WOW! What year is it? Have I been in hibernation since 2020?! Time to rise up and get back to watching and reviewing some movies!

Grand adventures in historical fiction are just so fun even if they aren’t 100% based in realism. Indiana Jones, National Treasure and possibly even The Da Vinci Code come to mind as similar tales with all the action, humor and treasure hunting we can handle. As The Mummy approaches its 25th anniversary I find myself drawn to this re-imagining of the 1932 Boris Karloff film of the same name. When I saw the previews for this action-adventure-comedy (with some horror elements) starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz it was obvious I had to watch it back then and also again today for the upteenth time.

I don’t want to talk endlessly about the things The Mummy does well because we don’t have that kind of time. The story sucks you in and wraps you up immediately by introducing Imhotep (played brilliantly by Arnold Vosloo) and Anck Su Namun (Patricia Velasquez) who are lovers caught in a forbidden affair and subsequently mummified alive and cursed for killing their Pharoah. A few thousand years later we get introduced to Rick O’Connell (perfectly played by Brendan Fraser), Evelyn (Rachel Weisz), her brother Jonathan (John Hannah) on their journey to find the ancient city of Hamunaptra and get tangled up in Imhotep’s return. There is such a good mix of action, humor and horror as we take in this thrill ride through modified history. The casting all around is top notch. Evelyn (Weisz) is not just the damsel in distress, she brings a ton of skills to the table including knowledge of ancient Egypt along with the ability to read/speak Egyptian. Jonathan (Hannah) adds some ingenious hilarity to a semi serious plot. The set design and costumes look great and help us feel right in the middle of everything. Even the CGI still looks pretty good, which is quite impressive after all this time.

There really isn’t much to say negatively about this roller coaster but some folks may think its too cheesy in plot/dialogue and probably a little too long at 2 hours 4 minutes. It is probably a little too long with some drawn out bits. It also does blur the lines between serious adventure/horror and silly over the top action/humor but it’s not pretending to be something it isn’t.

As long as you don’t expect something that takes itself too serious or something that is nonstop silliness and you’re looking for a fun escape from everyday normalcy, you could certainly do worse than watching a 25 year old classic! Don’t let the critic’s low metascore (48/100) fool you as they certainly are not comparing this to other genre blending horror/comedy/action flicks. The Mummy digs up a solid score of 1 Apology and I’d consider that a treasure any day of the week.