The Mummy

The idea of a shared cinematic universe is not as novel as The Avengers would like us to believe. As far back as 1943, the Wolf Man was running into Frankenstein, in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man.

Why not? Why should narrative be limited to just one state of affairs, a single protagonist the world revolves around? Reality has so many lead characters; it is completely okay for fiction to do so too.

But shared universes are also cheap excuses for capitalising on already popular characters. They all lack originality and encourage audience apathy. Captain America has never run into Iron Man because the story called for it, but because it is very profitable for the studios to make them do so.

Universal Studios started its Universal Monster set of movies after the unexpected success of certain horror movies, like The Phantom of the Opera, enjoyed early in the 1920s. Horror movies have always been unique during the era of silent movies. The eeriness of hyper movement, grim lighting, slanted angles and overall silence create ideal atmospheres for horror.

But Universal’s best days were the early 1930s, which saw the releases of the classic horror movies Dracula and Frankenstein. Legend has it that Boris Karloff’s Frankenstein’s monster makeup was so scary, audiences ran out the theatre in terror. Both movies inspired numerous sequels (including the much-acclaimed Bride of Frankenstein), spinoffs and of course spoofs.

Universal wants to resurrect its Universal Monsters franchise, this time in the form of the Dark Universe. The first movie we are getting is The Mummy, starring Tom Cruise. It is a remake of the 1999 Brendan Fraser starring film of the same name, which in itself is a remake of a 1932 original. All in all, there are at least a dozen different incarnations of The Mummy – apparently, someone thought they were not enough.

Nick (Tom Cruise) is a treasure scavenger, who searches for long-lost valuables around the world to be sold off on the black market. In Iraq, the setting of ancient Mesopotamia, Nick finds the underground tomb of an ancient Egyptian princess. This is weird because the Mesopotamians were not Egyptians.

Apparently, a long, long time ago, a beautiful Egyptian princess called Ahmanet (Sofia Boutella) had contacted Set, the god of violence, disorder and all things bad. She did so to secure her father’s throne. She becomes very powerful, but before she could consolidate her powers, she is captured and buried alive far away from Egypt, in Mesopotamia.

Unwittingly, Nick frees Ahmanet from the tomb. For his gesture, she chooses him as her companion. But despite being somewhat old, and Ahmanet very attractive, Nick resists her offer. On the run from her, he discovers a new world where monsters are not as rare and fictitious as we have all been led to believe.

The only indication that this film belongs to a larger universe comes in the appearance of Henry Jekyll, as in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The famous character is played here by the awesome Russell Crowe, who steals the show. We probably will get a spin-off based on this character, probably an origin story. With the right filmmaker and Crowe back in the role, it could be very interesting.

I have always liked Cruise as an actor. People have a way of judging others by their private lives. He can sometimes seem to be arrogant, and the religion (Scientology) he has taken to does seem to piss many off. But I have always found him to be a dedicated actor.

As of yet, he has never appeared in a masterpiece, but his Mission Impossible movies are greatly entertaining – a very rare franchise that somehow manages to get better with every subsequent sequel.

Nonetheless, Cruise seemed a little old for the role or at least a little too well known. Horror movies are always best when they star lesser known actors – it is important to be reminded that any character can get brutally murdered. Cruise has too much commercial viability for us to expect him not to win in a spectacular, self-aggrandizing manner.

Boutella, who plays Ahmanet, is a welcome find. She is beautiful in a unique, mythical manner. The script does not give her a lot to play with, but she does her best with what

she has been afforded. The role asked for someone that seemed heartless, conniving and very attractive, and that is what Boutella gave.

The Mummy I am afraid is not a good movie. I did not hate it as much as other critics, but I do agree with the general apathy. Director Alex Kurtzeman, also responsible for other atrocities, the likes of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and The Amazing Spiderman 2, does not inspire a lot of enthusiasm, to begin with. He has made The Mummy entirely predictable and crassly ingratiating.

The next film in the franchise will be Bride of Frankenstein, another remake, slated for 2019. It will be directed by Bill Condon. Other sequels in the future will star memorable monsters such as the Invisible Man, Wolf Man, Van Helsing and others. But, if The Mummy is a sample of what we are going to get, then I wish us all good luck.


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