Soldier Nick Morton (Tom Cruise) is looking
for a treasure with his partner in Iraq
(from a map he stole off a woman named Jennifer Halsey who works for a secret organization called Prodigium. During a conflict with armed insurgents, the entrance to an Egyptian tomb is uncovered. Nick unleashes a sarcophagus stuck in mercury.
It belongs to Princess Ahmanet of Ancient Egypt who was imprisoned in a faraway tomb due to the dark bargain she struck
with the God of Death Set which she left unfinished after killed her father (the Pharaoh), his wife, and her brother. Ravens bring down the plane transporting Ahmanet’s sarcophagus and
Nick gives a parachute to Jennifer, but somehow he has survived the crash where he next wakes up in a morgue. Dr. Henry Jekyll (Russell Crowe), the head of Prodigium, says Nick has a link to Ahmanet and she
wants to use him as a vessel for Set.
THE MUMMY is a new reimagining of
the Universal movie tale which was last rebooted in the 1990s (but a scene in the movie does show the Book of the Dead from
the first movie in that series) and it is the first in the new Dark Universe horror series that Universal has launched with
BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN to be the next movie. Tom Cruise is his usual action
star self (while doing many of his own stunts). Russell Crowe is good as Dr.
Jekyll. THE MUMMY is an entertaining movie even though it feels a little underdeveloped
as the movie could have used more layers to the plot, but I do consider the movie to be a promising start to Universal’s
Dark Universe. I do miss all of the humor that existed in the Brendan Fraser
Mummy movies, but Hollywood is always about reinventing a brand that people know
(for better or for worse). THE MUMMY has its highlights with a few scenes
and it introduces the secret organization that will fight the various universal Monsters in the Dark Universe movies. If You like Tom Cruise action movies like the MISSION:
IMPOSSIBLE series or sci-fi like OBLIVION, you will be entertained by the movie (and go check out the trailer recut which
combines footage from this movie and the fourth MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE).
SPECIAL FETAURES:
A few deleted and extended scenes that
were cut for pacing reasons
Feature film audio commentary with the
director and cast members Sofia Boutella, Annabelle Wallis, and Jake Johnson
Featurettes:
CRUISE & KURTZMAN: A CONVERSATION (21:15)-
Tom Cruise and director Alex Kurtzman talk about making the movie while honoring the old classic Universal monster movies
which they are fans of.
ROOTED IN REALITY (6:52)- production design fetaurette
LIFE IN ZERO-G: CREATING THE PLANE CRASH
(7:32)- behind-the-scenes look at filming the plane crash sequence
MEET AHMANET (7:38)-
a look at actress Sofia Boutella who plays the character and how they used some CGI and special effects make-up to achieve
the character
CRUISE IN ACTION (6:09)
– behind-the-scenes of Tom Cruise doing his own stunts
BECOMING JEKYLL AND HYDE (7:10)- Russell Crowe talks about the playing the duo character
CHOREOGRAPHED CHAOS (6:35)- behind-the-scenes of the action and stunts of the
movie
NICK MORTON: IN SEARCH OF A SOUL (5:43)- focus on the character of nick Morton
AHMANET REBORN animated flash graphic novel
The movie in standard definition on DVD
and code to download and stream a digital HD copy of the movie
FINAL ANALYSIS: THE MUMMY is an entertaining new take on The Mummy, but it isn’t as good as the last reboot from
1999 which benefited from having a sense of humor for a few scenes which this movie doesn’t have. The movie underperformed, so it isn’t likely we will see a sequel as Universal seeks to de-emphasize
the Dark Universe. The extras are a good behind-the-scenes look at the making
of the movie and various retailers have exclusives (like Target with the steelbook).
This review is ©9-30-2017 David Blackwell
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