Starring: Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo, The Rock
Written by: Stephen Sommers
Directed by: Stephen Sommers
The Rock showed enough potential in his very limited role to warrant a pseudo-sequel in The Scorpion King and then used that to launch a whole new career for himself in the movies. The miracle is that he managed to escape this train wreck of a movie in one piece.
The Mummy, Stephen Sommers’ 1999 summer hit, was highly entertaining due mostly to its fun atmosphere and a committed lack of pretension. The sequel, reportedly rushed into theatres before special effects were truly finished, smacks of a lack of effort on many occasions. It can be honestly said that the opening sequence showing The Rock as a young warrior who makes a deal with the devil to become the all-powerful Scorpion King is the best part, and that is an instant recipe for disaster.
The story serves up a repetitious plot wherein the Mummy himself, Imhotep (Vosloo), is trying to once again come back to life. When a revelation comes about regarding the distant past of the original mummy fighters Rick (Brendan Fraser, Bedazzled, Looney Tunes: Back In Action) and Evelyn (Weisz, About A Boy, The Constant Gardener), it doesn’t mesh well with the story of the first film, creating an inconsistent feeling that reminds us we’re watching a sequel, not a continuation. Particularly irritating is the inclusion of a nine-year-old son for Rick and Evelyn, who serves up every cliché of the at times precocious, at times trouble-making, and often smarter than your average adult child character.
If you’re going to watch this movie to see The Rock get his feet wet in cinema, you can even skip the ending as The Rock is replaced by an embarrassingly bad CGI character that has half of a scorpion’s body. At least The Rock can claim innocence on his involvement in that sequence.
