By: Jonathan Pabico
The Mummy is a devastating cinematic blunder. Director Alex Kurtzman’s reboot of the classic monster film fails to capture the thrills of its predecessors. It buries my expectations for a well-rounded summer blockbuster, never coming close to Stephen Sommers’ Mummy films.
The movie unravels due to a multitude of unfortunate shortcomings. Through shallow and cliché dialogue, not much substance is offered, especially for the film’s ending that doesn’t leave audiences with any satisfaction at all. The action sequences are somewhat intense, maybe even suspenseful, and the visuals help elevate them, but the film’s action leaves no lasting impression for viewers.
Mission Impossible star Tom Cruise is dragged into this new reboot as Nick Morton, a bold adventurer and soldier that takes on the undead. Subsequently, the film depicts Cruise as the hotshot treasure hunter archetype. He tries his best, but his character’s lack of depth makes it difficult for viewers to take him seriously. Cruise’s performance sadly becomes satirical of other treasure hunter films, such as Indiana Jones and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.
There is also the bad chemistry among the film’s cast. Unlike the amazing chemistry between Rachel Weisz and Brendan Fraser in Sommers’ first two Mummy films, Cruise and his co-star Annabelle Wallis are not the right fit for the big screen. Cruise and Wallis deprive viewers of anything profound, memorable, or worthwhile to appreciate. With dry and flat interactions, their chemistry is as barren as the desert’s sand dunes. There’s also Cruise’s poor chemistry with Jake Johnson. Johnson (best known for his work in Jurassic World) and Cruise provide light-hearted banter that becomes way too awkward to laugh at.
However, Sofia Boutella (best known for her work in Kingsman: The Secret Service and Star Trek Beyond) provides a horrifying, sinister portrayal as the film’s mummy. Her performance amazingly overshadows the rest of the cast. Boutella’s acting brings out the mummy’s vicious demeanour and lust for power. Through meticulous visuals and costume design, Boutella’s presence on-screen is truly unsettling, but nonetheless, entertains (and hopefully scares) modern-day audiences.
Russell Crowe’s performance as Dr. Henry Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, the leader of a secret organization that eradicates the world’s supernatural threats, makes the film unique to some degree. Jekyll’s headquarters will fascinate viewers. It offers an interesting atmosphere and platform for an alternative storyline that could’ve been better pursued. Crowe does well in evoking Jekyll’s philosophy on evil. However, Crowe seems incredibly underused, as his main job is to only provide a narrative voiceover and explain the stakes involved in saving the world, much like his role as Jor-El from Man of Steel.
This Mummy reboot has some excitement, scares, and thrills, but regrettably fails to live up to its predecessor that is Stephen Sommers’ rendition of the classic monster movie.
