The Mummy (M)
Starring: Tom Cruise
They’ve revisited The Mummy … whether we needed it or not.
And frankly, all things considered, it’s not a bad new take on the bad old monster.
Tom Cruise takes centre stage in the old Brendan Fraser role, as a looter of antiquities masquerading as a long-range reconnaissance sergeant in the US Army. How’s that for a job description?
Caught in a sticky situation in Iraq, a fortuitous Hellfire missile strike reveals … you guessed it … The Mummy.
She’s a dark old beast, with plenty of murders going downrange before she was buried in a pool of mercury.
Tom deploys his usual sloppy impulse control, frees The Mummy, and it’s on for young and old.
The money’s been spent, the effects are above par, and although it goes on for too long, it’s a mostly enjoyable ride.
The highlight is a stunning plane crash in which Cruise and company spin around weightlessly in the aircraft as it screams towards the ground.
Ironic that Cruise, who looks more and more cryogenically preserved with each passing day, finds himself peering under the bandages at eternal life.
Watch also for Russell Crowe playing Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Legally, I probably can’t take that much further.
What else to say? Well, it’s better than Rough Night … and funnier too.
Unwrap The Mummy for the McDonald’s of film … it won’t disappoint you, it won’t move you, but you will get a predictable result.
– Jason Beck
