- The Mummy Returns
-
The Mummy Returns 
Promotional posterDirected by Stephen Sommers Produced by Sean Daniel
James Jacks
Executive
Bob Ducsay
Megan MoranWritten by Stephen Sommers Starring Brendan Fraser
Rachel Weisz
John Hannah
Freddie Boath
Oded Fehr
Arnold Vosloo
Patricia Velásquez
Alun Armstrong
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Shaun Parkes
Dwayne JohnsonMusic by Alan Silvestri Cinematography Adrian Biddle Editing by Ray Bushey III
Bob Ducsay
Kelly MatsumotoStudio Alphaville Films Distributed by Universal Pictures Release date(s) May 4, 2001 Running time 130 minutes Country United States Language English
ArabicBudget $98 million Box office $433,013,274[1] The Mummy Returns is a 2001 American adventure film written and directed by Stephen Sommers, starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo, Oded Fehr, Patricia Velásquez and Freddie Boath. The film is a sequel to the 1999 film The Mummy. Filming took place in London, Morocco, and Jordan.[citation needed]
The Mummy Returns inspired the 2002 spin-off film The Scorpion King which is set 5,000 years prior and whose titular character, played by Dwayne Johnson (The Rock), was introduced in this film. It was followed by the 2008 sequel The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.
Contents
Plot
In 3067 BC, the Scorpion King (Dwayne Johnson), leads his army on a campaign to conquer the world. After seven years of fighting, the Scorpion King and his army are defeated and exiled to the desert of Ahm Shere. One by one they die of heat exhaustion, leaving only the Scorpion King, who swears an oath to Anubis, god of the underworld, exchanging his soul for the power to defeat his enemies. Anubis grants his wish, creating an oasis to hide the Scorpion King's pyramid and giving him an endless legion of demonic, humanoid jackal warriors to exact his revenge. The Army of Anubis sweeps across Egypt, destroying everything in its path, but once their task is finished Anubis claims the Scorpion King's soul and his army.
In 1933, Rick (Brendan Fraser) and Evelyn O'Connell (Rachel Weisz) explore a ruined mortuary structure in the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes with their son, Alex (Freddie Boath). They find the Bracelet of Anubis. In London, Alex puts on the bracelet, which provides him with directions to the oasis of Ahm Shere. Alex has seven days to reach the oasis, or the bracelet will kill him the moment the rays of the sun shine on the Scorpion King's pyramid; at that point the Scorpion King and his army will also reawaken.
Alex is captured by an Egyptian cult who have resurrected Imhotep; they wish to use Imhotep's power to defeat the Scorpion King, which would give him command of the Army of Anubis. The cult, led by Baltus Hafez (Alun Armstrong), the curator of the British Museum, includes a warrior named Lock-Nah and Meela Nais, the reincarnation of Imhotep's love Anck-su-namun. The O'Connells set out to rescue Alex, accompanied by Evelyn's brother Jonathan and the Medjai Ardeth Bay. Rick's associate from his past adventures, Izzy, a pilot, provides the group transportation.
The bracelet of Anubis gives Alex visions, directions to Ahm Shere that the cult follows. At each location, Alex leaves clues for his parents, who follow in Izzy's dirigible. Imhotep uses the Book of the Dead to give Meela Nais the soul of Anck-su-namun but by doing so he also allowed Evelyn to unlock the memories of her previous life in the form of Princess Nefertiri, keeper of the bracelet of Anubis and the daughter of Pharaoh Seti I. Lock-Nah discovers that Alex has been leaving clues, so Imhotep makes a wall of water that attacks the dirigible. The O'Connells crash in Ahm Shere. Izzy stays with the dirigible in hopes of repairing it. The O'Connells attack the cult, and both groups are attacked by pygmy mummies. Rick retrieves Alex while Ardeth Bay kills Lock-Nah. They escape from the pygmies, which kill most of the cult except for Baltus. Imhotep and Anck-su-namun are unharmed due to Imhotep's powers and Anck-su-namun being the keeper of the Book of the Dead.
