Genres

Visitors Review

bopdog 2012-05-24 22:05:39

Silly, exciting, illogical, stupid, grand, and entertaining!

Don't expect high art, or even simple logic, for that matter. But DOexpect to enjoy the action and to be entertained. The effects areamazing (and whose wouldn't be with 'lebenty billion dollars tospend?). The effects also are unusual. It's something thoughtprovoking to watch, like the acid induced light shows andotherwise "meaningless" film experiments of the late 1960s. It's atrip! And in this way, it is arty, in that it allows one to imagine andexperience realities (albeit fake movie realities) not otherwiseavailable. Maybe this is a nice actualization of a dream timeexperience.Anyway-- the cast is great. The Scotch guy plays an annoyingcharacter, but all the other characters are either intriguing, or sexy,or spooky, or all three. The showing I attended was 98% doods-- afew boys, some with dads or older brothers, tons of college aged,20s and 30s, and even a pile of gray haired men. There were only5 or 6 females present in the entire (new and fancy) theater. I'm notsure what that means, but I know my female roommate refused togo, or even hear about it later.If you're a guy, maybe you should just take some fellows along;don't strain the relationship by trying to educate your partner. Ifyou're a female-- what the heck: Live dangerously, and give thisguy flick a try. You might love it too. At least you'd have a glimpse ofyour boyfriends', husbands', and brothers' ideal fun movie!

2012-05-24 07:49:13

The Same Cast & Crew Returns

When you look at what Stephen Sommers first "The Mummy" moviedelivered, "The Mummy Returns" is a perfectly acceptable sequel. We getmore adventure, more action and more cartoonish horror. A blend thatsimply manages to entertain in an unpretentious fashion with nothingmore to it. Even more so than the first film was, "The Mummy Returns"is a CGI/SFX oozing fest in the adventurous vein of the legendary"Indiana Jones" movies. Only with mummies and other fantasticshenanigans this time. It's big budget summer blockbuster fun, andthere's absolutely nothing wrong with that. The same cast & crewreturns and delivers the goods a second time. By now Fraser & Weisz'scharacters have a kid, so you'll just have to take him along for theride. Naturally, this also means that the film is intended for a verywide target audience, so all the violence & horror in this film isvirtually bloodless, rather aimed to be enjoyable & spectacular thanfrightening or gruesome. The two films can easily be watchedback-to-back for 4 hours of fast-paced entertainment. Or you can gowatch a 90 minutes artfilm instead. The choice is yours.

Thomas 2012-05-24 14:33:28

Should have been released only for home video! :(

Last week I saw Mummy 2 and to tell you the truth I was reallydisappointed.It's a very bad sequel. There is too many action without any reason. It'sgetting boring at the end. And the special effects are far behind the firstfilm. Some effects was so lame that it should've been released only forhomevideo. The Scorpion King at the end wasn't realistic at all. If only theycomposite and track the actor's face onto it... ehh.I have Mummy on DVD but I think it will remain alone on my shelf whenMummy2DVD hits the market.

NOSbooster 2012-05-23 23:41:55

The Mummy Returns Better than the first...

Well, I didn't think it was possible, but the sequel to the blockbuster smash "The Mummy" was even better than itspredecessor. It even opened up new ideas for more sequels and prequels! TheMummy Returns features "The Scorpion King" who was the greatest worrier ofhis time. After he died he was said to rise 5000 years later and rule theworld with his army. The movie starts in the 1930s, hence the year of theScorpion King. So a bunch of guys(including the reincarnated Anck-Su-Namun,Decide to bring back Im-Ho-Tep to fight the scorpion king and when he does,he will take command of his army and rule the world. ( It's always that"Take-Over-The-World ploy") Well as you guessed Rick O'Connell and his wifeEvelyn 'Evie' O'Connell, have different plans. They set out with theirson, Evie's brother, and one of the leaders of the Majai "Ardeth Bay", tostop the evil Mummy as well as the Scorpion King. There are lots and lotsof plot twists, and awesome graphics! One thing you had in this Mummy thatyou didn't in the one before is the relationship between Rick and Evie. Inthe first one they hated each other and it made for some good humor watchingthese two duke it out while working together. However, their young son, andEvie's Brother have great roles..and portray them perfectly. The thing Ireally liked is the way Alex (Rick and Evie's son) is so bold that he standup to the main bad guy and basically puts him through hell. He even tellsthe Mummy himself "My Dad Is Going To Kick Your..." (Lets not finish that) it's funnier when you see the little kid do itanyway. This was an all-around great movie. The only thing that bothered mewas how they stated that "Reincarnation" is a fact, and the way they"Summoned" the dead. All pretty demonic. But, if you can get past that, andknow that it's just a movie...you'll enjoy yourself. 9 outta 10.

