The Mummy series

kongisking

Active member
Hello, everyone. I just wanted to share some of the significant similarities between the Mummy movies and the Indy films, and to also hopefully play lawer for this poor outcast-franchise. My first post will focus on my defense of the much-reviled second flick, The Mummy Returns.

Now, I know this topic has been discussed TONS of times, but I am in the process of watching Returns with a more open mind. Before I was rather disgruntled and half-disappointed by this sequel, with its hyperactively-corny atmosphere and intelligence-insulting plot devices and holes. But just a few days ago I realized that TEMPLE OF DOOM had been met with the exact same critisizm by Indy fans, and yet look at how many love Temple as their favorite now! I then decided that I should try watching Returns with the knowledge that, yes, the movie is cheesy beyond belief, has plot holes you could fly a Star Destroyer through, and has very lackluster effects when compared to the excellent CGI of the first. But I should just try and not bring logic to the movie, and just enjoy the cartoony CGI carnage and jokes-a-minute which flip past the screen.

And you know what? This time I enjoyed the living crap out of this cheeseball blockbuster.

Despite it's glaring flaws, Returns has a lot of good stuff crammed in it. For instance, I really like the story, with the whole Scorpion-King-about-to-ressurect-himself-and-the-only-one-who-can-beat-him-and-command-his-invincible-army-of-Jackal-warriors-is-Imhotep-twist. I think its a really good springboard for a nice, time-wasting adventure. And the fact that Brendan Fraser makes for the greatest adventure hero since Indy himself makes it all more fun. And did I mention the Pygmy Mummies? Those little mother****ing monkey bastards frickin' KICK ASS! They are so cool! Man, those midget dudes are so "da bomb" that I wanna see a movie about them! :eek: :cool:

So anyway, I watched Returns with as fresh eyes as I could have, and I actually enjoyed the movie's daffy, gee-whiz-whoopty-doo attitude and cheese value. Lactose intolerant viewers might stay clear away from it :p :rolleyes: , but I like it anyhoo!
 

|ZiR|

New member
The first film, The Mummy, was great. It blew away my eleven-year-old self when I saw it in theaters. (11?! Has it really been that long? Whoo... I feel old.) A fun adventure romp, very Raiders-esque. Love, love, love the film.

Evelyn is reminicent of Marion, 'cept without Ravenwood's badass "take charge" attitude. And Jack is like Indiana Jones' ne'er-do-well cousin.

A good, if forgettable, movie.

But The Mummy Returns. Well! That's an entirely different beast. It has its moments as you've mentioned, however I simply cannot forgive it for introducing certain characters and plot elements, hereby making it possible for the cinematic abortion that was The Scorpion King.

I was hoping that the series would have a chance to redeem itself with the upcoming film, though since it was announced that Rachel Weiz won't be returning as Evee my expectations have dropped significantly.
 

kongisking

Active member
|ZiR| said:
The first film, The Mummy, was great. It blew away my eleven-year-old self when I saw it in theaters. (11?! Has it really been that long? Whoo... I feel old.) A fun adventure romp, very Raiders-esque. Love, love, love the film.

I first saw The Mummy on pay-per-view back when the world had Primestar cable. I was around seven, and the special effects, as well as Fraser's classic, likable hero, rocked my socks off. My mom absolutely hates the scarabs though; she is completely terrified of those things. Me, the scarabs were the Pygmy Mummy equivalent in the film; really nasty little critters which are they only to pick off more character-fodder. I was entertained that night long, long ago, and I still deeply love it to this very day. A very special film for me.


|ZiR| said:
I was hoping that the series would have a chance to redeem itself with the upcoming film, though since it was announced that Rachel Weiz won't be returning as Evee my expectations have dropped significantly.

Well, on that topic, I personally have a lot of faith for Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Now that Sommers is not directing it, I think we can have a fresh start kind of like Casino Royale, basically ignoring the first two (for the most part) and breathing new life (no pun intended) into the series. I am EXTREMELY happy that Fraser will be back, and I share your mourning for the loss of Weiz. But from what I've read on director Rob Cohen's fan blog where he regularly updates the film's progress, he seems confident that it will retain the funny, light-hearted mood of the first but will also bring a new epic feel to the series as well. Honestly, I really really hope Emperor turns out as good as it sounds so far.

Jet Li as a chinese mummy trying to conquer the earth with Terra Cotta soldiers? AWESOME! DIFFERENT! UNIQUE! :cool: :cool: :cool: :eek:


http://robcohenthemummy.com/

Here's a link to Cohen's Mummy 3 blog site. Hope you like what you see and read.

PLEASE, PLEASE GIVE MORE REPLYS GUYS!!!!!
 
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|ZiR|

New member
kongisking said:
Jet Li as a chinese mummy trying to conquer the earth with Terra Cotta soldiers? AWESOME! DIFFERENT! UNIQUE!

Yeah, I'll give 'em that. At least they're trying to do something out of the norm, and for that I tip my hat to them. :)hat:)

Thanks for the blog-linkage, too. The photos have definitely piqued my interest in this movie. But I still can't get over them replacing Rachel Weiz with whatsherface. That'd be like having someone else play Marion. You just... you just don't do that.

It has also come to my attention that The Mummy and The Mummy Returns take place in 1923 and 1933, respectively. Now I'm not one for crossovers, but the potential for an Indy reference is giving even me a woody.

