Mummy (Blu-ray) (1999)

"Digs up both laughs and chills from timeworn material.  Bob Graham, San Francisco Chronicle
"This isn't your mummy's Mummy.  Christine James, Box Office Magazine
"...solid acting, stellar special-effects, and well-wrought tension...  Ernest Hardy, Film.com
"Cheerful, slightly cheesy entertainment that uses the latest special-effects techniques to breathe life into a venerable film tradition.  Jonathan Foreman, New York Post
"...[does a] good job of zipping things along and occasionally scaring us, and the digital effects are fun.  Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
"A well-crafted, great looking adventure, with some spirited performances.  Justine Elias, Mr. Showbiz
"A rousing adventure!  Today

Editor's Note In the 1920s, a group of archaeologists led by adventurer Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser) discovers the mummified body of Imhotep, an Egyptian priest who was cursed for falling in love with the Pharoah's mistress. When they accidentally resurrect him, the battle for survival begins, as the mummy begins to use his powers to reclaim his long-lost love. Director Stephen Sommers updates this classic Universal monster for the 1990s, using a dazzling array of computer-generated special effects. Fun performances from Fraser and Weisz add to the tongue-in-cheek Saturday matinee appeal.

	Stephen Dunham
	Bernard Fox
	Corey Johnson
	Arnold Vosloo
	Tuc Watkins
	Jonathan Hyde
	Kevin J. O'Connor
	Oded Fehr
	Patricia Velasquez
	John Hannah
	Omid Djalili
	Brendan Fraser
	Rachel Weisz
	Bob Ducsay - Editor
	Stephen Sommers - Screenwriter
	Sean Daniel - Producer
	James Jacks - Producer
	Allan Cameron - Production Designer
	Adrian Biddle - Director of Photography
	John Bloomfield - Costume Designer
	Jerry Goldsmith - Composer
	Stephen Sommers - Director

Entertainment Weekly
"...[Weisz is] seductive....Fraser gooses the movie with his deft comic timing..." -- Rating: B 10/01/1999 pp.76-7

USA Today
"...[The] sights do astonish..." 05/07/1999 p.8E

Chicago Sun-Times
"...There's a lot of funny dialogue in the movie..." 05/07/1999 p.31

Total Film
"...You get: fun, some flashy effects and a bit of a laugh..." 06/01/2000 p.88

ReelViews 7 of 10
The Mummy is pretty silly stuff. But that's okay when you consider that, beneath all the action/adventure and horror trappings, it's actually a comedy. Think of a big-budget, high profile effort in the vein of Sam Raimi's Army of Darkness with less camp and better special effects. The Mummy never takes itself seriously, and neither should we. It's a good thing it is funny because, as a thriller, it's an underwhelming effort. I suppose there are times when The Mummy makes an attempt to get the adrenaline pumping, but it never tries too hard. In the end, it's the self-mocking aura that save this film from being a waste of two hours...Expectations will likely color most movie-goers' opinions of The Mummy. Those who buy a ticket anticipating a high-octane appetizer to The Phantom Menace will be disappointed. On the other hand, those who are primed for a ludicrous adventure/horror parody will discover that The Mummy has the potential to satisfy. Considering how many would-be blockbusters fail at that simple task, it's possible to forgive this movie many of its numerous faults and enjoy it for what it is trying to achieve, not what the marketing campaign claims it to be. - James Berardinelli

Chicago Sun-Times 8 of 10
There is within me an unslaked hunger for preposterous adventure movies. I resist the bad ones, but when a "Congo" or an "Anaconda" comes along, my heart leaps up and I cave in. "The Mummy" is a movie like that. There is hardly a thing I can say in its favor, except that I was cheered by nearly every minute of it. I cannot argue for the script, the direction, the acting or even the mummy, but I can say that I was not bored and sometimes I was unreasonably pleased. There is a little immaturity stuck away in the crannies of even the most judicious of us, and we should treasure it...None of this has anything to do with the great horror classic "The Mummy" (1932), which starred Boris Karloff in a strangely poignant performance as a long-dead priest who returns to life and falls in love with the modern reincarnation of the woman he died for. The 1932 movie contains no violence to speak of; there's hardly any action, indeed, and the chills come through slow realizations (hey, did that mummy move?)...Look, art this isn't. Great trash, it isn't. Good trash, it is. It's not quite up there with "Anaconda," but it's as much fun as "Congo" and "The Relic," and it's better than "Species." If those four titles are not intimately familiar to you, "The Mummy" might not be the place to start. - Roger Ebert