Holly 2012-05-21 04:14:11

What fun!

I loved 'The Mummy' and I wasn't disappointed with 'The MummyReturns'.The film is easy viewing and fun. It isn't intended to be a greatmasterpiece. As ever the special effects were good and the humourlighthearted.

batneil 2012-05-20 21:02:58

Below-par formulaic action block-buster.

Having not seen The Mummy, but having heard favorable reviews of it, I wasin optimistic mood when sitting down to watch the sequel. It was not longbefore I was disappointed.From the outset, The Mummy Returns makes heavy use of the now almostubiquitous computer graphics techniques. Though computer animation canyield extremely impressive results, this film falls into the same pitfallasStar Wars Episode 1, in that it goes for quantity not quality. Thisinevitably detracts from the overall effect of the movie, as the specialeffects are too weak and unconvincing to add anything to the film, and sonumerous as to distract the viewer from the rest of theshow.The plot is, as one would expect in an action sequel, thin at best andalthough there is nothing inherently wrong with the story, it all seemsvaguely familiar from somewhere. It is easy to spot the elements borrowedfrom other films, most commonly the Indiana Jones series, butunfortunatelynone of it hangs together well enough to really work.The acting on display is notable for neither absence nor abundance ofquality, although the film (and its stunt actors) should be commended forsome well choreographed fight sequences.Overall, the film is more or less what we've come to expect from bigbudgetaction sequels, falling into the same category as films like Jurassic Park2; entertaining enough if you can be bothered, but really nothing to getexcited about, and very, very forgettable.

Gvorn 2012-05-20 00:31:52

And so it begins....

Every year, around this time, I always start to get a little giddy. I'malways so excited to see summer roll around, so I can watch those guys atILM have their fun, trying to outdo what they did last go round. Each year,summer movies seem to get more and more computerized, and less entertaining.After watching The Mummy Returns, I feel the trend will continue. Make nomistake, the film is an action ride from beginning to end, but not once isit truly a FUN ride. I was really pumped to see this film. I mean REALLY pumped. I don't evenknow why. Granted, I liked the first Mummy film, but not that much. All Italked about for the past two weeks was seeing this movie. I don't evenknow why...I just did. My friend even made some off color sexual remarksabout the Mummy and I. Yes, it was that bad. I guess I shouldn't besurprised I was disappointed. I had it coming.What hurt the film the most was too much action. I love thrills and chillsand yadda yadda...but it was too much. The film had formula written allover it. Too many characters, too little development, jumping from one deathdefying circumstance to another. The CGI was good, but way overdone. Imiss the days where characters actually got the chance to interact with oneanother. So darn much of the film felt incredibly fake. It was more likewatching a video game. Apparently, they forgot to actually write the thing.I got a feeling Sommers and crew just sat around thinking of things thatwould LOOK cool in a movie. I think some of the ideas were jokes thatsomehow got scripted in by accident. Some of it worked great, but otherscenes just made me want to laugh...and not when I was supposed to, either. Granted, the film is supposed to be a comic book fantasy film, but we're notidiots. We won't watch anything. Then again, I was there day one and manywere there with me...so maybe we will.As far as the cast goes, I can't really blame them. Each did their job anddid it well. It was good to see everyone back for a second go round, and Istill like the characters. Fraser, Weisz, Hannah, and Fehr did a great job.Freddie Boath didn't grate my nerves like I thought he would (*cough-JakeLLoyd-cough*) and was actually pretty funny. BUT...the Scorpion King,portrayed by The Rock. WHAT?!? What is the big deal? How can "Hollywood"determine if this guy is the next big action star...he's in the film for allof 5 minutes, and had like three lines of gibberish? I mean, I'll give theguy a chance, but to give him a prequel based on his performance here isjust silly. So, even as I bash the film, it filled the time and I am in total LOVE withPatricia Velazquez, so I'd give it a 7 out of 10. Yeah, I'm a bit of ahypocrite, so what? $7 bucks isn't too much to pay for a couple hours ofwatching the most beautiful female on the planet.

