The Mummy Returns (HD-DVD)
Picture:
B Sound: B Extras: C- Film: D
The more
one thinks about it, the more Stephen Sommer’s The Mummy (1999, reviewed on HD-DVD elsewhere on this site) seems
like a fluke or like any time Jon Bon Jovi releases hit records since Bruce
Springsteen is on break. In 2001, they
rehashed the film as The Mummy Returns
and all anyone could say at the time was that the effects looked better. That’s not the case now.
Brendan
Frazier and Rachel Weisz returned as the leads and some of the only characters
not to be killed in the first film. Now
they’ve had a son (yawn) and on top of the return of their favorite monster,
The Scorpion King (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) has too been revived and they are
in greater danger than ever.
This
sequel has not aged well at all, has no laughs, point or excitement of any
kind. I was shocked at how much a bad
sequel like this got worse over time, but it is a mess and The Rock is only the
beginning of its troubles. This was a
package deal that was simply cashing in on the first film and is not even the
most competent corporate product. Only
diehard fans should apply, but this did not help Frazier’s career long term and
with the events of 9/11 happening only months after, it was quickly forgotten.
The 1080p
2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image is a little better than that of the
previous Mummy HD-DVD, but not
substantially so. The digital looks
about as bad, the shooting is too much the same by cinematographer Adrian
Biddle, B.S.C., but he pulls off enough of a professional look that fans
instantly reconnected and it made even more money than the last film. The Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 mix is also a
little better than the previous film, but it again is more of the same, lacking
character and any idea of progress in the approach to mixing. Alan Silvestri’s score is not as good as that
of Jerry Goldsmith’s for the first film and has not aged as well.
Extras
include visual effects featurette, a Music Video by Live, outtakes, a making of
featurette, audio commentary by Sommers and producer/editor Bob Ducsay, "Chamber of Doom": a virtual tour of
Universal Studios' latest theme park attraction, "Egyptology 201": a fun and educational look at ancient Egypt
and Egyptian mythology and a look at Scorpion
King in DVD-ROM.
Now you
see why a third film took so long. What
were they going to do?
- Nicholas Sheffo
