Movie Review: The Mummy
What We Liked
What We Didn't Like
Shared universes are all the rage these days. Marvel started the trend almost a decade ago and each major studio now seems eager to establish their own. While Marvel has perfected the formula in which you focus on a specific character’s story first and then slowly introduce them into a larger universe, this is an element that other studios have chosen to ignore. Warner Bros. couldn’t wait to get their Justice League film together so after Man of Steel, they rushed into Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice which was a huge critical misfire. Suicide Squad was another hot mess, and while Wonder Woman is undeniably great, one must wonder (pun somewhat intended) if it was so well received because it focused on a single character and her arc. Now we have established her and she will most likely be one of the highlights of this year’s Justice League, while Aquaman and the Flash might seem forced in because Warner Bros. 
could not wait any longer on this movie. All of this is mentioned because Tom Cruise’s latest action vehicle, The Mummy, is not only supposed to serve as a reboot of a single franchise, but it also has the daunting task of establishing Universal’s new Dark Universe films. The series will connect some of Universal’s most iconic horror monsters such as the Wolfman, Frankenstein’s monster, the Invisible Man, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dracula, and of course, the Mummy. This may sound awesome in a world where most of the focus is on connecting superheroes, that connecting some of the most iconic horror characters of all time sounds could be a lot of fun. I was looking forward to The Mummy walking into the theater, and while I found the film to be entertaining, part of me wishes it was more of a Mummy movie than Dark Universe. The film should have taken a page out of the Marvel playbook and focused on telling a solid character film rather than leaving so many breadcrumbs that will probably get picked up in future Dark Universe installments.
The Mummy takes the franchise to modern day when an ancient princess is accidentally awoken and is hell bent on releasing an immense amount of terror and death onto the world. Nick Morton (Tom Cruise) finds the mummified Princess Ahmanet (Kingsman’s Sofia Boutella) and is cursed himself, which catches the eye of Dr. Henry Jekyll (played terrifically by Russel Crowe). Dr. Jekyll is the head of an organization tasked with researching monsters and ancient evil while also keeping them at bay. They’re essentially S.H.I.E.L.D. for monsters. There is also a MacGuffin that I won’t get into, but essentially the film’s initial premise works as a monster movie with a blockbuster budget.
That brings us to the film’s action and ultimately, it’s direction. Second-time director Alex Kurtzman, whose first foray was the much smaller People Like Us (2012), mostly nails the tone and horror feel I think Universal wants throughout their Dark Universe franchise. The film does rely on action more than horror, but there are many occasions where Kurtzman blends the two together and they make for fun moments. The plane crash sequence from the trailers is one of the highlights of the film (and surprisingly effective in 3D), while the other action scenes might teeter on being too CGI-centric, Kurtzman never allows it to completely go off the rails. Where he gets in trouble is when he must focus on the story and world building. Kurtzman is mostly known for his television projects he helped produce like Alias, Fringe, and Sleepy Hollow. He is in the J.J. Abrams camp and usually serves as a producer for his own films. What Abrams succeeds at doing is establishing a tone for a larger universe, like he did on television with Lost, Fringe, and theatrically with Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Kurtzman must not have taken the best of notes because although the idea of a shared monster universe is a good one, he clumsily inserts clues and breadcrumbs throughout that take away from the main story. Dr. Jekyll is a fun character, but his motivations are unclear and don’t make all that much sense. Plus, the film end on an awkward note that leaves the door open for a universe rather than a sequel. It feels as though they sabotaged this movie’s ending in service of setting up others, which isn’t a bad thing for down the road, but for now, it feels like subpar move.
One thing that I found super interesting is how little of a Tom Cruise movie The Mummy is. In his other films, like the Mission:Impossible series and Edge of Tomorrow, Cruise feels like the center of it all. Of course, depending how much you like Cruise usually dictates what level of enjoyment you get from his films, but that’s not the case with The Mummy. There is so much other stuff going on, like world building and CGI spectacle, that Cruise is simply along for the ride rather than steering the ship. As a Tom Cruise fan, that kind of bummed me out, but it makes sense for a first film establishing a larger universe.
Overall, The Mummy is not a bad movie, but it isn’t necessarily a good one either. The film shines when it mixes horror with over-the-top action. If you feel like turning off your brain and just enjoying a summer blockbuster, I recommend this movie. If you are looking for the start of the next great shared universe to rival Marvel, you’ll probably be disappointed. It’s a fun summer movie, but it had the potential to be so much more. By the time summer ends, I think we’ll look past this one and remember better films such as Wonder Woman and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 more fondly.
Scott Davis
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