dikpuss 2012-05-19 10:58:39

Not original but fun

In spite of the glaring lack of originality in this movie, it isnevertheless a fun ride. Rachel Weisz and Patricia Velasquez are sexy JohnHannah is amusing, Oded Fehr is given a delightful character expansion fromthe first film, Shaun Parkes has some quite humorous moments in his sidekickrole, and Arnold Vosloo is wonderfully villainous in the title role. I alsoenjoyed the Rock's cameo at the beginning of the film. Too bad they screwedit up with bad CGI at the end of the film. Freddie Boath, the child actorof the movie, shares striking chemistry with Adewale, who is great as one ofImhotep's minions. As for the leading man, Brendan Fraser, although he dida good job, he seemed more cardboard and less humorous than the last timearound. Overall, quite a fun experience.

SteveL 2012-05-18 09:37:38

If you liked the Mummy, you'll LOVE the Return.

Few sequels are ever as good as their predecessors, but this one isactuallybetter. The Mummy Returns with a better story and similar effects andmanages to keep the campy attitude, accidental humor and adventure of theoriginal. Great fun!

mranderson077 2012-05-17 22:07:07

Finally, a sequel that is better than the original.

I saw this on DVD, and was completely surprise on how good it was. I wasnota fan of the first film, but this was a hell of allot better. The story ismuch better that the first, and it keeps up the pace from the first frametothe last. It's a great reminder of the Indiana Jones movies, and keeps upthe tradition very well. Kudos to all involved in this making this filmsucha wonderful ride.

Philip Coulon 2012-05-16 08:21:26

Good start... Bad finish

I have to say that I really like the first installment of The Mummy.Itwas so good that it, along with future sequals, could have easily taken upranks of a new classic with the Indiana Jones series. So knowing this, Iwasvery excited to see this movie.All the way into the theater I was excited by what would happen, andeven through a good part of the film I was really liking it. It wasn't asgood as the first, but what movie ever is? And I was even willing to acceptthe WRESTLER (not ACTOR) The Rock in the movie.Note: I am not one for accepting wrestlers in movies, sure they arebothentertainment, but one all around sucks (wrestling) and one doesn't(movies). As I have noted to friends before, A wrestler in a movie is equalto a dog and a monkey having a baby. It isn't a good thing even from thestart.But then it happened: The team of adventurers went and got into a big(extra fake and cheesy) hot air balloon. Yes that's right kids, they optouton any logical means of travel for their time period and they get a (extrafake and cheesy) hot air balloon. Ever after I watched the film and onlyhoped it couldn't get any more unbelieveable.And yet it did! Yes thats right kids, it got worse. The Scorpion Kingshares his wrath with the audience, not that he is in any way scary it isjust that he is so stinking cruddy (Badly computer animated, and even worseas a major bad guy!)Is what I am getting at is that it wasn't the wrestler that made itbadin the end (not that it helped), it was the overly done special effects.Thedifference between this movie, and the GREAT and AWESOME original is thatthe original was enhanced by special effects, the face in the sand, theplagues on the cities, even the computer animated mummies were anaddition,and an enhancement, to the already good story and acting. On the contraryinthis movie, rather than going with the good characters that were alreadydeveloped and just adding another plot like Indiana Jones, someone changedthe entire theme of the movie from the original and made it specialeffects.And that doesn't constitute a sequal at all.If you liked The Mummy, don't see The Mummy Returns, it will justspoilthe first film, and leave a bad (I just got ripped off 8 bucks) taste inyour mouth!

guidallz 2012-05-15 20:42:40

Best film we had this year.

