Alex Kurtzman’s “The Mummy” was all popcorn action and visual eye candy but what the film really needed was more character dynamic and a storyline that would have made these characters much more fascinating. The film does feature a magnificent performance by actress Sofia Boutella but for all the great she brings to this film, it wasn’t enough to save this film from it’s lack of a captivating storyline. If you are not wanting anything deep and want straight-up action, then definitely give “The Mummy” a try!
TITLE: The Mummy
FILM RELEASE: 2017
DURATION: 1 Hr. and 50 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (2:40:1), English Dolby Atmos, DVS, Dolby Digital 2.0, Francais and Espanol DTS Digital Surround 5.1, Subtitles: English, Francais, Espanol Dolby Digital 5.1, English DVS Dolby Digital 2.o
COMPANY: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
RATED: PG-13
RELEASE DATE: September 12, 2017
Directed by Alex Kurtzman
Screenplay by David Koepp, Christopher McQuarrie, Dylan Kussman
Produced by Sarah Bradshaw, Genevieve Hofmeyr, Chris Morgan
Executive Producer: Jeb Brody, Robert Orci
Associate Producer: Kevin Elam
Music: Brian Tyler
Cinematography: Ben Seresin
Edited by Gina Hirsch, Paul Hirsch, Andrew Mondshein
Casting by Lucinda Syson
Production Design by Jon Hutman, Dominic Watkins Set Decoration: Jillie Azis
Starring:
Tom Cruise as Nick Morton
Russell Crowe as Henry Jekyll
Annabelle Wallis as Jenny Halsey
Sofia Boutella as Ahmanet
Jake Johnson as Chris Vail
Courtney B. Vance as Colonel Greenway,
Marwan Kenzari as Malik
Tom Cruise stars in this spectacular version of the legend that has fascinated cultures all over the world since the dawn of civilization: The Mummy. Thought safely entombed deep beneath the desert, an ancient princess (Sofia Boutella) whose destiny was unjustly taken from her is awakened in our current day. Her malevolence has grown over millennia and with it come terrors that defy human comprehension. From the sands of the Middle East through modern-day London, The Mummy balances wonder, thrills, and imagination.
In an effort to reboot “The Mummy” franchise and to showcase their classic monsters lineup with today’s cinema technology for today’s movie audience, the company announced back in 2016 the release of “The Mummy” which would feature Tom Cruise and “Invisible Man” to star Johnny Depp. An an interest to create movies featuring Dracula, Frankenstein, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, “Phantom of the Opera” and more.
Tapped to direct “The Mummy” is writer Alex Kurtzman (known for writing “Transformers”, “The Amazing Spider-Man” and producing the newer “Star Wars” films) and utilizing several screenwriters such as David Koepp (“Mission: Impossible”, “Jurassic Park”, “Spider-Man”, “War of the Worlds”), Christopher McQuarrie (“Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation”, “The Usual Suspects”, “Edge of Tomorrow”, “Jack Reacher”) and actor Dylan Kussman (who starred in “Dead Poets Society” and “Jack Reacher”).
The film stars Tom Cruise (“Top Gun”, “Mission: Impossible” franchise, “Jerry Maguire”, “Eyes Wide Shut”), Russell Crowe (“Gladiator”, “A Beautiful Mind”, “L.A. Confidential”), Annabelle Wallis (“Annabelle”, “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword”), Jake Johnson (“New Girl”, “Jurassic World”, “Let’s Be Cops”) and Sofia Boutella (“Kingsman”, “Star Trek Beyond”, “Atomic Blonde”).
The film budgeted at $125 million would go on to earn $407.8 million in the box office. And now “The Mummy” will be released on Blu-ray and DVD Courtesy of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.
The film begins with English crusader knights burying an Egyptian ruby inside a tomb back in 1127 A.D. and in present-day London, a construction crew discovering the tomb and a mysterious person coming to investigate the site.
We are then taken back to the New Kingdom Era (a.k.a. New Kingdome of Egypt) and we are introduced to Princess Ahmanet, a fierce fighter who is next in line to succeed her father Menehptre as the Queen of Egypt.
Until his second wife gives birth to a baby boy and now pushing Princess Ahmanet out of the picture to claim the throne.
Determined to claiming the throne, Ahmanet summons the god of the desert, storms and disorder, Set, who agrees to help her if she uses a dagger to transfer his spirit into a corporeal form. So, Ahmanet murders her father, his wife and her baby brother and then attempts to sacrifice her lover to Set but is captured by her father’s priests and condemned to be mummified while alive for eternity. To prevent her from escaping, her sarcophagus is buried in Mesopotamia and submerged in a pool of mercury.
Fast-forward to the present in Iraq, Sergeant Nick Morton (portrayed by Tom Cruise) and Corporal Chris Vail (portrayed by Jake Johnson) are under attack by insurgents. While running away and being saved by an airstrike, the two discover the tomb of Ahmanet. Sgt. Nick Morton is visited with an archaeologist named Jenny Halsey (portrayed by Annabelle Wallis), who he had a one-night stand and she arrives to investigate the tomb and believes its a prison. As the three go underground to look what is inside, Corporal Vail is bitten by a camel spider and they also manage to extract Ahmanet’s sarcophagus from the pool of mercury and plan to transport it on a plane to England.
