing has been written of him but he has sold his soul to the gods in return for an unbeatable army of the undead. Some other group have risen to awake Imothep, and hope to clash him and the Scorpion king together. The winner will get control of the army of the undead, and the potential to rule the world. Alex, the O’Connell’s mischievous son has got himself into the whole thing by putting the bracelet of Anubis on his wrist. This forces the bad guys to take him with them by kidnapping. Rick and Evie drag Jonathon and Ardeth Bay joins in to rescue their kid and save the world. Again. All in all it is a nice enough chance to form some action scenes as Imothep unleashes his wrath and three way figths and dramatic twists and turns.
Like is said earlier I got this as a two disc DVD set. The first disc contains the director’s commentary through the film, along with some stuff for your PC if you have a DVD-ROM. There is a screen saver as well as a game demo of the same title and some links and other computer features. On the second disc there is a long section of an on set feature, which was very interesting. Also a pretty good thing on outtakes and special effects as well as the movie trailer and music. Also an interview with one of the stars of the wrester ling world and star of the movie The Rock. Other stuff you may find of interest, the film is rated as a 12. I guess it is a big scary and there is some death and gore, particularly near the end in the jungle, so possible not too suitable for very young kids. The film runs for approx. 124 minutes and the DVD is in English with subtitles in both English and Arabic.
One thing that amused me is that once the big boys up in Hollywood realized that the huge success from the original could be done again they commissioned another script. Just a bit funny that you can write a whole new Egyptian legacy and myth from scratch in two years. I also saw a cartoon on I think CBBC the other day, based on The Mummy Returns loosely but clearly set on for a whole series. Another spin off, all the characters were there, seemed good enough though I am far too old for things like that (!)
Anyway I have very little complaints about the film, for a sequel it was very good. All the good characters were still there so you could relate a lot quicker and get on the action. There was lots of action, tense moments and all the thrills of the original. If they make a third it could go on a bit, but there was a good enough film and a great DVD section. Overall great
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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
I have seen neither of the two films, always one to give a go :¬) James
LostWitness 09.01.2002 11:42
The major spoiler for me on this one was that obnoxious brat - why do film-makers think we all like smart talking kids? Loved the pygmies and the stone monsters in London though. Cheers, Phil :O)
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
Jan 9th, 2002
very helpful by (100%):
