The Mummy (2017) - Honest Review

Read Time: 3 minutes

Year of release: 2017
Run time: 1 hr. 50 mins. | Rated: PG-13 | Genre: Action / Horror / Adventure | Language: English

An ancient Egyptian princess mummy is awakened from her crypt beneath the desert, bringing with her malevolence grown over millennia and terrors that defy human comprehension.

Synopsis

Nick Morton is a soldier of fortune who plunders ancient sites for timeless artifacts and sells them to the highest bidder. When Nick and his partner come under attack in the Middle East, the ensuing battle accidentally unearths Ahmanet, a betrayed Egyptian princess who was entombed under the desert for thousands of years. With her powers constantly evolving, Morton must now stop the resurrected monster as she embarks on a furious rampage through the streets of London.

Introduction

When we here the title “The Mummy”, we instantly see Brendan Frasier’s face and some of his scenes with it. This reimagining of a classic was a good attempt but I feel like it did too much too soon. Directed by Alex Kurtzman with a ton of films and TV series production under his belt. He also did a number of Star Trek TV series and was involved in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

This was supposedly the start of something great. Universal Pictures’ Dark Universe. The plan featured rebooted versions of Universal Studios Monsters, including Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, and The Mummy; with overlapping characters and plots. All of which was supposed to be set in one universe. Hence the appearance and involvement of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde together with a collection of monster artifacts throughout time. The idea was great and had lots of potential, but it was a greatly forgettable film, unfortunately.

Characters

Tom Cruise always put up a great performance but it also depends on the screen writing. And I guess Cruise better fits the run and gun action films as opposed to the supernatural genre. But still, acting-wise, he still did his share of things here.
Annabelle Wallis, the leading lady in this film, was okay. Kind of out of topic, but I’d rather see her having this kind of role instead of being one like in The Malignant.
Jake Johnson as Sgt. Vail, playing as the right hand man of Cruise’s character. Every film has this one dude who’s the starting point of punchlines or a comedic scene. This is him. He is probably one of my favorite characters here, even more so than Cruise’s.
Russel Crowe’s character was not received well by viewers. The concept of him being Dr.Jekyll/Mr.Hyde was great, but the execution looked like it was budgeted. I’d rather have the version of Jekyll/Hyde from The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. He carried his character with grace, despite the downgraded Mr.Hyde.
Sofia Boutella, as Ahmanet, the mummy, was enticing. Though she was as deadly, as Imhotep, but unfortunately not as threatening.

Effects and sounds

The effects and sounds were great. The skeletal workout of the premise was the same. Accidentally bring back a sinful unnamed mummy from the dead to wreak havoc on mankind. Unfortunately the film flopped on the box office, and that resulted in the plan “Dark Universe” being scrapped.

Brendan Fraser, who starred in the previous Mummy films, stated that, in his view, the film failed due to lack of “fun”. It was too much of a direct horror movie rather than having a thrill ride, but not terrifying and scary. Also, with other films planned ahead, they already made Cruise’s character powerful, after being made a living god at the end of the film, and he also reversed the death of his friend, Sgt. Vail. They literally ended the possibility of character development there.

Conclusion

The direction of the film was all over the place, it tried to make horror with Sofia Boutella as the mummy; comedy skits with Jake Johnson; and a confusing romance between Cruise and Wallis. Having said the above, I guess its still worth a watch, but don’t ever compare it to the 1999 original, you’re not going to enjoy this if you do. Still, its a good action/horror/comedy-ish film for weekday movie nights with the family.