The Mummy Returns
| Year: | 2001 |
| Studio: | Universal |
| Director: | Stephen Sommers |
| Writer: | Stephen Sommers |
| Cast: | Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, The Rock, Arnold Vosloo |
An earnest attempt to recapture the freewheeling fun of the original, going off in enough new directions to make it interesting but not forgetting where it came from. In other words, a very competent studio sequel, given the market and aesthetic.
Rick (Fraser) and Evelyn (Weisz) are now married and still drag their new son and dorky brother/in law Jonathan (Hannah) along for the ride on their Indiana Jones-alike adventures.
The scorned high priest Imhotep (Vosloo) is bought to London where he again awakens to wreak havoc as he searches for his lost love (Nefertiti, who happens to look exactly like Evelyn) and tries to gain control of the ancient armies of the Scorpion King (Johnson).
Once again, the effects are great, there are some genuine scares and it's the sort of movie they wanted to make in the 30s and 40 but had to use sticky-taped miniatures and dodgy superimposed images.
It introduced the Scorpion King, who got his own inferior, supernatural-free spin-off, and convinced both Universal and Sommers himself that he had a Midas touch with big, good-time action. The result was the flabby, overloaded Van Helsing.
Rick (Fraser) and Evelyn (Weisz) are now married and still drag their new son and dorky brother/in law Jonathan (Hannah) along for the ride on their Indiana Jones-alike adventures.
The scorned high priest Imhotep (Vosloo) is bought to London where he again awakens to wreak havoc as he searches for his lost love (Nefertiti, who happens to look exactly like Evelyn) and tries to gain control of the ancient armies of the Scorpion King (Johnson).
Once again, the effects are great, there are some genuine scares and it's the sort of movie they wanted to make in the 30s and 40 but had to use sticky-taped miniatures and dodgy superimposed images.
It introduced the Scorpion King, who got his own inferior, supernatural-free spin-off, and convinced both Universal and Sommers himself that he had a Midas touch with big, good-time action. The result was the flabby, overloaded Van Helsing.