May 4, 2001

By Veronica Mixon

It must have been a challenge to try and top THE MUMMY but I think the filmmakers have succeed even if there is very little here that it new.

THE MUMMY RETURNS opens eight years later as dashing legionnaire Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser) and adventurous Egyptologist Evelyn (Rachel Weisz), now husband and wife, once again battle their old nemesis, the 3,000-year-old mummy, Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo). The pair live in London with their son, Alex (Freddie Boath) and Evie's reckless brother, Jonathan (John Hannah). They discover that new forces are at work to resurrect Imhotep and reunite him with his lover, Anck-Su-Namun (Patricia Velasquez). His henchmen also plan to have Imhotep return to Egypt where he will battle the Scorpion King (The Rock) and utilize his vicious canine-bodied Anubus warriors to rule the world. Naturally, Rick and Evie rely on the wise desert sage Ardeth Bay (Oded Fehr) to guide them across the Sahara to an ancient hidden city with a mythical golden pyramid so that they can stop the evil Imhotep.

Stephen Sommers, the writer/director of the original blockbuster, has used his familiar tricks - Imhotep's angry, yelping face -- this time in water -- trying to swallow up our heroes, the marching, fighting soldiers, deadly beetles, the mummy's need for human sacrifice and an rickety flying machine piloted by a desert entrepreneur (Shaun Parkes). Of course, the entire cast is good but their journey is familiar territory

What's new is a dazzling chase scene with the skeletal soldiers scampering over the face of tall buildings like hungry bugs and attack our heroes as they ride a red-double-Decker bus in London. There's also a stampede reminiscent of Jurassic Park II where Imhotep and Rick's men are attacked in a thick jungle by spike-teeth pygmies. Furthermore, the depth of Anck-Su-Namun's betrayal is revealed through Evie's dreams and this fact makes the battle between the two women more fierce this time around. However, there isn't much of The Rock as the Scorpion King and the audience has little insight into his character. The filmmakers are making a separate movie about the Scorpion King so his appearance is a bit of a tease.

THE MUMMY RETURNS is a bigger, more spectacular movie with awesome special effects. Fans of the first movie will definitely enjoy it. How could the filmmakers disappoint the audience after first wetting our appetite with one of the most stable film tales - an old betrayal avenged and love that last throughout the ages?