I don't know where some of these reviews come from but i hold this onerightnext to the original in quality. I liked every thing about it, and I'm notashamed to say it.If you want to cry over artistic integrity, don't see this movie. But ifyouwant to have a good time with great characters and a good story about goodVs Evil, then this is the movie you want to watch. It's one of the bestfilms I have seen this year.

xbatmanx 2012-05-09 12:40:00

could easily be the worst movie i have ever seen

The fact that the story line and the characters couldn't be any worse isacceptable. Its the MUMMY RETURNS, you don't expect else. i don'tunderstand people don't dare to admit that the special effects in this moviewere simply bad. it was technical, no doubt, but can't get more artificialand fake as here (the scene with the Scorpion Monster is horrible!). That'swhat you get when the story is made in function of the FX and not the otherway around, like it should be. The action pieces are all boring and are alldone much better in other movies (Indiana Jones for example). From thepoint where a character is introduced you can already tell what's probablygoing to happen, if he/she will survive etc... What about Imhotep? In thefirst movie they told us he was master over the sands and later we couldwitness he created a sand storm. in this one he simply created a waterstorm/wall? what's that all about? When the heroes were so called trappedin the narrow paths with their ship, the only thing they had to do to escapewas simply fly higher! If you're going to see this movie, make sure yourfriends pay for this rubbish. It's not only the worst movie of the year, itcould easily be the worst movie of my life...and i have seen LOTS ofthem!!!

disdressed12 2012-05-09 01:24:18

better than the first one(very high praise)

if it's possible,this sequel to "The Mummy"i s even better than theoriginal.it's just as fun and exciting,but i liked the story better.ireally liked the way the filmmakers developed the characters and gavethem more to do.i also liked the direction the story took.the humour isstill there,and Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz return in theiroriginal roles.they are a great screen couple.John Hannah also returnsin his role as Evie's(Weisz) Brother.the visual effects are just asgood,maybe better.the bad guys are more dangerous than in the firstouting.again,realism is not of the utmost importance in this movie,norshould it be.if it were,this would be one boring picture.for me,"TheMummy Returns" is a strong 9/10

brent_highley 2012-05-05 23:31:42

Meh

Another example of Hollywood formula sequel action. Fun to watch butinherently hollow in it's execution. Despite it's basic flaws itremains a movie that can be entertaining if you have a free Saturdaynight and it comes on basic cable. The special effects are bit overdoneand the plot is about as complex as an episode of Mayberry RFD, butthat doesn't detract from it's simple 80's action television showvalues. Although one things my friend and I have noticed that seems to haveescaped the notice of the IMDb trivia section, the ending of this movieis a play by play remake of the ending of the Ducktales mummyadventure. 1. Mummy is defeated in the strange desert oasis 2. the defeat of said villain causes said oasis to sink into the desert 3. a daring escape through the pyramid 4. escape culminates on the roof of the pyramid where our heroes aremet by the pilot character in a hot air balloon 5. the greedy character reaches back for a large jewel, almost dies dueto their greed, only to be pulled back from the brink of disaster byanother character 6. happily ever aftereven the sinking of the pyramid into the desert is shot in an identicalmanner. We even hooked up two TVs and watched them both at the sametime. The timing is almost exact, and there are other similaritiesbetween the two that are too numerous to mention. I think thatducktales should be added to the references list for this movie.

