The Mummy Review
By Mark Grady
Mum's The Word
I probably shouldn't be putting this in writing, since it makes me look rather plebian, but I thought The Mummy was a lot of fun. My criteria, in this case, are not overly taxing. Let's face it, I knew what I was going to see when I bought the ticket. In view of this, the following opinions should be read with the understanding that I am "grading on a curve".
To help the reader (and I intentionally use the singular) understand the curve, I am the type of person who typically goes to see movies with the sole intent of being amused. I am also the type of person who is very easily entertained.
So...off we go.
The Mummy is a very simple picture (not film, not movie, but picture) about some treasure hunters getting exactly what they deserve. There are no surprises. There is very little suspense. There is some confusion, but that, unfortunately, is due to script problems rather than plot intricacies. Everyone in the audience knew (or certainly should have known) exactly what was going to happen at every juncture.
If you are willing to accept these things without too much thought, it was a pretty good movie.
As far as the characters go, the special effects were pretty cool. This is exactly the type of picture where the entire audience is thinking, "Oh man, don't open that! Are you crazy?". The characters weren't written to be particularly clever, nor were they terribly stupid. There were just sort of along for the ride.
By extension of this, it is impossible to say much about the actors. They were given very thin parts with very trite lines. They were the very same characters that appear in every other suspense / horror movie of this genre. There was the n'er-do-well hero, the damsel in distress, the hero's useless but likeable sidekick, the BAD guy, and the bad guy's lackey. Each actor seemed comfortable with his or her role, which I guess says something. It's probably not that easy to walk through a script like this without coming-off as vaguely uncomfortable.
The only stand-out in this area was Brendan Fraser's portrayal of Rick O'Connell, the n'er-do-well hero. Mr. Fraser's characterization was alarmingly wooden and campy. If this was done intentionally, then I rather liked it. If not, well, then the guy is one of the worst actors in Hollywood.
A few quick thoughts as a summary:
-- Fun movie, but forgettable. I'll watch it again on HBO, Cinemax, etc., probably more than once, and I won't feel as though I've wasted too much time.
-- Historic inaccuracies can be a bit unsettling. If you're an Egyptologist, stay away.
-- I do enjoy watching a movie that I feel I could have acted in without seeming incompetent by comparison. I guess that's my interpretation of "accessible".
On the Lozito Scale, I give it **. My personal lack of ability to enjoy the "great films" made me want to give it **1/2, but I'm trying to respect the standards of the Lozito Scale.
