The Mummy Returns

It is a curiosity of movie action that too much of it can be boring. Imagine yourself on a roller coaster for two hours. After the first 10 minutes, the thrills subside. The mistake of The Mummy Returns is to abandon the characters, and to use the plot only as a clothesline for special effects and action sequences. If it were not for references to The Mummy (1999), this sequel would hardly have a plot at all. The Mummy Returns is likely to drive last week's box-office winner Driven off the track and leave the rest of the competition far behind in the dust, most trade analysts agreed. The original 1999 film opened with $43.4 million, and analysts predicted that the sequel will at least do as well. But many critics were not persuaded that it's worth the price of admission. As the New York Times' Elvis Mitchell observed, This enterprise is to the movies what an average boy band is to pop; just because there's an audience for it doesn't mean it's any good. Kenneth Turan puts it this way: If you've been looking for a film like The Mummy Returns, The Mummy Returns is the film you've been looking for. Several critics commented that the sequel is not as entertaining as the original (they didn't like the original much, either), but Jonathan Foreman in the New York Post adds that the movie is still perfectly enjoyable swashbuckling, eye-catching entertainment. Many critics note that the film is the first film of the summer (well, almost summer) aimed at teenage boys. But Philip Wuntch in the Dallas Morning News goes on to say, its gleeful fun should appeal to all age brackets. Bob Longino in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution comments that, like its predecessor, The Mummy Returns leaps and bounds, jokes and scares, roars and double-roars. And not for a single second does it ever feel real. But Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times faults the film for attempting to pack too much action into its two-hour length -- the very thing that is likely to draw the target audience. Imagine yourself on a roller coaster for two hours, he remarks. After the first 10 minutes, the thrills subside. (Apparently Ebert hasn't been around teenagers at amusement parks who eagerly ride roller coasters for an entire day.) Across town, Mark Caro in the Chicago Tribune likens watching the movie to a different kind of experience. It is, he says, like standing behind someone playing a pretty cool video game. You may feel some vicarious excitement, but eventually you'd rather experience your own thrills.