The Mummy Returns (2001) User Reviews

Non-stop action

[moviesleuth2 · 7/10 · 14 June 2010]

The success of "The Mummy" in 1999 surprised everyone, and on the day that it opened, Universal Studios greenlit another sequel. The original (the 1999 one) was a lot of fun because it mixed creepy scares with awesome action and goofy humor. The sequel does more or less the same thing, except that the action sequences come pretty much one after another from beginning to end.

Rick (Brendan Fraser) has married his love from the first film, Evelyn (Rachel Weisz), and the have a son, Alex (Freddy Boath). After finding the bracelet of the mythical Scorpion King, they're attacked by villains who are intent on raising Imhotep from the dead (again) so he can kill the Scorpion King and take over the world. Of course, it's up to Rick and Evelyn to stop them.

All the characters from the first film in the franchise are back, and they slide into their parts easily. Arnold Vosloo gets to do more with his character, and Patricia Velasquez (who has about 10 times as much screen time as she did in the first film) has a lot of fun acting like Jennifer Lopez's alter-ego. There are a few new characters as well, including young Freddie Boath, who is excellent as Alex. His screen appeal rivals Macauley Culkin at his best. Shaun Parkes is a much better source of comic relief than Kevin J. O'Connor (he's consistently funny, and the dialogue between him and Rick or Jonathan is hilarious). Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is suitably creepy as a new villain and Alun Armstrong is suitably kooky as the ringleader.

Stephen Sommers knows how to create an action movie. He creates real characters, not actors who are given different names, and sends them into action scene after action scene. It's a fun and exciting flick, and that's all it tries to be.

A good Sequel

[mjw2305 · 7/10 · 25 January 2005]

Rick and Evelyn now married with a son, find themselves amidst the second coming of Imhotep. After their Son Alex is kidnapped by Imhotep as he seeks the Scorpion King (The Rock) Rick and Evelyn must pursue their sons capture, with the aid of the clues Alex leaves along the way.

Aside from some unusual revelations in Evelyn and Ricks past, the movie concentrates mainly on the action this time out and runs a little short on story.

I Liked the evolution of Evey's character, now she's hardened up she makes a mean adversary, and takes part in some good battles.

All in all, i enjoyed the experience and once again the Visuals were more than adequate.

If you enjoyed the first, then watch this one, its good fun and has some fine moments.

7/10

A Special Effects Extravaganza

[jhclues · 7/10 · 8 May 2001]

If you've seen the trailer for this movie, you're probably expecting fast paced adventure, non-stop action and a special effects extravaganza with just enough story to keep it all interesting. And if that's what you're hoping for, you certainly won't be disappointed; because that's exactly what you get in `The Mummy Returns,' written and directed by Stephen Sommers. The story begins in Egypt, where Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser) and his wife, Evelyn (Rachel Weisz) discover an ancient bracelet that had once belonged to a warrior known as `The Scorpion King (The Rock),' who, back in the day, had sold his soul to the god, Anubis, for control of his armies and domination of the world. Now, it seems, The Scorpion King's resurrection is imminent, and if he succeeds and once again raises the armies of Anubis, he could very well take over or destroy the world. Followers of Im-Ho-Tep (Arnold Vosloo), however, who are privy to this information as well, decide to resurrect their dark leader so that he can face The Scorpion King, defeat him, take control of Anubis' armies and conquer the world himself, putting them in control. But the key to the whole plan lies with who has control of the bracelet at the time of The Scorpion King's resurrection. And the O'Connells have taken it back home with them to London.

So the adventure begins in earnest, moving from Egypt to London, then back again to Egypt. Along the way, there's plenty of mummies, fighting, and bugs, but very few surprises, except for one scene near the end when something quite unexpected happens. The story itself gets somewhat lost in the muddle, but it doesn't really matter; plot is fairly insignificant in a movie like this, as long as it maintains at least a thread of credibility and can give the action some context. And that it does, so all is well and it allows you to get on with what this movie is really all about, which-- simply put-- is having a good time.

With shades of `Indiana Jones' and `Star Wars' abounding, the real success of this movie lies in the fact that it never pretends to be anything other than what it is or what it was meant to be, and that is an entertaining, fun movie. It's visually explosive, from the sweeping, desert vistas of the converging, battling armies, to the mummies and assorted demons and creatures generously sprinkled throughout. And the hand-to-hand combat scenes between Evelyn and Anck-Su-Namun (Patricia Velazquez) are especially thrilling. The one element of the film that doesn't seem to work too well has to do with a particular mode of transportation to which the O'Connells must resort upon their return to Egypt, and which ultimately plays a significant part in the outcome of the whole adventure. It's something that seemingly would have been more appropriate in `The Adventures of Baron Munchausen' or `Peter Pan.'

