Written by Charlie Mihelich

I have to say I really enjoyed “The Mummy”.  Yes, I’m aware that it’s a shameless rip-off of an “Indiana Jones” movie, but it was extremely exciting, and in 1999 the special effects were incredible.  I’ve seen the first “Mummy” movie maybe twenty times, and it never gets old, but until yesterday I had only seen “The Mummy Returns” once, in a movie theater back in 2001, when I was in 10^th grade, and I don’t remember what I thought of it then.  Now, as far as sequels go, I would have to say that it’s pretty good. 

The “Mummy” movies remedy one of my biggest gripes with the “Indiana Jones” movies: not enough guns.  Sure, there were guns in the “Indiana Jones” movies, but they were used against people.  In the “Mummy” movies, however, the quick moving mummies and ghoulies are easily dispatched with shotguns and thompson machine guns in a shower of particles and grime.  It looks awesome, and it never really makes it seem as though the mummies aren’t dangerous, as they can keep coming at you after losing more than half of their bodies.  “The Mummy Returns” doesn’t disappoint in this department, with a kick ass shootout in a museum and on a double-decker bus that is actually better than any of the shootouts in the first movie.

The plot of “The Mummy Returns” is actually very stupid.  Rick (Brendan Frasier) and Evie (Rachel Weisz) are married now, and they have a son, who of course exists for no other reason than to attract families and piss me off.  Kids are the cardinal sins of action adventure movies (tell me you didn’t hate short round with a passion), but luckily the little rapscallion spends most of the film either kidnapped or off screen.  Turns out Evie is the reincarnation of the Pharoah’s daughter, and Imhotep is back for revenge.  Imhotep is also looking to control the armies of Anubis, and in order to do so he must kill the Scorpion King (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, in his first ever big screen role), but in order to release the Scorpion King from the underworld he must use a bracelet, which is attached at the moment to Rick’s arm.  What a tangled web we weave. 

Anywhoo, chaos abounds as Rick and Evie chase Imhotep (who has kidnapped the kid), but they also have to protect Evie from Imhotep and Anck Su Namun (his mummified girlfriend) while also trying not to get killed by the Scorpion King.  Exhausting. 

There’s some really great action, a really dumb script, some really lame jokes, but overall the movie is a ton of fun.  I know it’s been about 7 years, but I saw a preview for “Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” and it looks to be more of the same (minus Rachel Weisz, of course). 

As far as two-disc “Delux Editions” go, if you already own the movie, no reason to pick this one up.  Just some interviews, a story explanation, and some SFX mumbo jumbo. If you don’t already have the movie, it comes with a free ticket to see “Tomb of the Dragon Emperor”, so that at least adds some more value to the package. 

Overall, this is a pretty cool action movie, and if you don’t already have it, I would say give it a rent if you’re not the kind of person that would watch a movie over and over again.