The newest Mummy movie has been released recently to less that favourable reviews which turned me off seeing the film and made me curious to revisit a childhood classic of mine The Mummy from 1999. So why did I go back and watch The Mummy 1999 over seeing the new one and reviewing that, the simple answer is that The Mummy 1999 still holds up and is a solid action adventure film.
The Mummy is not a flawless movie but it achieves what it set out to do which is to have an Indiana Jones style adventure based around the Universal Monster classic The Mummy. The striking thing about re-watching this is how much time is given to the characters and not in a Suicide Squad way where there is too much time wasted on characters but enough time is spent on each character so the audience can get a feel for what they are about. The other surprising aspect of this film is how the film lets itself breathe because after the prologue setting up the backstory of Imhotep the film goes full on adventure with sprinkles of supernatural here and there. It is only until the second half of the film are we reintroduced to Imhotep and the film switches its focus to stopping him. Watching this in 2017 is so refreshing because we have a clear set-up, characters who we can get invested in and a plot that does not flip flop every 20 minutes.
Alongside the structure is the action which is great the set pieces are shot and choreographed perfectly and you feel as if you are in the action, nothing in the action scenes takes you out of the film which again is this massive problem we are facing in today's film industry but this film handles with finesse. Of course this film is not of the calibre of Indiana Jones but it does provide the audience with a fun action romp with The Mummy as a foundation. The opening shot is still impressive today and its amazing that some films today cannot match the scale of it. The battle at Hamunaptra again has scale and feels epic in its scope and then you compare that to the footage that I have seen of this new film where everything feels close quarters and small.
Performance and characters are important in the 99 film, as previously stated the characters are all believable and they are set up very well. The actors do a wonderful job with their roles especially Brenden Fraser and Rachel Weisz who both are charismatic and fun. Fun is the key word when discussing this film and the popcorn elements clashing with the more horror type elements just create this fun romp that is not too scary but is not too light either. The film struck a perfect balance.
The score for The Mummy is incredible and helps extend the scale of the film beyond just the visuals and gives the film an identity that has been lost in recent years where the score has just been another part of a machine. The score is sweeping and has a classical feel to it but then flips to convey the more sinister elements of the film. It is a wonderful score.
Overall I would recommend people to watch The Mummy 1999 because you will get far more enjoyment out of it than you would if you saw the Tom Cruise film and if you have already seen The Mummy go back and re-watch it because it is just that much fun and certainly worthy of multiple viewings. Fun premise and story with likeable characters.
8/10
Written By
Ashley Harvey
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