The Mummy (1999)

The Mummy is a 1999 American action adventure-horror film directed by Stephen Sommers and distributed by Universal Pictures. The film stars Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo, Jonathan Hyde, and Kevin J. O'Connor. This is a loose remake of the 1932 film of the same name, and it's the first installment of Brandom Fraser's The Mummy franchise. While the film received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics and audiences alike, Brandom Fraser's The Mummy, including the other two heavily became a cult following and would later become a theme park attraction, which was opened in Universal Studios, Revenge of the Mummy.

Plot
In the Sahara Desert in 1926, stumbling upon an ancient tomb, the hunters unwittingly set loose a 3,000-year-old legacy of terror, which is embodied in the vengeful reincarnation of an Egyptian priest who had been sentenced to an eternity as one of the living dead.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) It is one of a few movie remakes that managed to stay faithful to the source material of 1932, and 1959's remake of the same title in a very decent way.
 * 2) It has likable and memorable characters, such as Rick O'Connell who was played as Brandon Fraser, an American adventurer who served in the French Foreign Legion.
 * 3) Amazing soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith, filled with tons of suspense, horror, and excitement.
 * 4) It was a huge success, and it had a movie-inspired Universal Studios theme park attraction called Revenge of the Mummy in Orlando, Hollywood, and even in Singapore.
 * 5) The actors with Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, and many others did a great job in this movie, and they're one of the best selling points in this movie.
 * 6) The scarab bugs are very terrifying; they could eat the flesh of whatever creature they could catch, particularly humans.
 * 7) Brilliant cinematography by Adrian Biddle.
 * 8) The mummies are also very creepy-looking as well.
 * 9) The opening scene has a very creepy backstory that explains why Imhotep had been turned into a mummy many years ago; Imhotep's tongue was severed, and he was put in a grave filled with bugs.
 * 10) The movie has lots of awesome action and suspenseful moments, such as the heroes flying an airplane and getting chased by the Mummy sandstorm, and the final battle scene with the Mummy.
 * 11) The fictional ancient city of Hamunaptra (known as the City of the Dead) is well created and well set.
 * 12) It stays true to the Egyptian culture decently, and the recreation of late 1920's Egypt is well done.
 * 13) Stephen Sommers did a decent job directing the film.
 * 14) The CGI effects for the Mummy look pretty decent, even by 1999's standards.
 * 15) The first sequel The Mummy Returns is also decent, if not better.
 * 16) At least the remake makes sense, for the most part, and the story is decently written and it didn't take a lot of elements from other movie companies, and this written story does its own Indiana Jones inspiration, but it has different styles throughout the entire movie.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) While the story is quite decent, it can be rather cheesy at times.
 * 2) Some of the CGI effects didn't age that well.

Videos
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Critical response
The film received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics and audiences alike, it was praised for its effects, acting, the soundtrack, it had a 61% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 101 reviews, with an average rating of 5.83/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "It's difficult to make a persuasive argument for The Mummy as any kind of meaningful cinematic achievement, but it's undeniably fun to watch." Metacritic scores a film a 48/100, based on 34 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews", while it holds a 7.1/10 on IMDB.

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film a positive review, writing, "There is hardly a thing I can say in its favor, except that I was cheered by nearly every minute of it. I cannot argue for the script, the direction, the acting or even the mummy, but I can say that I was not bored and sometimes I was unreasonably pleased."

Box office
The movie grossed over grossed $43 million in 3,210 theaters in the United States and Canada on its opening weekend, and it went on a gross to $415 million worldwide (domestic: $155 million; foreign: $260 million), making a box office success.

Trivia

 * Brendan Fraser almost died during a scene where his character is hanged (Yes really). Rachel Weisz remembered, "He [Fraser] stopped breathing and had to be resuscitated."
 * The crew could not shoot in Egypt because of the unstable political conditions.
 * With the exception of a loin cloth, a few pieces of jewelry, and panties, Patricia Velasquez's costume consists entirely of body paint, which took four hours to apply.
 * The white nightgown Evelyn wore when the ship was attacked became transparent when it got wet and had to be digitally painted white during post production so the film could keep its PG-13 rating.
 * The production had the official support of the Moroccan army, and the cast members had kidnapping insurance taken out on them, a fact Stephen Sommers disclosed to the cast only after shooting had finished.
 * A stated on WIR# In 2004, Universal Studios theme parks (Hollywood and Orlando) opened their "Revenge of the Mummy" rides based on both this movie and The Mummy Returns (2001). The rides became so popular, the lines would stretch into the main park with riders waiting for hours in hot California or Florida sun. To alleviate the stress of waiting, when the lines would move, fans of the movie would wearily chant "Im-ho-tep. Im-ho-tep. Im-ho-tep." as the hypnotized townspeople do halfway through the movie.
 * It was originally planned to open the film with the old black and white Universal logo that had been used at the beginning of The Mummy (1932) which would dissolve into the blazing desert sun.