The Mummies, A Recap...
THE MUMMY (1999)
Action/Adventure, PG-13, 125 mins.
An English librarian, of all people, enlists the help of a French legionnare named Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser), in an archaeological dig to find the ancient, lost city of Hamunaptra, the City of the Dead. Unfortunately, there is a band of shady treasure hunters on the same search, frantic to find the untold treasure said to be buried beneath the sands.
A race between the two groups ensues, their common foe being the high priests of Hamunaptra, who have guarded the city for 3,000 years. Soon, the mummy Imhotep (put to a grisly death 3,000 years in the past for getting a little too friendly with the Pharaoh's mistress) is disturbed from his slumber, with the unfortunate side-effect of releasing a variety of plagues upon the unsuspecting people of Egypt. The manifestations of his sleep-induced irritability include locusts, rivers of blood, earthquakes, flies, and remarkably creepy flesh-eating beetles.
Sample dialogue: "Rescue the damsel in distress, kill the bad guy, save the world."
An unrelated update of the 1932 Boris Karloff classic, The Mummy is a fast moving adventure film that places a lot of stock in its special effects and good-looking stars, but is still a fun ride despite a slight but permeating shallowness. Fraser's Rick O'Connell is little more than a muddy conglomeration of the single-mindedness of Han Solo, the cheesy one-liners of James Bond, and the adventure spirit of Indiana Jones, but despite the lack of originality the entertainment value is undeniably high.
THE MUMMY RETURNS (2001)
Action/Adventure, PG-13, 130 mins.
Two years later, enter The Rock (by the way, that was a cool movie too). I have to say that it's a good thing that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has such huge public appeal, because the tagline for this movie was "The most powerful force on earth is about to be unleashed by the two people who should know better." It's a bad sign when the studio itself advertises a movie using the main characters' stupidity, although the first Mummy sequel was only slightly less well-received than it's highly popular predecessor.
In Ancient Egypt, the Scorpion King was the leader of a menacing army until he sold his soul to Anubis and was erased from history. Reduced to a myth, it's up to our heroes Rick and Evelyn (and their 8-year-old son Alex) to find the Bracelet of Anubis. Complicating matters is that the owner of the Bracelet also has control of the Scorpion King's army, so it's only natural that Imhotep should reappear and seek the thing himself.
Rick O'Conell and Imhotep suddenly smell what the Rock is cooking.
The Mummy Returns is a bigger and louder and faster version of the first film, with the added bonus of the character of the Scorpion King, who was so popular that, for better or worse, he spawned his own spinoff. Unconvincing battle sequences and a clunky script are balanced by an unrelenting pace and clever story, as well as some clever homages to past, and better, films.
THE SCORPION KING (2002)
Action/Adventure, PG-13, 92 mins.
Dwayne Johnson's Scorpion King in The Mummy Returns was so successful and popular that Universal decided to make another movie dedicated to the character. We don't really find out as much about the character as you would expect from his own personal movie, but if you want to get your Scorpion King fix, this is the place to get it.
In an ancient Egypt that predates the pyramids, rather than a story about a Pharaoh and his mistress (which was how we met Imhotep), here is a story about the evil King Memnon (not to be confused with the Greek king Agamemnon) and his sorceress, Cassandra. Johnson plays the unassuming Mathayus, a regular guy in ancient Egypt, you might say, until he pressed into action to stop Memnon from taking over the world.
The sorceress, Cassandra, clearly looking to start trouble.
Sadly, they put far too much stock into Johnson's likability and not enough into other elements of the movie. The script is by the numbers and uninteresting, and the movie tries too hard with the comic relief, making itself into a bit of a joke. More importantly, the action and effects are the movie's bread and butter, and since neither is very impressive, it's not a good sign for the movie.
The Scorpion King, clearly looking for trouble
Johnson is dedicated to his performance and certainly gets an A for effort, but it's just not enough to save it (I hope The Rock never reads this or I may find myself getting my ass kicked pretty soon). The real problem is that The Scorpion King is a fan's film, much like WWF is a fan's show but, like WWF, it just doesn't mix too well with a mainstream audience. Still, the entertainment value is there, and it's fun to watch Johnson and his real life good friend Michael Clark Duncan on screen together.
It seems that Michael Clark Duncan has forgiven The Rock for accidentally elbowing him on the chin during filming of The Scorpion King. What a guy!
THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR (2008)
Action/Adventure, PG-13, 111 mins.
Okay Jet Li, you're on. Don't let us down!
