The Mummy [HD DVD]

Buy This Item The Mummy [HD DVD] by Universal Studios Home Entertainment  Available from Amazon  $13.95  on 8-26-2008     If you're expecting bandaged-wrapped corpses and a lurching Boris Karloff-type villain, then you've come to the wrong movie. But if outrageous effects, a hunky hero, and some hearty laughs are what you're looking for, the 1999 version of <I>The Mummy</I> is spectacularly good fun. Yes, the critics called it "hokey," "cheesy," and "pallid." Well, the critics are unjust. Granted, the plot tends to stray, the acting is a bit of a stretch, and the characters occasionally slip into cliché, but who cares? When that action gets going, hold tight--those two hours just fly by.<p> The premise of the movie isn't that far off from the original. Egyptologist and general mess Evelyn (Rachel Weisz) discovers a map to the lost city of Hamunaptra, and so she hires rogue Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser) to lead her there. Once there, Evelyn accidentally unlocks the tomb of Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo), a man who had been buried alive a couple of millennia ago with flesh-eating bugs as punishment for sleeping with the pharaoh's girlfriend. The ancient mummy is revived, and he is determined to bring his old love back to life, which of course means much mayhem (including the unleashing of the 10 plagues) and human sacrifice. Despite the rather gory premise, this movie is fairly tame in terms of violence; most of the magic and surprise come from the special effects, which are glorious to watch, although Imhotep, before being fully reconstituted, is, as one explorer puts it, rather "juicy." Keep in mind this film is as much comedy as it is adventure--those looking for a straightforward horror pic will be disappointed. But for those who want good old-fashioned eye-candy kind of fun, <I>The Mummy</I> ranks as one of choicest flicks of 1999. <I>--Jenny Brown</I> Reader Reviews I haven't bought the Ultimate Edition of this superb remake, so I'll just say what I thought about the movie. First off, was anyone surprised by the fact that action/adventure loving director Stephen Sommers was a fan of the original 1932 "The Mummy"? Clearly one who aspires to such films as those found in the Indiana Jones series, Sommers brings his love for the action/adventure genre, and puts it together with the horror/suspense of the original "Mummy". Where as the original was a slow and tedious film, this remake is fast and furious, and keeps its target audience on its toes. The Mummy himself, is cleverly reinvented, and the storylines from the first two films in Universal's Original Mummy Pentalogy put forth the bulk of the inspiration seen in the film. "The Mummy" (1999) is followed by two sequels, "The Mummy Returns" (2001), and the upcoming "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" (2008). The film also has two prequels, "The Scorpion King" (2002), and the upcoming "The Scorpion King: Rise of the Akkadian" (2009).

The Mummy [HD DVD] Available from Amazon Price: $13.95 Updated on 8-26-2008.

SPONSORED LINKS