But during the transport, Corporal Vail is possessed by Ahmanet and begins to go on the attack. As Sgt. Morton tries to prevent people from killing him, he tries to attack everyone and forces Sgt. Nick Morton to kill him. Not long after, a huge number of crows start crashing into the plane and the plane crashes and while Jenny is saved by Nick, who helps her escape by parachute, everyone inside the plane is killed.
The following day, Nick awakens from a morgue in Oxford and then he sees Corporal Vail’s ghost and learns he was cursed by Ahmanet and that she is looking for a replacement vessel for Set. Ahmanet’s mummy escapes from the sarcophagus and begins feeding on people to help her regenerate her decomposed body, while turning those she feeds on to zombies.
As Jenny is shocked to see Nick alive and unhurt, Ahmanet manages to lure Nick and Jenny into a trap and as she is near killing them, they are rescued by soldiers who capture and subdue Ahmanet and learn that their leader Dr. Henry Jekyll (portrayed by Russell Crowe) is responsible for saving them and that Jenny also works for him.
But what is the true background of Dr. Henry Jeckyll and Jenny and how is it that Nick came back alive from the dead? And is Corporal Vail still alive?
VIDEO:
“The Mummy” is presented in 1080p High Definition (2:40:1). Picture quality is magnificent as closeups showcase incredible detail, while visual effects are fantastic. I saw no sign of banding or artifact issues. The film looks absolutely magnificent on Blu-ray!
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“The Mummy” is presented in English Dolby Atmos, DVS, Dolby Digital 2.0, Francais and Espanol DTS Digital Surround 5.1, Subtitles: English, Francais, Espanol Dolby Digital 5.1, English DVS Dolby Digital 2.o.
Featuring crystal clear dialogue and musical score and action sequences sound magnificent through the surround channels and the lossless soundtrack is quite immersive. Audiophiles will no doubt love this soundtrack.
Subtitles are in English.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“The Mummy” comes with the following special features:
- Deleted and Extended Scenes – (4:50) Featuring four deleted and extended scenes.
- Cruise & Kurtzman: A Conversation – (21:14) Tom Cruise and director Alex Kurtzman discuss working together on “The Mummy”.
- Rooted in Reality – (8:52) A featurette about making a monster film. Featuring interviews with director Alex Kurtzman and cast.
- Life in Zero-G: Creating the Plane Crash – (7:32) A featurette on the making of the plane crash scene in Zero-G.
- Meet Ahmanet – (7:38) A featurette about Ahmanet and the cast and crew discuss working with Sofia Boutella.
- Cruise in Action – (6:02) A featurette featuring the stunts performed by Tom Cruise.
- Becoming Jekyll and Hyde – (07:10) A Featurette about Russell Crowe and Crowe and Cruise working together.
- Choreographed Chaos – (6:29) A featurette featuring the chaotic London action scene and the making of the scene.
- Nick Morton: In Search of a Soul – (5:43) A featurette about Tom Cruise’s character Nick Morton
- Ahmanet Reborn: Animated Graphic Novel – (3:53) An animated graphic novel featuring Ahmanet.
- Feature Commentary with Director/Producer Alex Kurtzman, Cast members: Sofia Boutella, Anabelle Wallis and Jake Johnson
EXTRAS:
“The Mummy” comes with Blu-ray, DVD and UltraViolet code.
A reboot of “The Mummy”, it would no doubt be a fascinating film with today’s visual effects technology.
And as I finished watching “The Mummy”, the first things that come to my mind is a highly hyped modern video game that has wonderful graphics but a weak storyline. Alex Kurtzman may have written and produced many entertaining films but his latest directorial effort, while featuring a talented cast and magnificent visual effects, yet undone by a shoddy screenplay.
It’s unfortunate because there are so many things that can go so right with this film especially with the pairing of American cinema giants Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe but too much emphasis was trying to make a popcorn action film with no captivating storyline. You don’t even get hooked on Tom Cruise’s character of Nick Morton as the film establishes him as a rambunctious, womanizing, impulsive and unlikable person. Sure, he dies and is resurrected but any time that could be made to flesh out the characters is continually marred by an over-reliance on visual effects.
That is why I make the comparison with a big budget video game that is total eye candy but yet is hurt by a weak story. I wanted to enjoy seeing Cruise and Crowe together, I wanted to feel that spark between Annabelle Wallis’ Jenny Halsey and Cruise’s Nick Morton, but instead, I found myself more excited about seeing Sofia Boutella’s character Ahmanet and she’s the antagonist!
Boutella absolutely shined as Ahmanet, the jilted princess turned mummy and a combination of beauty, ferocity and horror. As solid as her performance was, for being the film’s antagonist, while the visual effects were magnificent, the action sequences as being magnificent, I couldn’t help but think in my head of how the Brendan Fraser/Rachel Weisz 1999 film, “The Mummy” was much more entertaining.
There was not enough character development for the 2017 “The Mummy” and there was a lot of potential, writing-wise, it was effete.
As for the Blu-ray release, the film absolutely shines with magnificent picture quality and the lossess soundtrack was immersive and fantastic. There are also numerous special features included as well.
Overall, Alex Kurtzman’s “The Mummy” was all popcorn action and visual eye candy but what the film really needed was more character dynamic and a storyline that would have made these characters much more fascinating. The film does feature a magnificent performance by actress Sofia Boutella but for all the great she brings to this film, it wasn’t enough to save this film from it’s lack of a captivating storyline. If you are not wanting anything deep and want straight-up action, then definitely give “The Mummy” a try!
