Rating: Summary: If there's nothing else to rent... Review: I thought the original was pretty bad, and sequels are never as good as the original, so right away the cards are stacked against this one. It does have some good stunts, such as the fight between the two leading ladies, some of the special f/x are cool, such as the Army of Anubis, and some of the characters were great, personally I thought the pygmies were hilarious. The plot is a standard hollywood summer blockbuster plot (an excuse for special f/x and stunts), but every now and then some interesting ideas managed to slip by, mostly the myth of the Scorpion King. Eventually the movie becomes boring, simply moving from one action sequence to another, with the characters exchanging the minimum required dialogue to explain the plot.I would have given this movie 2 stars had it not been for the poor quality of the DVD. There are two versions the fullscreen and the widescreen version, which is pretty dumb considering 99% of DVD's come with both versions on one disc. I don't understand why someone would want to buy the fullscreen version, since the backgrounds and FX are the best part of the movie and in fullscreen you miss over 1/3 of it if not more. Most of the other options on the DVD are either disappointing or simply advertisements for the spin off 'The Scorpion King' or the new Mummy Adventure Ride. There are no deleted scenes, and the commentary is almost unbearable. This movie and DVD had potential but so many things were done wrong in so many different ways that they ruined it. Unfortunately they're going to milk this cow in as many ways as possible, so we can expect new versions of this DVD in a two disc edition with the original Mummy, and eventually a trilogy edition with Scorpion King and who knows, we'll probably see in the summer of 2003, the Revenge of the Mummy, and let's not forget "The Mummy: The Animated Series".
Rating: Summary: What a waste of time Review: This refers to the Australian Region 4 Collector's Edition. The picture quality is excellent. The DTS soundtrack (yes, this is standard on the R4 DVD unlike the R1)is of reference quality and quite outstanding in dynamic range (especially in the water-wall sequence). Unfortunately, the film was a total waste of time and I think studios should be paying audiences to watch films like this. No where near as good as the original -very formulaic and it felt almost like a cartoon with its over reliance on CGI. I scanned through most of the movie and I feel sorry for everyone who thinks this is worth buying. Even if a free copy was offered I would not accept -because I would never watch it again! And the bonus materials! Who cares about this when the film is so pathetic. I hope I'm not a minority who thinks film substance is still more important than its technical merits. I have invested in home theatre to enjoy films not gunfire, car chases and explosions.
Rating: Summary: enjoyable fantasy Review: I enjoyed the first mummy movie, so I really anticipated the second one. What some people seem to fail to realize is that movies create their own reality, that they take us somewhere new and different from everyday life. These two movies in the series do that task as well as any, and better than most. A movie doesn't have to be Shakespeare, or Gone With The Wind in order to be enjoyable. Perhaps they're not classics, but what they are is first-rate escapism, with likeable characters, amazing effects, and happy endings. What saves both films is that neither of them take themselves seriously. There are bits of broad humour injected into them, just to show they're having fun. These films provide a good get-a-way from the grind of day-to-day life, not to be taken seriously, and just simply enjoyed. Considering The Mummy Returns pulled in over 200 million in its theatrical release, I suppose some backlash is inevitable. If you are reading this in order to decide on buying the move or not, rent the movie first, and form your own idea on the movie, because as you can see, there is a wide discepancie in the opinions on it. Personally, I liked it a lot!
Rating: Summary: Delightful Braincandy Review: The best thing about this movie was that they avoided the pitfall that most sequels make: they wisely brought back ALL of the relevant characters, they respected the original storyline enough to make cute references and the evolution of the characters from the end of the first movie to the beginning of this one was not only believable, but also very intelligent. Was the movie as intelligent? No, but it's not supposed to be. For fans who loved the the first movie because of the CHARACTERS and their RELATIONSHIP, the sequel was a gem. For fans who loved the first movie for other reasons, it could probably be diappointing (not to mention the incomplete CGI on The Scorpion King's face at the end). But thanks to a fun, light, great action and a sexy, lustable and highly entertaining cast, all else is easily forgiven.
Rating: Summary: October 2nd? Finally! Review: Awseome freakin' movie! There was actually a plot, an awseome story line, beautiful acting, and cool special effects. Now, I may be biased 'cause I already think Egypt rocks, but YOU MUST SEE THIS MOVIE!!! And the first "The Mummy", and "Stargate", and "The Fifth Element", and "Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark" and.......seriously though, its an awseome movie that you all should see.
Rating: Summary: Effects can't help this disaster Review: I thought the effects and the extra footage in this movie would redeem it. They didn't. It's a disaster, and I now hate Brendan Fraser even more than I did before. This one's going straight to Ebay.
Rating: Summary: Dumb... Review: I just saw this movie last night and It amazes me that The Mummy Returns made as much money as it did in the box office. I believe the theaters should have pad us to see this one. The first Mummy was OK, but not great. I would have given it two stars at the most. But this one only gets one, and that's because I had to put a star up there. If I had a the option it would have got a big fat goose egg. If you plan on buying The Mummy Returns... please return it.
Rating: Summary: I liked it, but I'm not sure exactly why Review: This movie was your perfunctory summer special effects showboat. There was very little plot, no character development, some flagrant incongruities, and pretty much nothing to sink your teeth into. And yet... I liked it. Really, I did. This is not a movie you will think about and ponder. This is a movie if you want to watch something that's just plain old unadulterated fun. This movie is a crowd pleaser, complete mindless entertainment, and being that this seems to be the movie's goal, it was accomplished beautifully. NExt time you just want to sit back and watch a fun movie, grab this one.
Rating: Summary: It Has Moments Of Fun, But... Review: There are a number of things with the DVD production of The Mummy Returns that lowered my review from 3.5 stars to 2. The first is I saw this in the theatres, and then blamed the out of focus parts on the projectionist. The actual blame lies with the film. The second part is the length to which "The Mummy Returns" asks for suspension of disbelief. It goes too far, past the point of fun and entering the bounds of insult that smack of laziness on the part of the screen writer. But the thing that drove me absolutely wild with this was the special features that were so touted. Niney percent of the special features are advertisements hustling for Universal's products. The only legitimate special features are the bloopers, the music video and an incredibly lazily put together segment called "Eygptology 201". The rest is nothing more than advertisements for "The Scorpion King" and "Universal Theme Parks". If you're aware of this and don't mind, purchase it. But me, I felt as if I had been lied to and dropped my hard earned money to watch a bunch of garish commercials. I personally will be hard pressed to purchase another Universal DVD after this experiance.
Rating: Summary: The Special Effects Return Review: Special effects often dominate this movie, including the unneeded narrative at the beginning, where the CGI's look cartoon-like and silly. We could have received that back story within the dialogue later. The action scenes and some of the bantering work much better than when the movie's makers try to prove how many CGI's they can crowd into one frame. I would prefer to see more of the actual actors, but I still enjoyed this nonstop adventure.
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