The Mummy Returns is just what we needed this year. After four months of films that have put 2001 on track to accumulate the worst release schedule in the history of films, the summer season is about to kick off in full spirit. Not only is the sequel to the successful 1999 release better than its predecessor, it moves at a brisker pace, has twice as much action and is more aware of itself as a goofy, loud piece of entertainment that has an old-fashioned feel even while it tries to up the special effects ante.

After a clumsy start when it appears that director Stephen Sommers is intent on lifting moment after scene from the Indiana Jones trilogy, The Mummy Returns to what it knows – Action! There are chases on foot, by bus and by air. Revel in the swordfights, fistfights, gun battles, snipers, and Braveheart-like battlefields with giant wolves! Look out for the flesh-eating beetles, flooding water and flying shrubbery! Oh yeah and there’s a plot too that ties this altogether.

Adventurers Rick O’Connell (Brendan Fraser) and Evelyn (Rachel Weisz) are now married. They have an eight-year old son, Alex (Freddie Boath) whom they like to take on excavations. Their latest takes them on the hunt for the gold bracelet once worn by the Scorpion King (wrestler “The Rock” a.k.a. Dwayne Johnson), one of those ancient rulers who looked to conquer the world whom Rick acutely observes is “how the story always goes.”

Naturally, this pursuit is not a solo act as some miscreant museum curator and his gang of Thuggee Emperor Imperial Guards seeks the jewelry for more world domination purposes. Their plan: Resurrect the Mummy Imhotep to resurrect the Scorpion King so he can TKO and take the belt for the title shot at the world. Supervising these middlemen is the reincarnation of Imhotep’s long lost love, Anck-Su-Namun (Patricia Velasquez). Considering that Imhotep spent the entire first film trying to bring her spirit back to life, it’s a little disconcerting that he could have just looked this woman up in the phone book. But in the immortal words of Ed Wood, “filmmaking is not about the little details, it’s about the big picture.”

That’s the mantra that Stephen Sommers takes here, as the script gives us just enough plot to string action sequences together and just enough characterization to understand motivation. In the tradition of the best adventure films every good guy gets their own bad guy to face off with. The main hero gets the lead villain, per usual. Evelyn discovers her roots and faces off against her archenemy, in a clever device to make her more Leia-Jedi than Leia-New Hope. Magi protector Ardeth (Oded Fehr) is back and gets head Thuggee lead henchman Lock Nah (played by Oz’s own Adebisi, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje). And Evelyn’s avarous brother, Jonathan (John Hannah), well, gets to fight a woman.

Very little time passes when a prolonged action sequence begins or is on the verge of setting one up. Even when exposition starts to get too thick, we go into the past to see a sword-a-cuffs from the B.C. Where the sequel succeeds so thoroughly is in giving us the Indiana Jones sense of discovery and action that was conveyed so well in the first hour of the original before turning into just another Hellraiser with a bigger budget. The Mummy Returns follows through on that promise, transforming theft into a wonderfully distracting homage.

This is the third time that I’m going to mention the name of Stephen Sommers, because I’m fully prepared to endorse him as a director to watch. Maybe not quite in the realm of a Spielberg, a Zemeckis or a Cameron, but solely on his ability to create a visually appealing, straight-up fun time at the movies without feeling the need to overcut his action into subliminal hell, as is becoming the norm these days. He stages his battles and keeps the camera far enough away from the participant’s nostrils to give us a sense of place (and excitement.) When a director is willing (and able) to infuse his ride with such a non-stop sensation of jollity without taking his audience for a group of ADS martyrs looking for a new shot every 5.6 seconds, than you’ve got me for two hours and Sommers accomplished just that.

His cast is more than up to the task, whether it is to look heroic, ravishing or supply comic relief. Only The Rock and Velasquez tend to overexaggerate their lines and facial ticks as pro wrestlers and ex-models are prone to do. But who cares about bad acting and convenient plot developments when you have a giant Balloon Ark flying over Egypt?

This is one my favorite times of the year, when the weather starts going from light jacket time to just right. Its called Spring for a reason, as what once was wilted starts to bloom again. This is as close to Indiana Jones as we’re going to get in a while. Hopefully as the official start of the Summer movies begins (right in the middle of Spring), The Mummy Returns will serve as the poster flick for an all-out entertaining season of fun, if not intellectual stimulation, in a year when we desperately needed an injection of adrenaline.


Recommended:
Yes

Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8