2012-05-05 11:21:08

A Good Movie and DVD - until the Ultimate Edition

Like the first movie, this is a great action/adventure film if you can suspend disbelief for 2 hours and 10 minutes. The special effects are incredible, especially during the huge battle scenes. The shear number of humans on horses or foot and enemy "beings" is staggering - It looks pretty real too.There is some slight pixelation during some dark scenes throughout the film when viewed using a progressive scan DVD player and a 16:9 progressive monitor. Overall, the transfer is OK to good in quality.The soundtrack is LOUD. Even though I wanted a DTS track too (it will be on the Ultimate Edition I'm sure), I'll be happy with the current Dolby Digital 5.1 track until then. There is no raised dialog normalization offset here: this soundtrack is just loud. This is the first of a hundred DVDs I've had to actually turn down my receiver a few notches from reference level just for myself, much less others that say all DVD movies at reference level are "too loud". Anyway; that aside, the soundtrack is great.This is not a great movie but it is pretty good one, like most "blockbusters" these days are.

cherri2480 2012-05-05 06:04:17

great movie

Last year was my first time to see "the mummy returns".I think thatthis movie is more funny,exciting and interesting than "the mummy".Anyway, I think that it's special good effects is really really greatso I became a fan of "The mummy returns" that I will try to review itagain when the television channel has show it.It's a great movie forfans to see it again and again. I think the most funny part is whenAlex talk to Imhotep, he said"My dad will kick your ass." I like itvery much, I have even used it to make joke on my classmates. And thenall my classmates are saying this sentence.It's really amazing, isn'tit?

faith-26 2012-05-05 02:13:27

Sit down, shut up and enjoy it - The Return

WARNING: There will no doubt be a couple of spoliers for the film here. Ifyou don't want to know what happens then stop reading rightnow!Having seen various documentaries about the making of 'The Mummy Returns',it is clear that the enthusiam of Stephen Sommersd and the cast wasphenomenal. They had a ball making it, and it shows. This movie is fun. Andwhile, yeah it's great to go and see really heavy emotional/acty piecessuchas 'The Sixth Sense', 'Gladiator' e.t.c, there are just some times when youneed to see some mindless fun. This is what this movie is and it doesn'tpretend likewise.Personally, have quite an indepth knowledge of the first film, I found TheReturn was no where near as scary as the original (although tell that tothetwo friends I went with!) and the plot was more complicated but ultimatelydidn't work quite as well. On the positive side however, the actionsequences (and there are many) were phenomenal and breath-taking,highlightsbeing the bus chase sequence, the battle with the Army of Anubis and theendsequence with the Scorpion King. (Just a little note on that - a lot ofpeople have been unimpressed with the CGI Scorpion King, and while I admit,yeah it would have been better if they'd actually used the Rock's real headand torso, the effects were still pretty 'wow'. I mean there was adefinite,'OH MY GOD!!' moment when he appeared).Character and actor wise, I was so pleased that so many of the originalcastreturned (i.e. all those who weren't dead after the first one and a couplewho actually were). Brendan Fraser - got the whole action hero thing downreally well, nice emotional scenes when Evy was stabbed too. Rachel Weiz -Such a difference in character from this film to the next, great heroine.John Hannah - A little under used, but amusing as always. Arnold Vosloo -HeIS the mummy. Won't be able to see him in anything else now without imaginewhat he looked like part rotted. Oded Fehr - What can I say? The man isattractive and he can act. More please. The Rock - Not in it that long socouldn't really tell. Not sure how well he'll carry Mummy 3. PatriciaVelasquez - Okay, so maybe some models CAN act. Freddie Boath - A completelittle star. Never too sure about kids in movies. For every Haley-JoelOsmetthere's a Jake Lloyd. Freddie Boath was brilliant though, reallyfun.Of the more minor actors, Lock-nah was scary and great, and Issy was veryfunny. Nice to see the Pharoah back too.Plot-wise, the only part I wasn't sure of was the whole thing about Evy'spast life. Seemed a little too coincidental for my liking, even if Ardethjust passed it all off with that handy plot device - fate. Also the openingsequence with the Scorpion King was a little rushed. I would have liked alittle more detail.Overall, I loved and adored this movie. I'm still not quite sure how itcompares to the original (since I've seen that about fifty times and thisone only once, it's hardly fair to make up my mind quite yet). Without adoubt though I'll be heading off to the cinema again soon enough to get asecond dose of this great rollercoaster ride of a film. We aren't going tosee anything like this again (bar Tomb Raider of course - almost forgotthat) until Indiana Jones 4 comes out, so make the most of this while youcan.

