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Studio:Universal Pictures UK

Amazon.co.uk Review

For his breakthrough into the blockbuster big time, director Stephen Sommers (Deep Rising) was determined to avoid the hackneyed Hollywood Mummy clichés of flailing bandages, somnambulant zombies and wooden acting. If you're happy to settle for two out of three then the finished film could be your cup of Egyptian tea, fully delivering on its visual promise, but occasionally mired in a quicksand of stilted dialogue and plot contrivance.

When disgraced high priest Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo) is awoken from his ancient prison, he unleashes his vengeful wrath in a whirl of computer-generated pestilence and plagues, all devised by the effects wizards at George Lucas' Industrial Light and Magic. No gory detail is spared as the mummy sets about rebuilding his decayed body and reviving his forbidden lover, aided by hordes of swarming, flesh-eating scarabs and an army of the dead. Among the more human cast, Brendan Fraser (Blast from the Past, George of the Jungle) brings an infectious Boys' Own enthusiasm to his Indiana-Jones-style adventurer, while such supporting players as Rachel Weisz and John Hannah are mostly eclipsed by the spectacle on offer. Ultimately, The Mummy is great fun and offers digital thrills ideally suited to the DVD format which will wow even the most CGI-sated viewer.

On the DVD: commendably, the extras on this DVD are on a par with the Region One offering, including deleted scenes and director's commentary, and both picture and sound quality are excellent. Most interestingly, veteran ILM effects supervisor John Berton presents step-by-step guides to some of the film's most extraordinary CGI shots, from early animatics to 3-D modelling and compositing. There's also the obligatory "making of" programme, in which everyone insists their primary concern was to ensure the effects never superseded the story. Unfortunately, this only makes you more aware of the script's shortcomings. --Steve Napleton

Amazon.co.uk Review

If you're expecting bandaged-wrapped corpses and a lurching Boris Karloff-type villain, then you've come to the wrong movie. But if outrageous effects, a hunky hero, and some hearty laughs are what you're looking for, the 1999 version of The Mummy is spectacularly good fun. Yes, the critics called it "hokey," "cheesy," and "pallid." Well, the critics are unjust. Granted, the plot tends to stray, the acting is a bit of a stretch, and the characters occasionally slip into cliché, but who cares? When that action gets going, hold tight--those two hours just fly by.

The premise of the movie isn't that far off from the original. Egyptologist and general mess Evelyn (Rachel Weisz) discovers a map to the lost city of Hamunaptra, and so she hires rogue Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser) to lead her there. Once there, Evelyn accidentally unlocks the tomb of Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo), a man who had been buried alive a couple of millennia ago with flesh-eating bugs as punishment for sleeping with the pharaoh's girlfriend. The ancient mummy is revived, and he is determined to bring his old love back to life, which of course means much mayhem (including the unleashing of the 10 plagues) and human sacrifice. Despite the rather gory premise, this movie is fairly tame in terms of violence; most of the magic and surprise come from the special effects, which are glorious to watch, although Imhotep, before being fully reconstituted, is, as one explorer puts it, rather "juicy." Keep in mind this film is as much comedy as it is adventure--those looking for a straightforward horror pic will be disappointed. But for those who want good old-fashioned eye-candy kind of fun, The Mummy ranks as one of choicest flicks of 1999. --Jenny Brown

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