Rick and Alex run to the pyramid, barely making it before sunrise. The bracelet detaches from Alex's arm. Ardeth regroups with the Medjai in case the army of Anubis rises. Anck-su-namun stabs Evey and Rick pursues Imhotep. Baltus puts on the bracelet and wakes the army of Anubis. As Imhotep walks into the pyramid, Anubis takes his powers, wanting Imhotep to fight as a mortal. Rick finds Imhotep summoning the Scorpion King and they fight. The Medjai engage the army of Anubis. The Scorpion King interrupts Rick and Imhotep's fight. Imhotep tells the Scorpion King that he is the Scorpion King's slave, but Rick was sent to kill him. During Rick and the Scorpion King's fight, the Scorpion King kills Baltus. Jonathan and Alex collaborate to steal the Book of the Dead from Anck-su-namun. Alex uses the book to resurrect Evey, who duels with Anck-su-namun.
Alex and Jonathan go to help Rick. It is revealed that the scepter that Jonathan has been carrying extends into a spear that can kill the Scorpion King. The Medjai seemingly defeat Anubis' army despite heavy casualties, but see that they have only defeated the vanguard, and the full army is charging towards them. However, before the Anubis warriors hit the Medjai lines, Rick succeeds in killing the Scorpion King, sending him and his army back to the Underworld. The Scorpion King's death causes Anubis to turn the oasis back into a desert, and the oasis is being sucked into the pyramid. Rick and Imhotep are hanging from the edge of a pit that leads into the underworld. Evey risks her life to save Rick, but Anck-su-namun refuses to save Imhotep, running away in terror. Seeing Anck-su-namun abandon him, Imhotep willingly lets go. Anck-su-namun soon falls into a scarab-filled pit and is devoured.
The O'Connells reach the top of the pyramid, which is being sucked into the desert. Izzy arrives with a modified dirigible and saves the O'Connells. Jonathan grabs the diamond at the top of the pyramid. Ardeth Bay salutes them as they fly over him.
Cast
See also: List of The Mummy characters- Brendan Fraser as Rick O'Connell
- Rachel Weisz as Evelyn Carnahan O'Connell/Princess Nefertiri
- Freddie Boath as Alex O'Connell
- John Hannah as Jonathan Carnahan
- Oded Fehr as Ardeth Bay
- Arnold Vosloo as Imhotep
- Patricia Velásquez as Meela Nais/Anck-Su-Namun
- Alun Armstrong as Baltus Hafez
- Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Lock-Nah
- Shaun Parkes as Izzy
- Dwayne Johnson as Mathayus The Scorpion King
- Bruce Byron as Red
- Joe Dixon as Jacques
- Tom Fisher as Spivey
- Aharon Ipalé as Pharaoh Seti I
Reception
Critical reaction was mixed. The Mummy Returns currently holds a 47% "Rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 139 reviews.[2] Metacritic reported, based on 31 reviews, an average rating of 48 out of 100.[3]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film two stars (out of four), saying that "The mistake of The Mummy Returns is to abandon the characters, and to use the plot only as a clothesline for special effects and action sequences."[4] James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave the film two and a half stars (out of four), calling it "hollow, lightweight entertainment—not unpleasant, but far from the summer's definitive action/adventure flick.[5]
Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times gave the film a positive review, praising its "constant plot turns, cheeky sensibility and omnipresent action sequences."[6] Todd McCarthy of Variety praised "the nonstop action of the final hour", saying that it "bursts with visual goodies."[7]
Joe Morgenstern of the Wall Street Journal gave the film a negative review, saying that it "has all of the clank but none of the swank of the previous version."[3] Charles Taylor of Salon.com was also not impressed, calling The Mummy Returns "everything the first Mummy was fun for not being."[8]
Box office
The Mummy Returns proved to be even more successful than the first installment; on its opening day the film earned $24,134,667. The film grossed $202,019,785 in the United States and Canada box offices and $230,993,489 elsewhere, totaling in $433,013,274 worldwide.[9]
Soundtrack
The Mummy Returns: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack 
Soundtrack album by Alan Silvestri Released May 1, 2001 Genre Soundtrack Label Decca Records The Mummy Returns: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released on May 1, 2001 by Decca Records.
