Review of The Mummy (2017) by Joseph B — 04 Jun 2018

The mummy offers a platter of appeasing elements - well known lead, familiarity of a franchise, an action adventure drenched in ancient folklore and a deliciously evil villain. However, on first bite this film proves utterly disappointing on every. single. level.

The movie starts off promising, but as it progresses, it becomes clear that the nonsensical plot is the real villain of this story. The characters, even one portrayed by the usually so charismatic Cruise, fall flat and fail to illicit any empathy. The villain feels half-baked and the scatter-brained plot progression quickly banishes any attention secured by the early set pieces.

The visual effects and overall production value are undeniably solid assets in this film; with atmospheric locations and an exhilarating plane crash in the early half. (Remind me never to get on a plane with tom cruise.) But long gone are the days where slick effects alone can fill the crevices of an overtly lazy and far-fetched script.

The mummy set out to pave the way for more Dark universe films to come, but failed to stimulate any excitement around a new reboot series. It is ultimately a forgettable film that was created in amidst of an identity crisis - with a total of six credited screen writers, it's easy to see that too many cooks really do spoil the broth. If this is the starter of a set menu, I won't be sticking around for more courses.