I can't believe they passed on that! Man. In the next one, seeing how it takes place in China, they should slip in a mention of Lao Che somehow.
 

nezobiwan

New member
Awwwww what about Oded Fehr???
He was even hotter than Brendan Fraser in those movies.... and boy did they KNOW it; he was originally supposed to die in the first film, but they brought him back because he rocked so hard. :gun:
 

kongisking

Active member
nezobiwan said:
Awwwww what about Oded Fehr???
He was even hotter than Brendan Fraser in those movies.... and boy did they KNOW it; he was originally supposed to die in the first film, but they brought him back because he rocked so hard. :gun:

Definitely agree there. They should have made a spin-off about Ardeth Bay. :cool: :cool: :cool:
 

Katarn07

New member
Hrm, I've only seen Mummy 2 twice completely through opposed to the bajillion times I've seen the original one straight through. It had some good elements, just a poor execution. It was too silly at times, and yet too serious at others. The original struck up a perfect balance between action, comedy, and drama. The second one reminds me of other movie sequels I say suck like Pirates 2 and Spidey 3 which ran into the same problems this one had. I'm not excited for the third one. I might see it on DVD or tv or something, but I'm not rushing out to see it in a year that's giving us both another Indy and Batman flick.

Mummy is great for it not being a horror, but another fun filled adventure like Indiana Jones. I love movies like this. They're even better if they're filled with camp like this was.
 

kongisking

Active member
I just want to share this with you guys...

I just made a big amount of contributions to the Rick O'Connell article for Wikipedia, and I am also working on improving all the other articles concerning the Mummy flicks. Check it out, and please tell me what you think! I want to know your opinions on my description and (fictional) biographical writing skills! :hat:
 

kongisking

Active member
Holy Christ! Two new entries on Cohen's blog site reveal more info and show us two ABSOLUTELY KICK-ASS looking photos of Jet Li and Brendan Fraser in action!!!!!!! It looks so unfreakin'-believably-awesome I can barely breath (just kidding...) TAKE A LOOK! I hope these two new photos will strengthen your faith in Part III and realize that Rob Cohen is trying his dang hardest to make a genuine HOLY F-ING A! THIS IS A DAMN COOL MOVIE experience! I can not share enough how excited I am by looking at these pics! God, this is going to be the best one yet...DAMN COOL! :cool: :cool: :cool:

JETRIDESINTOBATTLE.jpg


and here's another blow-your-balls-off-cool shot!!! (it's just a link because the pic itself is too huge to fit the forum screen)

http://www.robcohenthemummy.com/_N9P1695.jpg

Tell me your guys' reactions to this! This looks great!
 
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Katarn07

New member
Umm... No, those didn't get me excited. lol

I think rather than doing more Mummy movies, they should have spun the franchise off using the same characters. Think of all the cool stuff they haven't done with Indy. Why not use Rick, Evelyn, and Jonathon for say.... Atlantis? That would have been cooler I think.
 

No Ticket

New member
I really liked the original Mummy movie a lot. I think it was cheesy but not in a bad way. Done well. The sequel and Scorpion King movie were horrrrrible from what I remember. The sequel, returns, re-used the same idea from the first movie... a giant face of water vs. a giant face of sand? Lame.

I know next to nothing about this new one. But I am a little excited to see if they can make it on par with the original. Jet Li's in it? I didn't even know that! See? I know next to nothing!
 

kongisking

Active member
Katarn07 said:
Umm... No, those didn't get me excited. lol

I think rather than doing more Mummy movies, they should have spun the franchise off using the same characters. Think of all the cool stuff they haven't done with Indy. Why not use Rick, Evelyn, and Jonathon for say.... Atlantis? That would have been cooler I think.

That's EXACTLY what I was thinking! It seems that the series is entering a trend where, every two movies or so, the story will focus on a different country's mythology and mummies. Think, we could have Mummy movies about the Aztecs, the Peruvian and Atlantean mummies! Kind of like how each Indy film deals with a different religion. Like it? :cool:
 

Katarn07

New member
kongisking said:
That's EXACTLY what I was thinking! It seems that the series is entering a trend where, every two movies or so, the story will focus on a different country's mythology and mummies. Think, we could have Mummy movies about the Aztecs, the Peruvian and Atlantean mummies! Kind of like how each Indy film deals with a different religion. Like it? :cool:

That would have been pretty sweet, though it's too late to actually really do that now. I'm honestly quite surprised Frasier's back after he was in Crash. But yeah, they could have done the mummy stories you described and concluded the series with Imhotep's return. That would have made his return all the cooler.
 

kongisking

Active member
Yeah, I wonder if they'll pull a Dead Man's Chest and have a twist ending where the O'Connells have no choice but to team up with a once-again resurrected Imhotep to defeat the Dragon Emperor. That would be cool!

(honestly, the twist ending of DMC is the most shocking, blow-your-balls-off HOLY SH!T moment in movies ever...When I saw the ending in the theater, when Capt. Geoffrey Rush descends the stairs and with a wicked grin says, "So tell me...what's become of my ship?" I nearly blew up! BARBOSSA'S BACK?!?!?! F*UCK YEAHHHH!!!!!!! :cool: :cool: :cool:
 
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