The Mummy (1999) review.
Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz starred in a fun Indiana Jones-like blockbuster 25 years ago. Our look back at The Mummy.
Classic movie reviews will contain spoilers.
The Mummy
Directed by Stephen Sommers
Screenplay by Stephen Sommers
Starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo, Kevin J. O’Connor, Jonathan Hyde and Oded Fehr
The Mummy (1999) Review
Years before they thought up the ill-fated term “Dark Universe”, Universal Pictures landed on a winning strategy with one of their classic monsters. A heap of CGI…A dash (ok…a lot) of Indiana Jones…and all the thrills of a then modern summer blockbuster resulted in a giant hit with a long dormant property. With a cast that boasted two future Oscar winners and a classic storyline behind all the adventure…The Mummy hit theaters in 1999 like a game changer. It’s a formula they would repeat a few more times to continued financial success. Unfortunately, the first installment remains the only one worth watching. But that one still stands as a classic.
Boris Karloff played Imhotep in the 1932 version of the Mummy. His mission was very much the same as the character in the 1999 update. His goal to resurrect his long dead love Anck-su-namun has always stood out as a relatively altruistic one among horror franchises. Of course, hundreds of years’ worth of pent-up vengeance and the destruction brought to anyone in his path muddies that more than a bit. Imhotep is played here by Arnold Vosloo…arguably supplying Universal with its first genuinely memorable monster since the golden age of horror. At least, that is, to the generation of movie goers who flocked to theaters in May of 1999.
Unlike the original, however, Imhotep isn’t the star of this story. That spot is given to Brendan Fraser’s Rick O’Connell. A Han Solo type inserted into an Indiana Jones movie. It’s all very proto-Mal Reynolds for any Firefly fans out there. It’s also incredibly effective. Fraser is at his charismatic best and is well suited for the role of action hero. He shares the spotlight with Racel Weisz’s Evelyn…the brains of the operation who, like the leading lady in 1932, becomes a key part of Imhotep’s plan.
The chemistry between the pair makes a lot of The Mummy’s pieces fit together. The love story is as basic as it gets. The scoundrel and the bookworm who find they fit together. The Mummy doesn’t waste time removing the (believe it or not) literal glasses from Evelyn’s face. Weisz’s character is certainly given more to do than the women during the classic Universal Monsters’ era. She’s arguably the lead over Fraser…though it isn’t billed that way. It’s her arc we are following…even as she ends up the damsel in distress and falls head over heels for O’Connell following a forced kiss. Actually…despite her character being the only one who should know better she is also the one who unleashes Imhotep and his plagues on the world. Maybe I need to rethink this.
O’Connell is a much simpler character. He’s there to be charming and adventurous. An action/comedy lead that is believable at both. Fraser is a fit…but there isn’t a second level to the role. Evelyn may be harder to pin down…but Weisz imbues her with a level of agency that may not actually be in the script. She is what stands out most about The Mummy 25 years on. The movie doesn’t really strive to be anything other than a strong popcorn adventure flick. Weisz does, however. She wills her character to become the most interesting in the mix…even when the script tries to box her in.
The CGI holds up better than you’d expect…but it’s still very clearly a product of its time. It helps to have a scope that is bigger than the next effect. The Mummy is loaded with spectacles and a sprawling cast to match. You pretty much know who will and won’t be making it to the end immediately…but the movie is smart enough to have fun with that. It makes the deaths of expendable characters a part of the plot. Imhotep doesn’t show up in The Mummy until surprisingly deep into the story. When he does…his immediate goal is to regenerate himself by killing all the people we already know are fated to die. A small bit of care goes a long way in summer blockbusters.
Scare Value
People were already likening The Mummy to an Indiana Jones movie 25 years ago. It’s hard to ignore the similarities. A quarter of a century later, however, the comparison may now work in The Mummy’s favor. When it was said in 1999…it was meant as a knock. Looking back in 2024…no one has made a better actual Indiana Jones movie since. Combine that with Universal’s various struggles to find success with their crew of classic monsters and The Mummy starts to look like a miracle. In reality…it’s a fun movie that is worth keeping in your rotation after all these years.
4/5
The Mummy (1999) Links
Rent/Buy on VOD from VUDU
Buy on 4K/Blu-Ray from Amazon
