Released in 2017, The Mummy is an action-horror film directed by Alex Kurtzman, starring Tom Cruise, Annabelle Wallis, Sofia Boutella, and Russell Crowe. The movie follows a soldier who finds an Egyptian tomb, and unwittingly releases an ancient evil. It was poised to be a pillar film Universal's abandoned "Dark Universe".
1 ½ stars
Movie Review
I don’t know who went wrong with the making of this film. Was it Universal? Was it Tom Cruise? Was it the director? The writers? Everyone? What I can tell you is that there's a lot that went wrong with this film.
The writing is all over the place, it’s tonally so mixed up, and worst of all…it’s kinda boring. It’s my second time watching The Mummy, and both times I’ve found myself zoning out; struggling to maintain my attention.
Kurtzman, the director, is an easy target. Many of the cuts are jarring, and the pacing feels off throughout. And aside from a few short scenes, The Mummy looks terrible. Most of the film is just muddy looking. The best looking scenes are brightly lit rooftops and deserts, and neither of these are primary locations in the movie. CGI also feels like a bad choice in this film, practical effects could have made a lot of the scenes much more interesting.
The performances are mostly fine. I don’t think there were any standouts, but no one was terrible either. They all do an acceptable job, given that they’ve been give a terrible script.
Cruise and Jake Johnson probably get the worst lines of the movie, while Crowe gets the hammiest. Annabelle Wallis is reduced to a blonde exposition machine; her best line in the film is a literal whimper.
Are there any animals in The Mummy?
Horses. For more information on them, check out Does the Horse Die in The Mummy.
Should you watch The Mummy (2017)?
Given that Universal's Dark Universe has been shelved, this isn't essential viewing. While there are more monster movies slated, they no longer appear to be part of an interconnected world.
The Mummy (2017) is a weirdly paced film with a lot of jarring moments and awkwardly shoehorned comedy. I've watched it twice now, and disliked it both times. That said, it's perfectly serviceable as something to play in the background while you're focussed on another task.
1 ½ stars.
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