There have been a ton of movies that have featured mummies over the years. And in that slew of films between the 1932 Boris Karloff classic and the 2017 Tom Cruise one (that no one except for me seemed to like), exists a trilogy of films starring Brendan Fraser. Now, none of these were big critical hits but, the first two were mostly well-received by audiences.
The last of the Brendan Fraser 'Mummy' films came out back in 2008 and because it's been ten years since that series ended, I thought it would be a good time to look back and see if the movies hold up. Also, I'm going to keep this limited to the just the 'Mummy' films, so the 'Scorpion King' spinoff movies will not be included.
What works: Although after rewatching all of these I think it would be hard to argue in favor of any one of the three films being a legitimately great piece of cinema, it's hard to deny that they are a fun bunch of adventure flicks. Brendan Fraser is solid as the likable jerk Rick O'Connell, there is a nice balance of action and comedy, and the supporting cast is (mostly) good. Also, I like the musical score in all of the films, particularly the main themes from the 'The Mummy' and 'The Mummy Returns'.
What doesn't: The CGI effects in these films are really bad. Some will argue that the films came out in 1999, 2001, and 2008 respectively so they don't look great compared to today's standards. However, as someone who saw all of these when they were first released in theaters, a lot of the effects were subpar even for the time. Additionally, each of the three films carries a runtime of about 2hrs and they all feel a bit too long. Like most trilogies, there is one movie that is clearly the weakest of the bunch, and the runt of this litter is 'Tomb of the Dragon Emperor'. It doesn't involve an Egyptian mummy, most of the jokes fall flat, and they weren't able to convince Rachael Weisz to come back, so they just recast Evelyn.
Overall, despite some problems, I still think this is a fun trilogy of films. Are they going to go down in history as all-time classics? No, but if you haven't seen then in a while then they are worth revisiting.
Have a suggestion for a film review? Leave a comment below.
-and-
If you enjoyed this there is, I did another 'Look Back' at the Hellboy films (you can check that out by clicking HERE).
What works: Although after rewatching all of these I think it would be hard to argue in favor of any one of the three films being a legitimately great piece of cinema, it's hard to deny that they are a fun bunch of adventure flicks. Brendan Fraser is solid as the likable jerk Rick O'Connell, there is a nice balance of action and comedy, and the supporting cast is (mostly) good. Also, I like the musical score in all of the films, particularly the main themes from the 'The Mummy' and 'The Mummy Returns'.
What doesn't: The CGI effects in these films are really bad. Some will argue that the films came out in 1999, 2001, and 2008 respectively so they don't look great compared to today's standards. However, as someone who saw all of these when they were first released in theaters, a lot of the effects were subpar even for the time. Additionally, each of the three films carries a runtime of about 2hrs and they all feel a bit too long. Like most trilogies, there is one movie that is clearly the weakest of the bunch, and the runt of this litter is 'Tomb of the Dragon Emperor'. It doesn't involve an Egyptian mummy, most of the jokes fall flat, and they weren't able to convince Rachael Weisz to come back, so they just recast Evelyn.
Overall, despite some problems, I still think this is a fun trilogy of films. Are they going to go down in history as all-time classics? No, but if you haven't seen then in a while then they are worth revisiting.
Have a suggestion for a film review? Leave a comment below.
-and-
If you enjoyed this there is, I did another 'Look Back' at the Hellboy films (you can check that out by clicking HERE).
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