2012-05-02 08:08:39

The Mummy Returns

I have to agree with most customer reviews, this is a popcorn movie and a damn good one. It's clear the producers put a lot of time and expense into making this the biggest "Mummy" movie to date and it was fun to see all the original actors assemble again for the sequel. I have to agree that the ending sequence with the "Rock" was cheesy at best and could have been eliminated. The dvd is superb and gives your channels a great workout, especially in the in the rear and subwoofer channels. The image is sharp and clear, near reference quality but the extras for the most part are pure marketing on the part of Universal. The first film had better extras although you'll find many of the same in this one as well, eg: director commentary and cgi demonstrations. Rent it or buy it. You'll love it so long as you (a) haven't bought into the movie critics negative reviews beforehand and (2) you're watching it simply for the fun of it. Isn't that what most films are all about...pure escapist entertainment? In these pressing times, we need more like them! Enjoy!

heybrakywacky 2012-05-01 12:46:38

Not surprisingly, this falls short of the first movie.

Unfortunately, this movie was what I expected it to be, going into it. LikeThe Mummy, this movie has really great special effects. But what it lacksis the quirkiness, campiness, character interplay, and overall energy thatthe first movie has.The Mummy Returns, like its predecessor, has the theme of grave danger tothe world in the awakening of an immortal, evil power. But this time, theevil power is that of the Scorpion King, and at his command, the evil armyof Anubis. Whosoever can best the Scorpion King in battle will gain controlof his armies, and subsequently world domination.But that's the problem here. We have this all-powerful enemy with hisarmies to contend with. In addition, there is the evil group of people whoresurrect high priest Imhotep, with the idea that he will defeat theScorpion King and thus take over the world. And intertwined through thewhole mess is our band of heroes, who are consigned to thwarting theseefforts, but who throughout the movie seem merely resigned to do so, withoutany of the sense of urgency that should surround such an undertaking. Indeed, Brendan Frasier's character makes a couple of comments to thateffect: "You know, a year ago, this would have completely freaked me out." In this installment, the villains don't really seem all that immortal orall-powerful. In spite of whatever powers they may wield, they're presentedas not much more than another enemy to thwart. It doesn't help that Imhotepis presented as being in collusion with all of these "mortals." Come on! In the first movie, we get this presentation of Imhotep as this all-powerfulforce to be reckoned with, someone who has no need of conspiring with otherindividuals to get what he wants. He is far too mortalizedhere.In addition, the character interplay just doesn't have the dynamic that itdoes in the first movie. Frasier and Weisz's characters just don't have theexcitement and energy that they have in the first movie. John Hannah isvery funny, as he is in the first installment, and as such is a redemptionto the movie. But the part of comic relief in such a movie is supposed tobe just that: a relief from the tension and excitement of the rest of thefilm. Unfortunately, that just doesn't exist here.And that's the fatal flaw of this movie. It violated premises that it couldill afford to violate, in that it was boring and lacking in anticipation. There were moments that were obviously meant to suprise, catch you offguard. Unfortunately, you could see them coming a mile away. In addition,the characters were as uninspired as the plot, and as such all the specialeffects in the world couldn't save it. The "here we go again" mentality ofthe film could have stood up, if the film itself were not so derivative ofthe first film, and at the same time lacking in any innovation to make itdistinct.I give it 5 out of 10 stars. It can be a somewhat entertaining watch, butit doesn't hold a candle to the first film.