Starring
Tom Cruise, Annabelle Wallis, Sofia Boutella, Russell Crowe, Jake
Johnson, Courtney B. Vance. Directed by Alex Kurtzman. (2017, 110
min).
There
occasions when I watch a movie that seems to be almost universally
despised (by critics and audiences) and wonder if I'm stupid for actually liking it. While Tom Cruise's The Mummy - his
name really should be part of the title - didn't quite get
Universal's Dark Universe off to the roaring start they were hoping
for, I enjoyed the film for what it was.
It
sure as hell isn't one of the worst films of the year, like many
list-loving critics have smugly declared, a few of whom I suspect had
their spears sharpened before they even set foot in the goddamn
theater.
There
were the negative comparisons to the 1999 blockbuster with Brendan
Fraser, along with quips that it's only been nine years since the
last film in that franchise. Sure, we've been getting reboots before the
corpses of the old movies are cold, but comparatively speaking, aside
from the basic premise, this film is completely different in look and
tone, achieving a dark vibe that The Mummy (1999) - which was
not-so-much a remake of the 1932 classic as an Indiana
Jones-type comic/fantasy-adventure - never really attempted. The reboot film
isn't particularly scary, but taking the concept more-or-less
seriously was a wise creative choice. We don't need yet-another gag-filled romp through the same material.
 |
| Tom flies coach. |
Then
there were the accusatory complaints of The
Mummy being turned into
just another Tom Cruise vehicle. To that I say, where have you been
lately? For at-least the last decade, all
his movies are Tom Cruise vehicles. He's long since he's given-up all
pretenses of being anything
other than TOM CRUISE,
who runs like it hurts, comes equipped with Intens-O-Vision & has no business being in better physical shape than most 20-year-olds. He's really his own little genre and I've grown to appreciate that, which is why most of his recent films a lot of undemanding fun. In fact,
they could just as accurately be titled Tom
Cruise Battles Aliens, Tom Cruise Dangles from a Plane, Tom
Cruise Hunts Hitler, Tom
Cruise Rides a Bus to Help Strangers,
etc.
At
this point, he's simply too Tom Cruisey to be accepted as anything
else. Hence, Tom Cruise vs. The Mummy should
surprise nobody. If you're unable to accept that, well, there's
always the Brendan Fraser movies. Here, Cruise is at his Cruisiest as
Tom Cruise
Nick Morton, an unscrupulous military man (and too cool
to wear an actual uniform) who steals ancient treasures as a side gig.
He inadvertently awakens a mummified Egyptian princess (Sofia Boutella), who curses
him in order to resurrect an ancient evil God. Also on-board the Tom
train are Jake Johnson as his comic relief, Chris (a shameless
rip-off of Griffin Dunne's character in An American Werewolf in
London), and Jenny (Annabelle Wallis), whose purpose is reacting to Tom doing Tom stuff.
 |
| Tom Cruise vs. a big-ass gopher. |
Finally,
there's a considerable amount of screen time dedicated to establishing
Universal's so-called Dark Universe. Yeah, I'll concede that was a
bad idea. Throwing in Dr. Jekyll (Russell Crowe) and brief allusions to
other legendary Universal monsters are annoying distractions that
smack of a blatant attempt to jump on the Marvel bandwagon with their
own ready-made cinematic universe. Worst yet, these elements do
absolutely nothing to advance the plot.
Deleted scene from The Mummy
All that being said,
The Mummy is exactly the movie I suspected it would be. And
maybe that's why I sort-of enjoyed it. The visual effects are decent
and there's a lot of violent action (the plane crash sequence during
the first act is the best scene in a Tom Cruise movie since the last
Mission: Impossible). There's even a decent jump-scare or two
for those unaccustomed to them. And even though it
pointlessly drops hints of more-to-come in the Dark Universe, the
film wisely makes certain this particular Mummy story is wrapped up
(no pun intended).
EXTRA
KIBBLES
FEATURETTES:
"Cruise & Kurtzman: A Conversation"; "Rooted in
Reality"; "Life in Zero-G: Creating the Plane Crash";
"Meet Ahmanet"; "Cruise in Action"; "Becoming
Jekyll and Hyde"; "Choreographed Chaos"; "Nick
Morton: In Search of a Soul"
ANIMATED
GRAPHIC NOVEL: Ahmanet Reborn
DELETED/EXTENDED
SCENES
AUDIO
COMMENTARY: By director Alex Kurtzman, Sofia Boutella, Annabelle
Wallis, Jake Johnson
DVD
& DIGITAL COPIES
KITTY CONSENSUS
NOT BAD...LIKE CAT CHOW
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