The Mummy (1999)

Happy Halloween month, everyone!  I don't have the energy this year to do a full Halloween movie marathon, but I do plan to watch and review some films this month.  Starting with a classic: The Mummy (1999)!  I've reviewed the Tom Cruise version of The Mummy (2017) and I've reviewed the original Universal Studios monster film The Mummy (1932). But somehow I've missed the classic '90s action/adventure remake of the classic.

SYNOPSIS:
In 1926 Egypt, a librarian named Evelyn; A.K.A. Evie (Rachel Weisz) and her sticky-fingered brother, Jonathan (John Hannah) stumble across a map leading to Hamunaptra, the lost "City of the Dead."  Expecting the archaeological find of the century, they recruit Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser), a man who claims to have been to the lost city, as their guide.  But during their expedition, they accidentally awaken the 3,000-yr old mummy Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo), a very powerful immortal creature who brings the plagues back to Earth.  Rick, Evie, and Jonathan must find a way to end the mummy's curse before he regains his strength and brings devastation to the world.

REVIEW:
This film is absolutely wonderful, expertly combining so many genres in an enjoyable way.  There's action/adventure, romance, comedy, and a touch of horror, all wrapped up nicely in a family-fun package.  All of the characters are well-written and play off each other so well.  You would expect Jonathan to be the bumbling comedic foil, but despite his comedic antics, he's actually very intelligent and slick, and helps to save the day more than once.  Evie is a brilliant librarian with an amazing knowledge of history and archaeological studies.  She may be a bit clumsy/ditzy at times, but she's rarely a damsel in distress, despite Rick trying to treat her as one.  Even Rick is surprised at times when she's able to hold her own.

Rick is our swashbuckling hero, jumping into more than he can handle and half the time escaping death by pure luck.  He does not have a heart of gold; rather, he's more of a gold-seeker, pursuing archeological finds for what treasure he can collect.  But when the chips are down, he always does the right thing.  When the mummy is released, his first instinct is to pack up and get out of town.  But when Evie is in danger, he abandons everything to seek her out and protect her.

A former friend of Rick's named Beni (Kevin J. O'Connor) fills the role of the sleazy coward, taking the easy way out every chance he can.  He holds no loyalties to anyone but his own, abandoning others to save his own skin wherever possible.  From the first moment he's on screen to the last, he's only thinking of himself and how to best to protect his own selfish interests. There's never been a more pathetic, punchable character in film that I can think of.  He's the type you love to hate and I enjoy every scene he's in.

Imhotep is probably the most tragic of the characters.  Despite playing the villain of the film, he's actually a former high priest of the dead who fell in love with the pharaoh Seti's mistress, Anck Su Namun (Patricia Velasquez).  In a plot to be with her, the two murder the pharaoh and then Anck Su Namun kills herself, expecting Imhotep to resurrect her so they could be together again.  But the pharaoh's bodyguards stopped the ritual, instead condemning Imhotep to the darkest curse they knew.  Upon resurrection, Imhotep's goal to resurrect his love becomes his primary focus and he's only the villain because of the extremes he's willing to go in order to complete that ritual.  It's very "Romeo and Juliet."  Two lovers forced to spend eternity apart.

Some interesting trivia: In the original 1932 Mummy film, Imhotep takes on the name Ardath Bay to blend in with other mortals.  In this 1999 Mummy film, "Ardeth" Bay (slightly different spelling, to become an anagram for "Death by Ra") is a separate character, the leader of the Medjai who watch over and protect Hamunaptra to ensure the mummy stays dead.

RECOMMENDATION:
I cannot recommend this film enough!  It's the perfect blend of family-fun action, adventure, fantasy, comedy, and romance.  The story keeps you well engaged and the characters are fun to watch.  This is truly the best Mummy film out there, and one of my favorite Brendan Fraser roles.  It's also my wife's favorite film of all time, and she has a habit of re-watching it several times a week. She never gets sick of it!

If you plan to watch the sequels, I'd recommend seeing The Mummy Returns (2001) and The Scorpion King (2002).  And nothing else.  The third Mummy film (The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008)) falls flat. They replace Evie's actress, Rachel Weisz, with Maria Bello, who does a generic "British clumsy girl in distress" role.  She had absolutely no chemistry with Brendan Fraser's Rick O'Connell and just made the film uninteresting to watch. Not to mention, the plot felt very forced.  Not creative and fun like the other films, but just going through the motions.  Also, there are 4 straight-to-video sequels for The Scorpion King.  They're pretty low quality and not really worth checking out.  Although Dwayne Johnson is producing a remake of The Scorpion King right now, so keep your eyes peeled for that.  No word on if he'll be reprising his role as the Scorpion King himself or if he's just producing/directing.