Written by Patrick Sambiasi
Welcome to Screen Vortex’s Throwback Film Talks, the place where we revisit cult classics, franchises from our childhood, forgotten remakes, and see whether they're worth our time (once more)!
Today we're talking about The Mummy, in particular the 1999 adaptation starring Brendan Fraser and its 2001 sequel. Let’s immediately jump in by saying that the third installment is worth skipping, and actually, it’s already forgotten, buried under a pile of Michael Bay's Transformers. It’s garbage. Why, you might ask? Let’s refresh your memory: they recast Rachel Weisz’s character with Maria Bello who seems to think she’s in a Bond movie, Alex O’Connell has grown up to be an annoying rebel frat boy, Luke Ford thought he could just pull off some sort of Indy rip-off, and the Emperor mummy is not even a real mummy… It’s a pile of terracotta. Trust me, let’s forget about it.
Recently there's been a resurgence of classics: Kong: Skull Island at the beginning of the year, Jumanji this fall, last year it was Ghostbusters, The Jungle Book and even Ben-Hur ( a pointless remake that no one watched). And to prepare myself for these remakes/reboots I’ve done a couple of film marathons, the most recent one obviously being The Mummy. I was particularly attached to this franchise, to the point of saying that as a child, O’Connell was MY Indy. He was charming but at the same time quite dorky and hilarious. Brendan Fraser didn’t try to be cool and he knew exactly what film he was in, something that Tom Cruise, for example, didn’t. The Mummy & The Mummy Returns introduced me to the adventure genre and also, yes some of you might eyeroll or giggle, to the horror genre as I found Imhotep’s first transformations absolutely horrifying. Years and years have passed since I used to close my eyes shut to the screams of HE TOOK MY EYES! HE TOOK MY EYES! (the beetles crawling under people's skin had the same effect on me! -ed). And has anything changed? How does The Mummy hold up, especially in comparison to the new interpretation? Well, ladies and gentlemen, it holds up really well!
Today we're talking about The Mummy, in particular the 1999 adaptation starring Brendan Fraser and its 2001 sequel. Let’s immediately jump in by saying that the third installment is worth skipping, and actually, it’s already forgotten, buried under a pile of Michael Bay's Transformers. It’s garbage. Why, you might ask? Let’s refresh your memory: they recast Rachel Weisz’s character with Maria Bello who seems to think she’s in a Bond movie, Alex O’Connell has grown up to be an annoying rebel frat boy, Luke Ford thought he could just pull off some sort of Indy rip-off, and the Emperor mummy is not even a real mummy… It’s a pile of terracotta. Trust me, let’s forget about it.
Recently there's been a resurgence of classics: Kong: Skull Island at the beginning of the year, Jumanji this fall, last year it was Ghostbusters, The Jungle Book and even Ben-Hur ( a pointless remake that no one watched). And to prepare myself for these remakes/reboots I’ve done a couple of film marathons, the most recent one obviously being The Mummy. I was particularly attached to this franchise, to the point of saying that as a child, O’Connell was MY Indy. He was charming but at the same time quite dorky and hilarious. Brendan Fraser didn’t try to be cool and he knew exactly what film he was in, something that Tom Cruise, for example, didn’t. The Mummy & The Mummy Returns introduced me to the adventure genre and also, yes some of you might eyeroll or giggle, to the horror genre as I found Imhotep’s first transformations absolutely horrifying. Years and years have passed since I used to close my eyes shut to the screams of HE TOOK MY EYES! HE TOOK MY EYES! (the beetles crawling under people's skin had the same effect on me! -ed). And has anything changed? How does The Mummy hold up, especially in comparison to the new interpretation? Well, ladies and gentlemen, it holds up really well!
The Mummy turns out to be exactly what you expect: based on a ridiculous premise, quite scary at times but mostly funny. Come on! What other film uses cats to defeat its villain? The Mummy’s effects have aged pretty well and I still find myself cringing at moments such as Imhotep casually eating a scarab beetle walking on his face. The performances don’t feel campy because the tone of the film is so perfectly respected and the dialogue is filled with quotable one liners. The Mummy Returns as well, even if a little redundant, has its moments, like the bus escape sequence or when Jonathan is being chased by tiny mummified monkeys in the woods. Both these films have something really special that many blockbusters don’t have nowadays: they are light entertainment. I didn’t feel any pressure at all while rewatching these films, they were fun, very self-aware and because of that I took them even more seriously. Compare the feeling of watching these two to 2017’s The Mummy, with all its Dark Universe world building exposition and soulless characters and you’ll see what I mean.
Just read through this small exchange to understand how writer/director Stephen Sommers easily blends exposition, comic relief and a call to action in just a couple of lines. This scene takes place in The Mummy Returns and Ardeth Bay is referring to the bracelet of Anubis.
Just read through this small exchange to understand how writer/director Stephen Sommers easily blends exposition, comic relief and a call to action in just a couple of lines. This scene takes place in The Mummy Returns and Ardeth Bay is referring to the bracelet of Anubis.
And here I leave you my dear readers; Alex Kurtzman’s Mummy has left a bitter taste in all our mouths so why not sweeten it up with some late 90's fun? Let me know what you thought of the new Mummy and your afterthoughts on The Mummy’s rewatch.
Screen Vortex’s Throwback Film Talks takes place every week with articles, visual content, scripted original work and much more. Tune in next week!
Random Fact of the Week: A cloak lent by the British costume rental company Angel and worn by an extra in The Mummy was discovered to have in fact been made for Alec Guinness when he played Obi Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977).
Video of the Week:
Screen Vortex’s Throwback Film Talks takes place every week with articles, visual content, scripted original work and much more. Tune in next week!
Random Fact of the Week: A cloak lent by the British costume rental company Angel and worn by an extra in The Mummy was discovered to have in fact been made for Alec Guinness when he played Obi Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977).
Video of the Week:
PS: For those of who are confused by what you just watched, this is literally the first trailer ever distributed on YouTube for Tom Cruise’s The Mummy. Apparently, they forgot a few sound effects. No I’m not kidding, this is a real thing and it got deleted pretty quickly, but fortunately for us, the force is strong with the YouTube community.
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