As far as the performances, suffice to say that the actors involved all do their jobs well; after all, in a movie like this you're not going to find anyone struggling with `The Method.' Fraser strikes a handsome, heroic pose-- call him a poor man's Indiana Jones-- and Weisz is becoming as Evelyn. Most importantly, they all walk the walk and talk the talk, and Sommers keeps them on track and wisely avoids allowing any lapses into `camp' or tongue-in-cheek character interpretations, which makes this a solid, fun-filled, action-adventure movie that is what it is.

The supporting cast includes John Hannah (providing some comic relief as Jonathan Carnahan), Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Lock Nah), Freddie Boath (Alex O'Connell) and Obed Fehr (Ardeth Bay). As with most sequels, you'll get more out of `The Mummy Returns' if you've seen the original, which had more of a story and, of course, would give you the background of the characters. But even on it's own and taken at face value, this movie is a feast for the senses, and just a lot of good fun. Just don't go in expecting anything more than what the trailer promises; if you can do that, chances are you're going to enjoy the movie and have a good time. I rate this one 7/10.

Better than some would make out...

[mentalcritic · 21 May 2001]

When The Mummy hit theatres in 1999, critics everywhere panned it as being a poor man's Indiana Jones. While the two movies are about as similar as Dr. No is to GoldenEye (thankfully), I suppose comparisons between one non-stop adventure film and other are inevitable. In the end, what really counts when determining a film's quality is the level to which it can entertain. And if there is one thing The Mummy did well, it was entertain. Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, and Arnold Vosloo were very well chosen for their roles.

The Mummy Returns is easy to see as being another sequel churned out to satiate the greedy money-machine that Hollywood has become, but it has a few things working for it. One thing that is immediately obvious is that the sequel was very much intended to be a film that could be enjoyed without ever having seen the original. The only references to the previous film are done to fill in the narrative gaps about who Imhotep is, and why he is the way he is. The addition of The Scorpion King was an interesting effort to give the film a new antagonist, but the lack of screentime didn't work well in this tangent's favour. Another tangent that could have been better developed was the rivalry between Imhotep's girlfriend and whatever her name was. Imhotep originally mistook Rachel Weisz's character for being his girlfriend reincarnated, so the use of a woman who looks exactly like her while creating this new tangent needed to be developed differently.

Most people won't give a damn about complex story tangents and will want to know if this film is entertaining. And it is entertaining, alright. There is barely a dull moment in the film's substantial running length, and Oded Fehr does a bang-up job of providing a Mad-Max-cum-Indiana-Jones hero. I want to know where they get those groovy costumes and tattoos from, they look quite nice. Anyway, when all is said and done, this is an eight out of ten film. A few badly constructed story details here and there, but some extremely entertaining action sequences make up for them. Don't listen to the nay-sayers. This is matinee-style material at its (almost) best. Get the DVD when it comes out, it will at least tide you over until George Lucas gets his head out of his proverbial and realises that the VHS era is well and truly over.

Enjoyable thanks to the humor and the many special effects.

[philip_vanderveken · 7/10 · 31 October 2004]

Most people compare this sequel to the first movie 'The Mummy', which is a good thing of course, but I haven't seen the first one, so no comparisons from me.

So what can I tell you? Well, the movie isn't as bad as I expected. It's all to clear that the director's first thought wasn't about the script but about the many special effects, but i still quite liked the movie. What made this movie work for me was the humor. Normally this kind of movies takes itself much too serious, there is no place for any joke or funny situation at all. In The Mummy Returns this is different.

Thanks to the humor, this movie was very enjoyable, but it is of course the many special effects that make this movie what it is. Don't expect anything real: a mummy coming to life, sucking the life out of people, armies of mythological creatures... will of course never exist in reality, but it certainly was nice to see.

I guess it is best to qualify this movie as some excellent way to pass some boring hours on a cold and rainy afternoon. It's certainly not an intellectual movie, but I didn't mind about that when watching it. I give it a 6,5/10.

Unpretentious and fun. 7/10

[zetes · 7/10 · 4 May 2001]

The Mummy Returns is maybe a step above the first one. The action is non-stop, and it does manage, for the most part, to rouse the audience, or at least me. The good guys are likable. Brendan Fraser is where he belongs. Rachel Weisz is beautiful. John Hannah amuses as Jonathan, and Freddie Boath manages not to annoy as Alex, the kid. He's pretty good as a smart-mouthed brat. The bad guys are, for the most part, fun to hate. Im-Ho-Tep is a good villain. Maybe he isn't given enough to do here, but he's still cool. Patricia Valazquez is a real stunner as his love interst, Anck-Su-Namun. She's probably the best thing about the film. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje was good as Lock Nah, the main henchman. Perhaps the weakest part of the film is the Rock as the Scorpion King. The narration during the film's prologue is not nearly as good as it would be if we were watching the story develop. The Scorpion King is basically a boring character. His computer-animated doppleganger at the film's climax is neat, but it would have been better if there were some feelings towards that character.

