‘The Mummy’ is Yet Another Pointless Remake

The Mummy 2017

© 2017 Universal Studios

It’s becoming a rarity these days to see an original big budget movie coming out of Hollywood. Everything seems to be a remake, a prequel, or a sequel. With The Mummy, Hollywood reaches a new level of unnecessary remakes. Unfortunately, for all the film-goers who are excited for a new Tom Cruise movie, this one is simply the worst Tom Cruise movie ever made. There is nothing remotely original or interesting here and the movie never manages to justify its own existence.

As you would expect and without any ounce of originality, the story is about a princess in ancient Egypt (instead of a priest this time) buried in a crypt as a form of punishment after she turns to the evil side. Nick Morton (Tom Cruise) and co. make the big mistake of unleashing this creature to the world and now they have to save humanity from her evil. The only potentially exciting twist is related to the other big star in this movie, Russell Crowe, but like most things in The Mummy, it feels too forced. It’s as if the filmmakers sat down together and said if they had the below elements present, then they were probably going have a successful blockbuster:

1-Big movie stars (Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe)

2-Big budget and state of the art visual effects

3-Straight forward story telling that shouldn’t confuse most movie-goers

4-A great filmmaking team

5-Some comedic elements to keep the whole affair from being too serious

All the above elements are forced here with no fluidity in bringing them together. The previous Mummy movies (at least the first two) with Brendan Fraser were funny and aware of their own silliness, but this new version’s tone is all over the place. The acting talents of Cruise and Crowe are completely wasted and Cruise, normally very charismatic, seems miscast. The movie fails to deliver the excitement and the thrills to make it a worthwhile experience with the director delivering a big budget mess. There are a few visually exciting action scenes, some funny moments, and the choice of locations generate an interesting atmosphere. But, great films are not built on a few well-made scenes and The Mummy is a prime example of that.

The Mummy is a milestone on the wrong side of Tom Cruise’s history books. It’s his worst outing by far. Talent is not enough sometimes to deliver a good movie; you need passion for the subject, creativity, and a clear purpose. In The Mummy, all these elements are missing.

Rating: 4/10

The Mummy is playing in theatres across Canada starting June 9, 2017.

All The Mummy creative images and trailers are © 2017 Universal Studios.

Leave a Reply