It contains the score composed and conducted by Alan Silvestri, although it misses material heard during the climactic action sequences. Also featured is a version of the song "Forever May Not Be Long Enough" by the rock band Live, which differs slightly from the album version of the song.
No. Title Length 1. "The Legend of the Scorpion King" 4:55 2. "Scorpion Shoes" 4:24 3. "Imhotep Unearthed" 4:22 4. "Just a Oasis" 1:25 5. "Bracelet Awakens" 1:28 6. "Evy Kidnapped" 5:55 7. "Rick's Tattoo" 1:59 8. "Imhotep Reborn" 2:42 9. "My First Bus Ride" 7:45 10. "The Mushy Part" 2:42 11. "A Gift and a Curse" 5:32 12. "Medjai Commanders" 2:03 13. "Evy Remembers" 4:03 14. "Sandcastles" 3:22 15. "We're In Trouble" 2:18 16. "Pygmy Attach" 3:31 17. "Come Back Evy" 3:29 18. "The Mummy Returns" 7:44 19. "Forever May Not Be Long Enough" (Performed by Live) 3:47 Video game
The Mummy Returns video game was released on the PlayStation 2 on October 4, 2001 and Game Boy Color on May 11, 2001. On the PlayStation 2 version, the player can choose to play as Rick, with the game ending similar to the movie, or Imhotep, with him taking control of Anubis's army.
References
- ^ http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=mummyreturns.htm
- ^ "The Mummy Returns". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mummy_returns/.
- ^ a b "The Mummy Returns". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/mummyreturns.
- ^ Roger Ebert. "Review". Chicago Sun-Times. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20010504/REVIEWS/105040304/1023.
- ^ James Berardinelli. "Review". ReelViews. http://www.reelviews.net/movies/m/mummy2.html.
- ^ Kenneth Turan. "Review". Los Angeles Times. http://www.calendarlive.com/top/1,1419,L-LATimes-Movies-X!ArticleDetail-31481,00.html?search_area=Movies&channel=Movies.
- ^ Todd McCarthy (May 3, 2001). "Review". Variety. http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=review&reviewid=VE1117797948&categoryid=31&query=%22The+Mummy+Returns%22.
- ^ Charles Taylor. "Review". Salon.com. http://salon.com/ent/movies/review/2001/05/04/mummy_returns/index.html.
- ^ "The Mummy Returns (2001)". http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=mummyreturns.htm.
External links
- Official website
- The Mummy Returns at the Internet Movie Database
- {Amg movie|242222}}
- The Mummy Returns at Rotten Tomatoes
- The Mummy Returns at Metacritic
- The Mummy Returns at Box Office Mojo
The Mummy franchise Original series The Mummy (1932) • The Mummy's Hand (1940) • The Mummy's Tomb (1942) • The Mummy's Ghost (1944) • The Mummy's Curse (1944) • Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955)Hammer series The Mummy (1959) • The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (1964) • The Mummy's Shroud (1967) • Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (1971)Remake series The Mummy (1999) • The Mummy Returns (2001) • The Scorpion King (2002) • The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008) • The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior (2008) • The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption (2011)Characters Imhotep • KharisOther The Mummy: The Animated Series (2001) • Revenge of the Mummy (roller coasters: Florida · Hollywood · Singapore · Dubailand) • The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (video game)Films directed by Stephen Sommers 1990s 2000s 2010s Odd Thomas (2012) · When Worlds Collide (2012)Categories:- 2001 films
- American films
- English-language films
- Arabic-language films
- Egyptian-language films
- 2000s adventure films
- 2000s horror films
- American adventure comedy films
- American fantasy adventure films
- American horror films
- Ancient Egypt in fiction
- Films directed by Stephen Sommers
- Films set in 1933
- Films set in Egypt
- Films shot anamorphically
- Films shot in Morocco
- Sequel films
- The Mummy films
- Universal Pictures films
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