People who know their action flicks will notice that the Mummy Returns steals about every action scene from every action movie made in the past 20 years, quoting movies like Aliens, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park 2 (why? that movie was terrible), and especially Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, with which, if you remember, The Mummy I was competing with in the box office successfully in May of 1999. They don't try to hide any of it. They even make a jest at Spielberg with a shadow against the moon from ET and Amblin Entertainment. It's all in good fun. You shouldn't be too angry at the sloppy script. If you are going to be angry, the shoddy computer animation should be your target. Still, it's not bad.

A fast-paced, inventive adventure

[CuriosityKilledShawn · 7/10 · 24 October 2004]

Mummy Returns takes the characters and story from the first film and develops on them in a big, big way. The situations and set-pieces are wilder, the odds even bigger and character arcs more complex.

Set 10 years after the first movie Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz have made a rich living out of plundering tombs and pyramids. Who could have predicted that their old nemesis I'm-Ho-Tep would return faster and stronger than before.

But I'm still having trouble seeing I'm-Ho-Tep as a villain. Surely it's the scheming, lying, conspiring supplicants that are the real villains. The look in his eyes at the end, when his lover betrays him, is heartbreaking. I can't root for him as a bad guy when he never really does anything bad. Sure he wants to rule the world and all but who doesn't?

The effects are not the best (Star Wars Episode 2 used up all the space at ILM at the time) but there are loads of them and they're all lavish and imaginative. I HATE movies that are carried by SFX but Mummy Returns incorporates them into the story in a seamless way. How cool is the big balloon? Or the approach of Anubis' army?

Most directors screw-up big budget, big scale movies (AVP, King Arthur, Sky Captain, Exorcist Prequel, Catwoman) but Stephen Sommers knows where the heart of this kind of movie is and delivers, once again, a cheeky adventure with loads and loads of action and enough story and character to back it up. Filmed in Panavision the 2.35:1 anamorphic picture is perfect and the Dolby/DTS 5.1 is very loud and thundering. A very good soundtrack indeed. The extras are total fluff and not worth the time.

Yeah, right, and no harm ever came from reading a book. You remember how that one went?

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 14 August 2013]

After the financial success of "The Mummy" two years earlier, the sequel was inevitable. The big players from the first film are back, Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo and Oded Fehr. Stephen Sommers once again directs (and writes), Patricia Velasquez comes in to be a main player after her cameo in the first film, and young Freddie Boath plays the son of Rick and Evelyn who are now married. This time the cameo goes to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson who plays The Scorpion King and who is replaced by a very bad CGI version of himself at film's finale.

When the second sequel, "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" (2008), was released, Brendan Fraser went on record as saying that for "The Mummy Returns" they basically remade the film they had already made in 1999! This is absolutely true, some new characters and an expansion on the O'Connell romance have been put in to beef it up, while some Zombie Pygmies are around to add extra monster factor, but yes! It's a re-tread only with more money spent, more effects (and better effects apart from Scorpion King) and more noise. This actually is OK for those who enjoyed the first film immensely, because "Returns" is every bit as enjoyable as family blockbuster entertainment. The Worldwide box offices rang to the tune of over $330 million in profit. That's a lot of happy families you would think!.

So yes, it's a bit of a cheat, but much like the film before it, it gets away with it because the makers do everything they can to entertain the action/adventure loving crowd. With legions of Anubis warriors, those awesome Pygmies and the all round funny by-play between a cast comfortable with the material (again), "The Mummy Returns" delivers exactly what can reasonably be expected of it. 7/10

Pretty good for a sequel.

[daria84 · 8/10 · 7 May 2003]

This movie is pretty good, it delivers pretty much the same thing we got in the Firs movie. Some characters are more developed and some others more expanded, all the same, some others are reduced and we are introduced to new characters. The plot is good, not as good as the first movie, but still does a good job keeping you interested and entertained the whole time.

The sequel takes place 10 years later, when Rick O'Conell (Brendan Fraser) and Evelyn Carnahan (Rachel Weisz) are now married, and have a son, Alex (Freddie Boath). Alex has been kidnaped by the bad guys, including the infamous Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo) and his eternal love reincarnated (Patricia Velazques). Now it's just a matter of time for them to find Alex before it's too late for everybody...

