The Mummy

A bit of horror, a bit of humor, always adventure. I liked The Mummy very much, and I was quite surprised, because I really like the original 1932 film and this newer version as well. It's a very entertaining spectacle with many imaginative scenes (that doesn't mean, of course, that something similar has never been done before), pleasantly quick but not frantic momentum, a sympathetic cast, and the bombastic music of Brian Tyler. The non-forgettable finale gave me similar joy as the zombie crusaders. And I didn't expect to ever see Tom Cruise in a “girl in trouble" role. (16/06/2017)

The beginning of a new cinematic universe and one of the most entertaining blockbusters of the year. Tom Cruise is once again in Mission Impossible mode and there couldn't be a better choice for the main character. The great Russell Crowe, the beautiful Annabelle Wallis and the sexiest Mummy Sofia Boutella are also a delight. The film hits the gas right from the start and doesn't let up until the very end. The action is perfect, visually varied and imaginative, the film looks decently gritty for a PG 13, there are some scares and a slight horror atmosphere (the scene with the rats or spiders Brrr). The strongest moment for me was probably the plane crash, one of the most intense scenes of the year. After a long time I left the cinema excited, entertained and relaxed, and perhaps no one could expect more from a fun silly blockbuster. 85%. (11/06/2017)

The immortal Cruise has found himself another excuse for stuntmen to kid about, this time in Iraq and England. The Mummy lacks a director with balls. Kurtzman does his work, but brings no surprise in the form of visual awesomeness or a clever idea. Luckily the screenplay seems quite original. The bad guy is a girl and Cruise is a jerk who releases her by mistake during his quest for treasure. Very refreshing. As the beginning of a bigger story about monsters, the Mummy works excellently and I’m intrigued to see what follows. Similar to Tom, gentlemen will wonder whether it will be Sofia Boutella or Annabelle Wallis. P.S: This has nothing whatsoever to do with Sommers’ Mummy and frankly this version can’t touch that one, but neither can most movies. (13/06/2017)

All the ingredients you need for an adventurous tale are abundantly present here. Beautiful locations, a stunning damsel in distress, a courageous hero who goes to great lengths, and a mysterious tale as the central theme. But what's the point when there is a desperate lack of substance and balance? Nick is too arrogant in the beginning and then unbelievably noble as time goes on. Ahmanet spends most of her time in dried-up form, so there is nothing specific to fear, and Vail, the joking friend, is pure evil with his boisterous approach. The biggest joy is the fact that Russell Crowe didn't just drop in for a minute, but it is truly disappointing to find out that perhaps every other line was written by a different screenwriter, turning a potential blockbuster into almost a self-parody. I don't want to do a disservice to The Mummy, as I was mildly entertained at times, but its perplexing genre inconsistency, strangely anticlimactic epilogue, and absence of any new idea, where the only adrenaline moment is the airplane crash shown in the trailers, left me feeling frustrated just a few hours after watching it. (08/06/2017)

It is so, so conflicting, what a shame. For a while it's an adaptation of Uncharted with everything, for a while it is and adventurous silly action movie with an annoying sidekick à la modern Mummy, for a while it continues in the darkened mode of gothic horror, at times it would very much like to refer to the style of good old universal movies, it often uses to the contemporary blockbuster plague "CGI solves everything", in the style of all contemporary franchise movies that make the universe go round, future thing are more indicated and actually told and... And you probably already got the idea. On the other hand, it's well-paced, most of the action has a drive, and even though it would be nice to replace Cruise with someone like new Price/Lee, nothing bad can be said about him this time. We cannot say it is a modernization of a (let alone respectful) of a true classic movie from the Universal department not even remotely. But as a (so far purely on the paper) more advanced alternative of all comic book cinemas series it´s enough to get by. Especially if the movie would have been in the same mode throughout the footage, preferably in Uncharted mode with slightly horror stylization. (07/06/2017)