THE MUMMY (2017)

         Critic - No.112

Director: Alex Kurtzman
Casts: Tom Cruise, Annabelle Wallis, Sofia Boutella
Language: English
Genre: Action / Adventure / Fantasy

Plot:
An ancient princess is awakened from her tomb beneath the desert with her malevolence grown over millennia and terrors that defy human comprehension.

Review:
‘The Mummy’ series has always garnered the attention from audience worldwide due to its campy attitude. Except the third one on in the trilogy, ‘The Mummy (1999)’ and ‘The Mummy Returns (2001)’ had some fine moments that were embraced by many. However, this reboot make us question the reason for making a halfhearted product with such dazzling stars.

‘The Mummy (2017)’ pretty much reveals all the twist in the first 10 minutes before entering into a predictable, tedious journey on the lead characters to stop the restless evil spirit of Princess Ahmanet. The main problem with the film is that it’s packed with stock characters, predictable scenes and unexciting set pieces. No moment demands our guessing nerve. 

The romantic track of the lead casts does play a vital role in the climax but sadly you can never invest any emotion on them due to its diluted, contrived nature. The film also lacks the emotional core that might have made the film more worthwhile.

The historical context of the ‘The Mummy’ is revealed too soon in the film and by the time it reaches the third act, there are not much twists except a few pretentious moments where the plot gets entangled in it’s dilemma of whether it should be a Vampire flick, superhero flick or a ancient curse mystery.

‘The Mummy’ tries to be grim most of the time and the occasional laughs fall flat. The climax warrants a sequel but with such a messy first one, it’s worrying to even think of that.

Only Tom Cruise shines among the thinly written characters. He does try to salvage this film with a dedicated performance, especially in stunt sequences. The production design, especially in the ancient flashback is commendable.


VERDICT: 
Packed with visual gimmicks, lacklustre performances and inconsistent writing, ‘The Mummy’ is a dreary, sinking start for the Dark Universe franchise.


CELLULOID METER – 2/5: 

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