The performances are pretty good, almost all of them. Brendan Fraser does a good job once again as the handsome Rick, he is strong, funny, charismatic, what else can you ask? Rachel Weisz role has been developed a lot more, she is no longer the clumsy egyptologist wanna-be, now she runs the British museum and is a mom; and she does a great job with that. John Hannah is also back as the useless Jonathan, this time not as funny as he used to be. Oded Fehr character has been expanded a lot, we get to see him a lot more in this movie. He did a good job as Ardeth. One more time, the winner of this movie is Arnold Vosloo as the villain; his performance was excellent! He manages to express all the emotions without opening his mouth! This guy has great acting skills, too bad not many movie producers/directors have noticed it. The Rock does his movie debut with this movie, he is the Scorpion King, the whole movie turns around him, even though he was in the movie for the first 5 minutes of it. Still he did a good job for his first time. Patricia Velazques was the only one who did a BAAAAD job. Her acting is awful! She is pretty and everything, but she really needs some acting classes.

The music once again is one of the key parts of this movie, it is really good, even though Jerry Goldsmith wasn't in charge of it. The direction is good too, just like in the first movie, and we get to see a lot more of special effects.

This movie is good, i really enjoyed it, I liked the first one better though, but that's just me. You might like this one better, so YOU MUST SEE THIS ONE! **** out of *****

More of the same adventure sequel, but it actually works.

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 8 September 2009]

Both the original and this are great fun and completely likable. Of course the sequel does have flaws, the plot isn't quite as strong as the one in the original, the scorpion king was a bit of a disappointment(he could've been designed better) and again like the original it is overlong. But it does have a sense of unpretentious fun, and that is great to see. The visuals are very impressive, and the music score, this time by Alan Silvestri is very effective, though I do prefer the Goldsmith. Although he isn't given as much to do, Arnold Vosloo still impresses as Imhotep, who I admit I did find scary in the original, not so much here, but Vosloo's performance is great. The other performances are fine too, Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz are both charming in the lead roles, and Patricia Velasquez is just beautiful beyond words as Meela Nais/Arnk Su Namun. Plus Freddie Boath is perfectly tolerable as Alexander, and John Hannah is fine too, same with Allun Armstrong of all people. All in all, a fun sequel, that shows that more of the same can actually work. The only other sequel that I have seen that is more of the same yet lives up exactly to the standard of its original is Home Alone 2:Lost in New York. 7/10 for Mummy Returns. Bethany Cox

Saddly the first one was far better

[whatson · 1/10 · 4 July 2001]

The only thing this movie had that was even remotely interesting was how it ties the plot together.

The CGI was worse than the original. The acting was never that good. Plus, the jokes were recycled.

If it were free, maybe it would be worth seeing.

Romance makes movie complete

[halebopp3 · 10/10 · 2 December 2001]

After seeing "The Mummy" in the theaters for the first time two years ago, I knew I would be hooked. I've watched it about twenty times since then, and as many people know, this movie does not get boring or less funny after watching it numerous times, in fact, I think it gets more and more thrilling each time. I began hoping for a sequel to be released, and when I heard that one was in the making, I was relieved that they weren't going to end this great storyline with just one film. When "The Mummy Returns" was finally released in theaters, it didn't recieve very many good reviews right away. I was dissapointed because I didn't understand how Stephen Sommers could direct such a great movie classic and then totally botch a promising sequel. I let the reviews get to me and I didn't see the movie while in the theaters. I waited until this past weekend to watch TMR on pay-per-view not expecting much due to the bad reviews, but I soon found out that, boy, were some of those critics wrong.

Right from the opening scene I knew I wasn't going to be disappointed. The action, special effects, acting, comedy, and romance were all better than it's prequel in my opinion. The plot was a little confusing, and the Scorpion King graphic at the end looked like the same one used in the video game, but all in all it was an extremely fun and enjoyable movie. I actually found myself watching it three times in a row. I probably could have watched it 24 hours straight, but I didn't want to ruin it right away.

The SFX in TMR were outstanding. The pymies were so amazing, and the Anubis warriors were excellent as well. But, on to the greater aspects of the film. I thought that Jonathan, played by John Hannah, is one of the funniest characters ever, his one-liners are terrific, I was laughing out loud during his lines. Arnold Vosloo is great as the title character, but could have been more like the original, he was not as powerful in this film but was good anyway. Many people disliked Alex O'Connell, played by newcomer Freddie Boath, but I found him to be quite funny and likable. He had many great lines and was sarcastic when the film needed it. He is a cute kid and l hope he will have a good acting career. Oded Fehr is wonderful as Ardeth Bay. He keeps the heroes grounded.

