The Mummy (1999) Review

“Hey Beni! Looks to me you’re on the wrong side of the river!”

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

Remakes are always the hardest stories to tell because you want to respect the past source material in order to share something brand new. Luckily, one of the best remakes you can ever get in Hollywood will be Universal's The Mummy.


PLOT


Inspired by the 1932 classic, the 1999 version is an expanded take with a much different narrative. In 1290 BC, high priest Imhotep was in love with Anck-su-naman and together, they killed the Pharaoh Seti (Aharon Ipalé) together. When caught by the pharaoh’s bodyguards, the medjai, the latter takes her life while the former retreats. Imhotep would later try resurrect her in the City of the Dead, Hamunaptra, but the Medjai intervened that time. They punish him by burying him with flesh eating scarabs while his priests are mummified alive. The story’s present starts in 1926 AD where Jonathan Carnahan visits his sister Evelyn in Cairo, aspiring to be an Egyptologist, to share of an intricate box carrying a map to Hamunaptra. Since it is said to be a myth, he directs her to treasure hunter Rick O’Connell who he stole it from, confirming he’s seen it himself. Evy frees him from incarceration after bribing prison warden Gad Hassan (Omid Djalili) to do so in exchange for leading them all to the city to find the Book of Amun-Ra, an ancient codex said to be very powerful. However, Rick’s group discovers to be competing with other American adventure led by former legionnaire Beni Gabor who betrayed O’Connell three years prior.  At the same time, they get constantly by Ardeth Bey of the Medjai to leave. Since they ignore, both groups travel through the ruins and both sides succumb fatalities. Gad gets himself killed when inadvertently releasing a scarab, while others walk into an acid trap. They then come across a statue they believe to hold the golden book. Instead, they find the Book of the Dead and five canopic jars buried with Imhotep's remains. Ignoring caution, Evy reads it and it awakens the mummy. While most retreat, Imhotep kills anyone in his way but spares Beni for the sake of letting him be his translator. He then starts killing those who recovered his jars which slowly restores his human form. The remaining group meet Ardeth and Doctor Terrence (Erick Avari), Evy's employer that also happens to be part of the Medjai, who both explain Imhotep intends to sacrifice Evy for the sake of resurrecting Anck-su-namun and the only way to defeat him will be retrieving the Book of Amun-ra back in the Hamunaptra. Despite their best to defend themselves, Beni's remaining group is slaughtered whereas Rick's group gets cornered until Imhotep takes Evy for himself. Terrence then sacrifices himself to be swarmed by the city enthralled populace, in order for Rick to escape with Jonathan and Ardeth. They fly to Hamunaptra thanks to the assist of Royal Air Force Captain Winston Havelock (Bernard Fox), but crash due to a sandstorm conjured by the mummy. The pilot dies upon crashing, but the others reach the temple on foot and find the golden book. They then get swarmed by resurrected until Ardeth lures them away and escapes with his life. Jonathan then uses the book to control the servants, but Imhotep is still able to partially resurrect Anck-su-namun. Luckily, Evy gains access of the book to make Imhotep mortal, which gives Rick the chance to fatally stab him and cause him to re-decompose and swear vengeance as he drowns in a pool of liquid. Evy pulls this off after Jonathan re-kills Anck-su-namun with the controlled mummy soldiers. The remaining trio leave when Beni inadvertently triggers a booby trap that causes the city to collapse in the midst of collecting treasure for himself. When he gets stuck, he gets devoured by a horde of scarabs. Rick and the Carnahans escape with their lives, but Jonathan drops the book on the way out. Outside, Ardeth bids them farewell and the film ends with the trio departing, unaware of having half of Beni's loot.


