The Mummy (2017) – Film Review

Most people when they think of the movie ‘The Mummy’ they think of the 90’s Brendan Fraser films as the originals. If you are one of those people, I’m sorry but you are sorely mistaken. In fact, ‘The Mummy’ originated in 1932 which was initially a cheesy black and white film. Cheesy or not, the film series has been remade, rebooted and expanded upon multiple times in 1959, 1999, 2002 with that really random spin-off starring Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, and now with a reboot starring Tom Cruise in 2017.

Now I for one have never been keen on Egyptian culture. If anything, I find ancient Egypt creepy and my mind can’t comprehend why anyone would want to visit the pyramids as they’re just fancy grave sites, but that’s just me. I do love action, adventure, thriller and fantasy films however, and so was not going to pass up seeing this reboot on the big screen. Plus, as far as I’m concerned, I believe Tom Cruise has had a great movie track record and is a brilliant actor.

When I said was going to see ‘The Mummy (2017)’ many people would suddenly complain to me on how much they hate Tom Cruise. I would like to point out, I don’t go to the movies for an actor’s sunny disposition and personal life. I go to the movies for the excellent storytelling and experience. When I saw ‘The Mummy (2017)’, that’s exactly what I got.

Tom Cruise plays Nick, a military officer who along with his friend Chris, played by Jake Johnson and archaeologist, Annabelle played by Jennifer Halsey, unintentionally unearth the tomb of Princess Ahmanet. Princess Ahmanet played by Sofia Boutella is a beautiful ancient Egyptian princess who was once in line to be queen of Egypt. Ahmanet finds her destiny stolen from her when her father has a son with his new wife. Blinded by her ambition, betrayed and furious, Ahmanet murders her family so that she can take her place on the throne initially promised to her prior to her half-brother being born. Not long after the deed, Ahmanet is condemned and mummified alive. Now awakened from her crypt thanks to Nick, Chris and Annabelle, Princess Ahmanet is determined to finish what she started.

This honestly looked like one expensive movie, the cinematography and animation were superb. Those mummies looked extremely zombified and scared the shit outta me. The shots of Sofia Boutella in the desert as flashbacks to when she was alive as Princess Ahmanet were so pretty. You could pause those shots, print and frame them – that’s how pretty the cinematography was!

I really enjoyed Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe in this film. The audience can relate to Tom Cruise’s character of Nick as we are taken on a journey; when Nick slowly puts the puzzle pieces together, so do we. Russell Crowe’s portrayal of Dr Henry Jekyll was authoritative, mysterious, tough, menacing but very brief. His accent change when he transformed into Hyde was genius. However, I don’t believe he was utilised enough.

‘The Mummy’ is intended to be the start of the Dark Universe series. I’m really hoping Universal Pictures gives Crowe his own movie. One does not simply cast Russell Crowe as Dr Jeykll and not use him further, right? Because honestly, with all the superhero films dominating the cinemas, I really do miss monster movies. If it goes all according to plan, Universal intend to have movies on The Invisible Man, Frankenstein, Dracula and The Bride of Frankenstein. I really do hope Universal follow through with this as I want to see the other films and I’m also curious to see if there will be crossovers within the film series.

All in all, did ‘The Mummy’ deliver? Yes. Good action sequences, good cinematography, good animation, good acting, good storyline… Although I would not describe this film as amazing nor that I ‘loved’ it, I’m extremely satisfied and was thoroughly entertained. Tom Cruise has been very good at picking his films as of late and I am very happy I got to see this one on the big screen.

If you go into this movie expecting it to be anything like the 90’s movie series (or other previous ‘The Mummy’ series), you will be severely disappointed. This is an entirely new film, with its own story. As it should be.