Meela/Anck-su-namun, played by Patricia Velasquez has some good scenes, but I found her to be not as great as the rest of the cast. I wasn't really looking forward to seeing The Rock as the Scorpion King in this film, but he wasn't as bad as I thought, even though he was only it for about three minutes, I would have labled him as an extra. It was all hype for him. My favorite part of "The Mummy Returns" was the great chemistry between Brendan Fraser (Rick) and Rachel Weisz (Evie). They looked like an actual couple in this film, unlike other recent movies. This was why I liked this one better than the prequel. A little bit of romance was what was missing from the first 2/3 of "The Mummy", and I am so glad it was included much more in this film. Brendan Fraser is very easy on the eyes and he looks like a down-to-earth guy, not like a stereotypical moviestar. I think this is why the two seem so believeable in TMR, they are just two normal people who are still very beautiful people. I am glad they made Evie more attractive in TMR, she deserves to show off her pretty eyes. Rick is great because he is still the same sarcastic, wise-guy, handsome hero, who has all the females in the theater (including myself) drooling and sighing, that he was in the first mummy movie.

I hope that they will make another sequel with Fraser, Weisz, Hannah, Vosloo, Fehr, and Boath all included. They can't take out any of these characters without the movie being butchered. I probably won't see "The Scorpion King" since Brendan and Rachel, my favorite characters, won't be in it. I know there are many others just like me who love the romance in this film. I highly recommend this film to anyone who likes action, SFX, comedy, romance, and good clean fun. I would give this movie a 9.9 out of 10 points with the 0.1 being subtracted because it wasn't long enough to really explain the plot in more depth. When it ended, I wished it wasn't over. This goes in my top 5 movies of all time.

More of the Same but OK

[Hitchcoc · 6/10 · 19 September 2001]

There are times when the cynical part of me gets put aside and I go to a movie to just see what happens. I decided that this time I would enjoy the special effects, the rules dreamed up by the Mummy experts, none of them ancient Egyptians, and just watch. There is really no plot, at least none of any importance. It is a series of events with some loose kind of contrived hierarchy of evil that needs to be addressed. It is pure video game stuff. Still, I watched it, admiring the incredible images put on the screen. The rapidity of motion. The critters that kept coming and coming. I looked at this like I look at a photograph and said, "The people that did this are pretty darned creative." Wouldn't it be nice if there was a bit of suspense and anticipation. We all know that you-know-who is going to meet you-know-who and according to the talk about the sequel, we know who's coming next. Anyway, I'm not going to put it down but I'm also not going to bother to watch it again.

A Film Shouldn`t Revolve Around CGI

[Theo Robertson · 5/10 · 15 May 2003]

The problem I had with the original film was that the script seemed to be written around the special effects , especially the CGI . Well the bad news about the sequel is that it suffers from the same problem multiplied by ten. Witness the opening prologue of massed armies fighting , an oasis appearing from nowhere and the scorpian king`s army overrunning a city all of which might have looked good on paper but on screen is badly executed due to some really apalling CGI . I don`t know what it is about this type of cinema technology but think of all the films where it`s been used in set pieces that fail to convince ( ESCAPE FROM LA , DIE ANOTHER DAY etc ) and watching it used in THE MUMMY RETURNS left me shaking my head wondering why directors and FX maestros haven`t been able to improve upon it . Watching the action scenes in this movie is like watching a cartoon.

Equally unconvincing and uninvolving is the screenplay which revolves around the bad guys wanting to get their hands on Rachel Weisz chest . Who can blame them ? you ask , well it`s not that sort of chest I`m talking about , it`s a treasure chest containing something or another which I didn`t bother to digest because the plot takes second place to a bunch of CGI inspired set pieces . Unfortunately most of the set pieces are stolen from the previous film which gave me a feeling THE MUMMY REMADE WITH A SEQUENCE STOLEN FROM JURASSIC PARK:THE LOST WORLD would have been a better title . And watch out for the number of scenes where one of the good guys is in serious trouble only to have the hero appear to save the day . It really does get tedious after the first three or four times it happens

I may be accused of taking this film far too seriously and not realising it`s a dumb popcorn movie . Perhaps but what`s wrong with an intelligent popcorn movie ? And does anyone else miss the good old days when monsters were men dressed up in costumes or stop frame photography ?

Simply Awesome!

[rye9969 · 2 June 2003]

On my day off from work today, I decided to pop in the Mummy Returns for something fun to watch. I hadn't seen it since it was released for homeviewing, so it's been about a year or two. I must say that this movie takes my breath away each time I see it. The Mummy Returns is a roller coaster ride which barely stops during the entire 2+ hours! I love the CGI effects, and how lavish the scenery looks. The movie made me feel as though I was witnessing Ancient Egypt and and the 1930's era in person. So what if things look 'cartoony' during the battling sequences! I think that the battle sequences in Two Towers looked just as much the same. I find that with many fans nowadays, they take things way too seriously. If a movie or TV series is not what they hope for, then they blast it all to hell just because they are whining babies. Take for instance Star Trek Nemesis. That was another really good movie, yet the so called 'fans' ripped it apart piece by piece and then fed it to the dogs. I just wish that the babies would enjoy the movies instead of complaining that a movie isn't good quality. If thats the case they should just go back to their rooms and watch Fargo or the English Patient! Both the Mummy and the Mummy Returns rock as far as action movies go. Get a huge bag of chips a large bottle of pop, sit down with your girlfriend and enjoy two great movies!! Excellent fun!!

