No one actually expected anything when Universal Pictures announced their decision to revive the Egyptian undead with The Mummy. Bringing Tom Cruise on board did excite the fans, but many were still not convinced of the fact that how can you reboot an already done-to-death, explored till molecule, ancient creature. And, their fears were undoubtedly right because what is presented as the first film from the Dark Universe, is shallow, lack-lustre, forceful version of 1999 Sommers' series.
The makers of The Mummy, took inspiration from the original monster series of the 30s and decided to do away with the jazz and Sommers' series, but retain the humour which resulted in a lifeless 2-hour-long ride with a few chuckles and even fewer scares.
The new Mummy doesn’t have a whole lot of show-stopping visual flimflam, instead, it’s built around a chancy big trick and introduction of a monster in the dark universe who will in turn help in the construction of this new cinematic universe. The film revolves around Nick Morton, a man with fluid conscious and how he is cursed to bring the god of death in flesh and blood, by an ancient resurrected evil-Princess-Mummy Ahmanet (Sofia Boutella). The story is that of a beginning and offers a whole lot of information with little or no connection. The plot also involves Dr Henry Jekyll (Russell Crowe) - from the famous Jekyll and Hyde story - as a wall who can stop the evil from entering our world, just the way he tries to stop Hyde to take control of his inner conscious. Now, we don't know how brilliant the idea of mixing two entirely different monster stories is, but looks like Dark Universe has chosen Dr Henry to be their Nick Fury.
Tom Cruise at 54 is still one of the biggest crowd pullers of Hollywood and thus because of his stature, the film had to entertain his long on-going image of selfish cocky semi-scoundrel with a kind heart and even more courage. Cruise is so devoted to maintaining his image as a clear and wholesome hero that his flirtation with the dark side lack conviction and you know from the start that no matter how dark he goes, he will see the light.
Despite so many plotlines all around, the film turns into a typical Tom Cruise vehicle instead of becoming a story-rich engine of a theoretically interesting dark Monster-verse.
The Mummy has a lot of offer, from ancient Egyptian theories to Dagger of Set and a Doctor who turns into a monster if not injected with a special serum. There's so much lying around and director Alex Kurtzman failed to sew them all into a continuous plotline. There are too many speed breakers and this the film never really takes off at any point.
The Mummy lacks the courage of its conviction and the fun of its nonsense. It falls right into a nether zone in between the conviction and fun. The Mummy gave a first draft of what all can be expected from this supposed Dark Universe- few cursed, unfortunate monsters with kind hearts and will to fight ultimate evil. While it's too soon to speak for the rest, at least The Mummy lacks the thrill of a horror-action and is as predictable as any fairytale. A disappointment for horror as well as Tom Cruise fans.
Rating:2/5
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