The year is 1933 and our loving couple of Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser) and his stunning lady friend Evie (Rachel Wiesz) have married. With all the mayhem and nonsense of raising a 3,000 year old mummy behind them, the two plan to start a normal life with their little son Alex (played quite well by newcomer Freddie Boath). But seeing as Evie is an Egyptologist and her husband has a taste for action, it doesn't take long for the movie to live up to its title and, well, the mummy returns.
The formula is still intact for the second round of severely ticked-off walking artifacts. Added ingredients include the charming little Alex, a much more feature role in Anck-Su-Namaun (who has been reincarnated as Meela) and let's not forget Dwayne Johnson, better known as WWF's "The Rock", as The Scorpion King. Although Johnson's potential acting ability is reduced to grunts and groans and only about 10 minutes of screen time, the characters of Alex and Meela are used to great degree. Alex surprisingly adds some of the movie's more charming and witty dialogue without coming across as spoiled or bratty very much like the role of Kevin in the film "Time Bandits". The very intelligent boy also possesses the Scorpion King's bracelet and becomes a valuable asset to the many villains who would love to get their hands on it. Meela plays the role of lover to Imhotep (the mummy man himself) and drops the testosterone levels down a notch from the previous "Mummy" release, seductively slinking her way into numerous scenes.
"The Mummy Returns" isn't going to change your life, nor will it leave you in deep thought trying to wrap your head around the complexity of it all. What it does achieve is stunning eye-candy, a few moments of amusement (some scenes are reminiscent of the "Evil Dead" series) and an appealing cast. With the added characters, much more action and perfected special effects (there's no actors staggering around wrapped in cloth like the previous film) this film succeeds in being more entertaining than the first. There are definitely a few groans and "yeah rights", but really, what were you expecting?
The formula is still intact for the second round of severely ticked-off walking artifacts. Added ingredients include the charming little Alex, a much more feature role in Anck-Su-Namaun (who has been reincarnated as Meela) and let's not forget Dwayne Johnson, better known as WWF's "The Rock", as The Scorpion King. Although Johnson's potential acting ability is reduced to grunts and groans and only about 10 minutes of screen time, the characters of Alex and Meela are used to great degree. Alex surprisingly adds some of the movie's more charming and witty dialogue without coming across as spoiled or bratty very much like the role of Kevin in the film "Time Bandits". The very intelligent boy also possesses the Scorpion King's bracelet and becomes a valuable asset to the many villains who would love to get their hands on it. Meela plays the role of lover to Imhotep (the mummy man himself) and drops the testosterone levels down a notch from the previous "Mummy" release, seductively slinking her way into numerous scenes.
"The Mummy Returns" isn't going to change your life, nor will it leave you in deep thought trying to wrap your head around the complexity of it all. What it does achieve is stunning eye-candy, a few moments of amusement (some scenes are reminiscent of the "Evil Dead" series) and an appealing cast. With the added characters, much more action and perfected special effects (there's no actors staggering around wrapped in cloth like the previous film) this film succeeds in being more entertaining than the first. There are definitely a few groans and "yeah rights", but really, what were you expecting?