Good swashbuckling fun in confusing story

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 7 December 2013]

The team of Evelyn (Rachel Weisz) and Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser) have increase by one with the addition of their son Alex (Freddie Boath). Together, they are treasure hunting and finds the Bracelet of Anubis. In ancient times, the Scorpion King used it to command the Army of Anubis. Now everybody is on a quest to stop the coming of the apocalyptic rising of the army of Anubis.

The story is complicated and confusing. There is a lot of backstory to learn. The 15 minute prequel of The Rock as the Scorpion King didn't help any. It's more of an ad for the Scorpion King franchise. At least, it's easy to identify the good guys from the bad guys. So even if you don't understand what's happening, you know who to root for. The CGI and the swashbuckling makes up for some of the confusion.

Don't You Just Love Social Realism?

[JamesHitchcock · 6/10 · 7 December 2004]

The plot of this film is too complex to set out in any great detail. Suffice it to say that a group of villains, including one of the curators of the British Museum, have revived the corpse of the Ancient Egyptian priest Imhotep, who was put to death for his part in the murder of the Pharaoh, a crime carried out by his wife Anck-su-Namun, who was also Imhotep's lover. The villains are also seeking to use a magic bracelet to revive the Scorpion King (a warrior from another period of Egyptian history who sold his soul to the dark god Anubis in exchange for military success) and his army. The idea is that they will then use Imhotep to kill the Scorpion King, which will give them control of his army, which they will then use to achieve their ambition of world domination. The only people who can thwart their schemes are Rick O'Connell, an American archaeologist, and his beautiful English wife Evelyn, whose young son Alex has stolen the magic bracelet. Evelyn just happens to be the reincarnation of the daughter of the murdered Pharaoh……….

You get the general idea. Don't you just love social realism?

Despite the fact that the plot of 'The Mummy Returns' is clearly nonsensical, I rather enjoyed the film. It is set in the 1930s, and it clearly owes much to the 'Indiana Jones' films, also set in that period. Both involve Egyptian archaeology and artefacts with mystical powers. Although this will sound heretical to the army of Spielberg devotees, who have voted 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' to number 17 in your list of the 250 best movies of all time, I have to say that I enjoyed 'The Mummy Returns' at least as much as any of the 'Indiana Jones' series (and considerably more than 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'). The reason is that the film is fast-paced and occasionally witty; the film whisks the viewer from one adventure to another and generates enough excitement to make him or her forget the many absurdities and inconsistencies in the script. The film never makes the mistake of taking itself too seriously, a mistake that can often ruin an adventure film of this nature.

The best thing about this film is that it stars the gorgeous Rachel Weisz. Indeed, it helped to change my ideas about her. I had previously seen Rachel as an attractive, but rather conservative and proper actress, always playing English rose types in art-house movies. 'The Mummy Returns' (I have never seen 'The Mummy') showed that she has a larger range than this and has not only the looks, but also the sex appeal and cinematic presence, to take the lead in Hollywood blockbusters. (Her predecessor as official English Rose, Helena Bonham Carter, has also made a similar move). Brendan Fraser has never really been my favourite actor, but here he did well as Rick, the solid and dependable family man.

This is very much a 'family values' thriller, like 'True Lies' or 'The River Wild', in which mum, dad and the kid all play their part in thwarting the bad guys. This phenomenon perhaps marks a change in the way in which women are seen by the film industry. At one time, leading actresses often disliked being cast as a mother, even of young children, as it was seen as a sign that their career as a leading lady was over and that henceforward they only had 'character' roles to look forward to. Rachel Weisz, however, plays a mother both here and in her next film, 'About a Boy', without her career suffering any harm.

Of the other characters, there was an amusing cameo from John Hannah as Jonathan, Evelyn's cowardly and avaricious brother. The villains do not really stand out , with the exception of Patricia Velasquez as the reincarnated Anck-su-Namun, a villainess almost as sexy as the heroine. (Her duel with Rachel Weisz will probably strike most male viewers as the film's most memorable scene). The sense of menace overhanging the heroes comes more from the film's computer-generated effects. One thing I did not like was the Scorpion King, in the early scenes a human being but in the later ones a rather ridiculous and unconvincing half-man half-scorpion monster like something from a cheap B-movie.

