The Mummy
English (A) ***
Cast: Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe, Annabelle Wallis, Jenny Halsey, Sofia Boutella, Jake Johnson, Chris Vail
Director: Alex Kurtzman
Two military recon specialists Nick (Cruise) and Chris (Johnson) discover an unusual Egyptian tomb which is protected by a pool of mercury. Archeologist Jenny Halsey (Wallis) helps them in recovering it. However, on their flight back, birds hit their plane and Nick wakes and finds himself to be cursed — as a “chosen one”. Meanwhile, banished princess Ahmanet (Boutella) is on a mission to find a special knife and gemstone to conduct terrifying rites which threaten Nick’s life, and Dr Jekyll (Crowe) is the only one who can help.
The film begins well but soon loses its way. Even by interval, it is not clear whether it is a monster movie or a horror movie.
The 1999 Brendan Fraser-starrer by the same name was better planned out than this somewhat action, part horror and monster movie. Cruise as Nick may be lovable, but there are far too many cliches. Even the humour is too snappy.
As expected of a Cruise movie, there are a couple of clever fight scenes like jump-scares and the scenic settings. All thanks to the FX team for the realistic sandstorms and insects. Other than that, there is not much to celebrate about The Mummy. There is a total mismatch of humour and action on the one hand and between the action and the monsters on the other. Entertaining in parts, but a rather sloppy movie.
Published 10 June 2017, 16:02 IST