The Thing That Couldn't Die

The Mummy Dir: Stephen Sommers Starring: Brendan Fraser Rachel Weisz Jonathan Hyde PG-13, 124 m RATING: 4 out of 10

BLAST FROM THE PAST: Brenda Fraser survives The Mummy in this lackluster, thin-storied fantasy flick.

What could have been a fun, original, and roller-coasted ride reworking of the classic titular monster instead turns out to be a long, effects-laden, mostly plodding kid's film, complete with the obligatory jokes only a 10 year old could laugh at. Brendan Fraser certainly brings a welcome vigor to this lifeless movie, that is purely a special-effects driven rehash of the Universal classic.  Sure there are lots of great visuals here, the primary glory of the film being the CGI mummy, but ultimately the movie falls into the same trap as Godzilla did: damn the script, full-throttle the effects. There are no real thrills here, either: most of the action sequences are cliched, uninspired, and just plain mindless.  There could have been tons of ways to make "The Mummy" at the very least be heralded as a kinetic thrill-ride, but you sure won't find any intensity here. Overall, The Mummy is pure silliness that will no doubt have kids entranced and yourself in a trance, becoming like a mummy, that is, getting a lot of shuteye.

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