In a way, the film could be seen as a modern-day B-movie; an updated large-scale big-budget version of those old Saturday morning quickies. Much the same thing, however, could be said of many of Spielberg's films (and not just Indiana Jones). 'The Mummy Returns' may be nonsense, but at least it is entertaining nonsense. 6/10

A solid sequel with almost nonstop action

[Tweekums · 7/10 · 19 September 2016]

This sequel opens in ancient Egypt and shows a warrior known as 'The Scorpion King' raise an army and set about conquering the known world. Eventually he is defeated and as he is about to die in the desert he prays to Anubis; he gives him a new army and he takes Egypt but is then taken by Anubis.

The action then moves forward to 1932 and explorer Rick O'Connell and his wife Evelyn are searching a site in Egypt; Evelyn had strange visions that led her to the Bracelet of Anubis. They return to London with it and their son Alex puts it on; it locks onto his wrist and shows him a vision of Ahm Shere, in Egypt. Meanwhile a cult has raised Imhotep; hoping that he can defeat the Scorpion King and take command of his army… to do that they kidnap Alex and take him to Egypt; along the way Alex is told that he has seven days from the moment he put the bracelet on to get to Ahm Shere or he will die. His parents, along with his uncle Jonathan and Ardeth Bay, set off in pursuit and before the time limit is up they come across a variety of dangers and ultimately must confront the risen Scorpion King.

Fans of the first film will almost certainly enjoy this; the plot is fairly ridiculous but that doesn't matter as the action barely stops from start to finish. The action is pretty good for the most part although some of the CGI is certainly showing its age; unfortunately this includes the Scorpion King himself. The central cast are pretty good; Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz have a good chemistry as Rick and Evelyn and John Hannah provides some good laughs as Johnathon. Shaun Parkes also provides some funny moments as Izzy, the pilot of a dirigible who has had bad experiences when working with Rick in the past. Overall this is a solid 'Boys' Own' adventure with little material that could offend and thrills that are suitable for older children and adults wanting good silly fun.

A 'Bad' movie that is fun to watch

[Flagrant-Baronessa · 7/10 · 27 October 2006]

Of all my 200-something reviews here, this proves the most difficult to write. How do you justify a film so overtly poor in all traditional aspects? Maybe you don't – maybe it is enough that I leave you with my titular summary and hope you will have as much fun as I did watching 'The Mummy Returns'.

Yet I could not to do this because it is a film that demands some evaluation. First, there are many many things wrong with this Mummy installment: its screenplay is a sketchbook mess with gaping plot holes, it suffers from the sequel-hubris of being 'big, bigger, epic', its one-liners are often wristslashingly cringeworthy, the villain characters are frighteningly flat, the animated pygmies some 2/3s into the movie are a joke, and on that note the CGI is so inexplicably bad that it may actually wound you to watch just five years later (it is bizarrely much worse than in the first Mummy film), and lastly there is an unbearably annoying young-Anakin-like boy – Rick and Evelyn's son – whom is given far too much importance in the story and far too much screen time in the film. In other words, 'The Mummy Returns' is camp of Batman and Robin-like proportions.

But my god, it is quite possibly the most well-executed and entertaining camp I have ever seen. Its predecessor 'The Mummy (1999)' proves a wonderful little Indiana Jones romp with a crisp freshness and beautiful settings. 'Returns' is equally sprawling with stunning ancient Egyptian locations and buildings but much of the novelty of the whole premise has regrettably worn off from the first film. It therefore goes to great lengths to compensate for its sequel-shortcomings by dishing out everything on a larger scale. This means kinetic, dynamic heartstopping action in all kinds of time eras with all kinds of scope. It is also, thanks to this no-nonsense approach, bathed in urgency which means no slow-paced moments to reflect on its quality.

The pinnacle of 'The Mummy Returns' success is its characters. Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz undoubtedly have a remarkably comedic rapport that was fully showcased when the series kick-started, and is equally engrossing this time around. Although these two are the goldmine of the film, it offers plenty of goodies from the rest of its cast. Oded Fehr and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje are excellent and fun to watch in their respective parts, as is the triumvirate of goofy comedic-sidekick-ish badguys with their assigned quirks. It is constantly poised on the brink of silliness, but then, so is Pirates of the Caribbean and the mainstream audience is crazy about that series.

I strongly believed that this is a highly underrated film in terms of entertainment value and it is a shame Fraser wasn't showered with awards for his hilarious performance.

