Review of The Mummy (2017) by Reel Life R — 08 Jun 2017

The Mummy (2017) - The launching point for Universal's 'Dark Universe' is, at best, an average action flick. Cheesy one-liners and pure convenience mar what could have been a successful introduction to this new franchise.

I thought the studio's idea to bring back the classic monster movies was a little out there. But when they started getting A-list talent involved, it got me really interested. Tom Cruise in The Mummy, Russell Crowe as Jekyll & Hyde, Javier Bardem as Frankenstein's monster, and Johnny Depp as The Invisible Man? How do you not buy in to something like that? I can only hope those other movies can learn from this one.

As is often the downfall of potentially good films, this one suffers from being indecisive when it comes to tone. The main culprit is Tom Cruise's sidekick, played by Jake Johnson. While serious events are happening around every other character, he for some reason thinks he's in a late 90's comedy. His lines, and his character overall, are a big distraction. In a movie that has magic, mummies, and monsters, this guy's character was the most unbelievable element of the whole thing.

Sofia Boutella, however, was quite strong as the titular character. I hadn't gotten a whole lot out of her from the previews, but she was by far the standout. The lore that they introduced with her character was a driving force for the film and she played it perfectly. The writers did a solid job of making her sympathetic while also straight up evil.

On the surface, The Mummy is essentially an Egyptian episode of The Walking Dead. Yes it's entertaining, but we're ultimately just spinning our wheels. I only wish the movie had fully committed to the handful of darker moments that were peppered in. There's a great horror movie under there somewhere- the editor just couldn't find it.