THOUGHTS


In a similar sense, Dracula was always the kind of tale to be retold over and over because it shows exactly how immortally horrifying monsters can be and it's a surprise that it took so long for The Mummy to get a bigger update because it sure needed it. I know it had its own reboot in the late 50s by Hammer Film Productions, but I always felt that Universal needed to do something to prove how scary this monster is. In an era where visual effects were what made blockbusters surreal and it worked big time here because moments like the sandstorm, the scarabs or the cryptic movements of various mummies were successfully intimidating moments to witness. The cinematography by Adrian Biddle made every moment authentically apart from one another and Jerry Goldsmith's score brings the right amount of excitement you want in a movie and the feeling stays the same from start to finish. Besides these pieces, the main reason I prefer this version of this iconic Universal Monster is because it does its best in saying the true gift in life is not materialism, but knowledge instead. Knowledge will be the superior gift to achieve because it can be a weapon & a tool simultaneously, or one in the same and either way, it is what can lead to the glory you desire. But if you choose to overthink or not think with caution, things are not gonna go as planned. I was able to pick up on this thanks to a well rounded ensemble that remain most iconic to this day. Rachel Weisz truly owned the screen as Evy because despite all the clumsiness that might come in between, her biggest resource was her brain which in turn made her brave enough to take on whatever came her way. John Hannah made a good brother out of Jonathan because he was a fellow dilettante that shared interest in history. The difference was he was about the physical treasure but luckily, he doesn’t go too far in willing to put his life on the line for it the way Kevin J O’Connor depicts the slimy Beni, but he does so have his sister’s back. Little would both siblings expect they would have an ally who has familiar limits. Brendan Fraser is at his absolute best as Rick O’Connell because he’s fearless from the start and he always uses signature charm & wit to get through every obstacle that comes his way. He and Evy quickly fall for each other overtime because they respect each others’ interests and see the sincerity they have upon each action. In a certain way, you can say it is a polar opposite to what some see out of Imhotep and Anck-su-namun because they were more concerned in defying authority and claiming power. Arnold Vosloo made the former the most frightening version of the titular antagonist because his manipulation is so constant, you’re never sure how he can ever be stopped until it happens. Patricia Velásquez was also frightening in her given time with her majestic presence because her stone cold face made her unpredictable. She took the risk in taking her life because she trusted things would go to plan until it didn’t. Besides Rick and the Carnahans, that has remained possible with true believers devoted in preventing ancient chaos from ensuing. Obed Fehr was awesome as Ardeth Bey because he’s a natural stoic who has genuine loyalty to the cause. He bothers helping Rick undo the mess that gets made because it’s better to move forward than bicker. And the fact he gets to fight by his side had him understand how they share the need to succeed. With sharing battles together, it’s enough to make them on the same page in the sequel. While this wasn’t the end of Egyptian horror since Jonathan dropping the book foreshadowed a crazy return, it wouldn’t change the fact that good will always be there to fight evil no matter how high the stakes got. This movie is so damn fun to watch each time, but even good stuff like this have questionable moments upon re-watching. For instance, it is a little funny the pharaoh immediately assumed someone touched Anck-su-namun without even guessing she may have brushed up against something. And it's even on him to confront her without bodyguards despite unsure if she had company at that moment. And if I gotta get into continuity errors, I'd have to point out how Evy's book disappears between takes after she drops it. Also, how does Jonathan shrug off the commotion in the library Evy caused? If I'm hearing shelves get knocked over, I'd investigate and drop the prank immediately. Moving on, how was anyone of the Medjai sure Evy had the map when they haven't even met her before? Just because Rick is free doesn't mean they know which room had it. Hell, there shouldn't even be a map if the Medjai don't want anyone inside the pyramids. There's also no point for Ardeth to give Rick a day to leave when he was willing the first time he showed up. So when he blames him and Evy for Imhotep's resurrection, it's unfair of criticism on his end. If you ask me, it's kinda ironic Rick didn't keep the cat with him when Imhotep chases him. You knew the weakness and didn't continue capitalizing the weakness, If you didn't think that was a little dumb, that's likely because you're irritated of Imhotep not killing him as soon as he didn't have the cat on him. Then again, how come Jonathan didn't get bandaged up or have some kind of internal bleeding after he got the scarab removed? He is way too lucky to brush it off like that. On top of that, I feel like the Medjai should've had the Book of Amun-ra with them instead of hidden in the tomb if they were ever afraid of the worst. Lastly, how the hell did Ardeth get out on his own? Rick threw explosives to bury the other mummies from attacking, so it's hard to see how there'd be a way out on the other side. Other than that, this is still a real good time. In short, 1999's The Mummy is an adventure classic for having a story that's more engaging than before and generally well executed. If adventure is what you seek, see this now.