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The movie being covered here is the latest attempt to jump on the "Shared Universe" bandwagon. However, it has a very respectable purpose behind it: bring a series of classic monster movies to a new generation. Here, I will be covering the reboot of The Mummy, the first installment in what has been dubbed the "Dark Universe."
The story of this version follows a new Mummy, Princess Ahmanet, who almost inherits rule over Egypt from her father when he has a son. After making a deal with the god Set and murdering her family, she tries to get him a body, but she is caught and condemned to eternal mummification. She is then taken to Mesopotamia and buried to ensure she never escapes. In present-day, two Army soldiers, Sergeant Nick Morton and Corporal Chris Vail, along with archaeologist Jenny Halsey, find her tomb. Sure enough, they awaken Ahmanet from her ancient prison, and unleash her wrath upon the world.
What Worked: With the cast, the main selling point is Tom Cruise, who portrays Nick. In regards to his performance, he is at least decent here. He does have some charisma, but not as much as in some of his other roles. The other two main characters are Jake Johnson as Nick's friend Chris and Annabelle Wallis as Jenny, both of whom also give decent performances. However, with Jenny, she is given an interesting bit of development later on in the movie; going any further would be a huge spoiler.
There were two standouts: Russell Crowe and Sofia Boutella. With Russell Crowe, his character is perhaps the most interesting one in the movie, and his performance is really good as well. Those who know their monsters will be surprised at his character. Sofia Boutella gives the best performance in the movie as Princess Ahmanet. She is great as the new Mummy, and the fact that she looks menacing helps.
As for the rest of the positives, the effects work looks really frightening, which can be attributed to the production design. The tone was consistent for the most part. The moments of tension and suspense were very effective. The scene that's most memorable in that aspect is the plane crash scene, parts of which were in the trailer. It's even more tense in the movie, and the fact that Tom Cruise is still capable of doing his own stunts definitely contributes to that. The moments of suspense come mostly whenever Ahmanet attacks, and there are some creepy parts to those scenes.
There are a couple bonuses here: for those who have a certain nostalgia for the 1999 version with Brendan Fraser, there is a reference to it in a scene with Russell Crowe. The other bonus is the references to other monsters. Even with this movie's problems, there is room for improvement, so it will be interesting to see how future installments in the Dark Universe pan out.
What Didn't Work: Though some of the cast give decent performances, their characters are not that memorable. For example, Jenny is mostly the "damsel in distress" type of character. Aside from the interesting bit of development later on, the only other thing revealed about her is a history with Nick. That issue, along with the tone and story structure, can be attributed to the script, where the inconsistencies show. The tone changed a couple times, and it felt slightly jarring when it did.
The biggest issue is an inconsistency with the story structure. At first, it feels like its own story, but then from the introduction of Russell Crowe's character onward, it focuses more on setting up future installments. Therefore, this movie's entire purpose is more front and center at that point than the story already in progress. It's made obvious that Universal is trying to respond to Marvel and create a shared universe to bring their monsters to a new generation, and that I respect. It's understandable how they would want their own version of that franchise and found the easiest way to do it.
However, it does not help that their intention is shown or told rather than implied. The most glaring example is the references to other monsters because they not only do that, but are also the main reason for the structure issue. While it may feel like an attempt to provide something new, it doesn't have the novelty feel to it. This may also come across as a remake of the 1999 version with elements similar to that, despite some tweaks here and there.
Overall: The Mummy is not nearly as bad as it has been made out to be. While some remakes/reboots may be considered unnecessary, this is not one of them because of the intention behind it: take a classic franchise and modernize it for new audiences. It's just that not everything worked out the way the studio hoped, but there is room for improvement. In fact, if it had a more reasonable budget and a better team behind it, it could have been something really good. As it is, it's a decent effort at starting a franchise, and I am interested to see where said franchise goes.