7 out of 10

One of the best sequels ever

[Universalmike15 · 10/10 · 19 July 2012]

I remember the day when i saw The Mummy (1999) and thought to myself, "this is a damn good movie! I'd love to see the sequel!" And, sure enough, the sequel was released just two days later. The opening of the film had already utilized many special effects including the Tower at Thebes and the two armies fighting till the death. Also, The Rock (even though his only line was in Ancient Egyptian) was still pretty solid. After an intense war scene, we finally arrive on the O'connells. Rick (Brendan Fraser) is now a family man. his son, Alex, shows as much strength and warmth that both Evy and Rick have. Throughout the film, the relationship within the family grew and amassed to that of an odd family. The film doesn't slow down yet, we are then treated to beautiful sets that have you believe they actually were in Egypt all those years ago. Also, Alan Silvestri has a truly magnificent score that is used to its fullest potential. The film takes us to Hamunaptra, where Imhotep is found inside of some cocoon like object. later, we are at the museum in a truly memorable fight sequence. There are also some nice scenes to look at, interesting dialogue. And, some AMAZING special effects.

Overall Consensus: The Mummy Returns is, without a doubt, the best Sequel ever made. It's fun, engaging, Beautifully shot/acted and will make the audience feel as if sand is between their toes, wanting to see more of the action.

Loud, silly, PG-rated violence...

[preppy-3 · 7/10 · 2 May 2001]

basically a typical summer blockbuster! I saw it at a sneak preview last night and I mostly liked it. The action is virtually non-stop, the special effects (except for one monster at the end) are incredible and the film never stops moving. But the plot makes no sense (something about a Scorpion King and the Mummy fighting), characterizations are nonexistent and there's some truly awful dialogue. Also in a movie that takes place in the 1930s, terms like "Are we there yet?" "Whatever..." and "Get a room" did not exist! That may be nitpicking, but it bothered me. Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz and John Hannah all reprise their roles from the original. They're all very good here...too bad they have nothing to play with. But, I was never bored. It's a movie where you turn off your mind, sit back and enjoy the ride. In other words, a very good summer movie!

Alex is the Worst

[jace_the_film_guy · 4/10 · 21 March 2023]

"The Mummy Returns" is significantly weaker than the first film. Rather than explore a new story, the movie had to rehash plot points from the first one. The reincarnation aspects were forced, the Scorpion King was an afterthought (just look at the CGI) and Imhotep was a shell of himself.

Ultimately, the worst decision made by this franchise was introducing a child into the story. I used to say that Short Round was the most annoying child in cinema, but I've changed my mind. Alex has now taken the top spot.

While I liked seeing Rick and Evy back in action, and some of the fight scenes were cool, there wasn't much else to enjoy about this movie.

Best Character: Evy Best Scene: The Double Decker Bus Best Quote: "What are you talking about? I missed." - Lock-Nah Best Piece of Score: "Just an Oasis"

What fun!

[ScattyCat · 10/10 · 3 January 2002]

I loved 'The Mummy' and I wasn't disappointed with 'The Mummy Returns'. The film is easy viewing and fun. It isn't intended to be a great masterpiece. As ever the special effects were good and the humour lighthearted.

Not up to the original but still good

[Hang_All_Drunkdrivers · 7/10 · 5 April 2005]

The real stars of this show are the gals rachel weisz and patricia velesquez. RW is a beauty and PV is a darkhaired sex bomb. They have a battle midway in the flik when they are back in ancient Egypt and half naked. It's great to watch. Special effects are sensational too esp the last 20 minutes when it's just one action-packed crisis after another. Unfortunately, there isn't much plot to the story - Rick and evie's kid gets kidnapped and they try to get him back and that's about it. The kid, like all kids in movies nowadays, is a smart-butt and a real pain. One of the bad guys keeps talking about killing the kid and you find yourself rooting for him to do it. An exciting but stupid movie. If you voted for bush, you'll love it.

Why is Sommers still making movies?

[Knuckle · 1/10 · 8 April 2006]

As fatuous as the first Mummy movie was, it had a certain goofy charm to it. The characters were marginally likable and a few scenes here and there made me chuckle.

The sequel, however, is a monstrosity. It lacks all the cleverness and innocent goodwill of the first movie, which leads me to believe the rumors I hear that a) the first movie benefited from massive uncredited rewrites and b) the same ghost writers left Sommers to his own devices for the second after getting shafted on credit for the first movie.

So here we have it, a clear portrait of Stephen Sommers' film-making abilities and they are meager. As a writer he gives us some real gems of dialog. You know that any movie that has a kid say, "My dad's gonna kick you a**," is going to be a real stinker. The rub in this situation comes when you realize that it's the best line in the movie.

CGI effects dominate this movie and they are bad. Everything from the midget mummies to the flying boat zeppelin looks fake and stupid.

Don't waste your time. This movie was a monumental waste of time and money.

1 out of 10.