The Mummy (English) 1 Tamil Movi
Sacha Weakland
The Mummy is a 1999 American action-adventure film written and directed by Stephen Sommers. It is a remake of the 1932 film of the same name, starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah and Arnold Vosloo in the title role as the reanimated mummy. The film follows adventurer Rick O'Connell as he travels to Hamunaptra, the City of the Dead, with a librarian and her older brother, where they accidentally awaken Imhotep, a cursed high priest with supernatural powers.
Rick, Jonathan, and Ardeth recruit Captain Winston Havelock, a member of the Royal Air Force with a death wish to fly them back to Hamunaptra in pursuit of Imhotep. However, Imhotep magically conjures a sandstorm, crashing their plane and killing Havelock. Rick, Jonathan, and Ardeth locate the Book of Amun-Ra in Hamunaptra while Imhotep prepares to sacrifice Evelyn, also bringing Anck-su-namun's mummified remains to life as part of the ritual. Rick manages to rescue her after a brutal fight with Imhotep's mummified priests and mummified soldiers; Anck-su-namun's mummy is also slain during the melee. Evelyn reads from the Book of Amun-Ra, making Imhotep mortal, and he is fatally wounded by Rick. Imhotep degenerates back into his mummified form and descends into the pool of souls, vowing revenge.
Evelyn Carnahan was named in tribute to Lady Evelyn Carnarvon, the daughter of amateur Egyptologist Lord Carnarvon, both present at the opening of the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922.[18] The studio originally considered American actresses, and Rachel Weisz auditioned multiple times before getting the part.[15] Weisz was not a big fan of horror films, but saw the movie as more of a "hokum" comic book.[19] John Hannah was picked for the role of Jonathan Carnahan, despite the fact that Hannah felt he was not a comedic actor, with Sommers saying that, "He had no idea why we cast him."[15]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film a positive review, writing, "There is hardly a thing I can say in its favor, except that I was cheered by nearly every minute of it. I cannot argue for the script, the direction, the acting or even the mummy, but I can say that I was not bored and sometimes I was unreasonably pleased."[38] Critics such as Entertainment Weekly's Owen Gleiberman and The New York Times' Stephen Holden concurred with the sentiment of the film as a breezy crowd-pleaser.[39][40][41]
Less positively, Keith Phipps of The A.V. Club wrote that the film's attempt to create a big, Indiana Jones-inspired action film felt "forced" and the result was unsatisfying.[42] Other reviews complained of an overstuffed plot or recycled elements from better movies.[43][40] Reviewers comparing the film to the 1932 original sometimes favored the original's focus on atmosphere and dread,[43] though others welcomed the change to a more energetic Indiana Jones-type film.[44]
The effects were generally praised, especially the title creature.[45] Ernest Larson's review for Jump Cut felt that the effects were too similar to ILM's other work, and that the effects alone could not support the weight of the rest of the movie.[46] Bob Graham of the San Francisco Chronicle and Hal Hinson from the Dallas Observer agreed that the effects never overshadowed the human aspects of the film.[45][47] Gleiberman said that the horrors of the effects were undercut by the lightheartedness of the film, while the BBC's Almar Haflidason felt that the effects were occasionally unconvincing, and the heavy reliance on cutting-edge computer-generated imagery would likely date the film heavily as time passed.[39][48]
Writing to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the film's release, writer Maria Lewis said that on paper, The Mummy should not have been a success, as yet another period adventure film coming after a decade of failed period adventure films. Its connection with audiences, if not critics, was down to its successful blend of "heart, humor, [heroics], and horror." She declared it the "pivotal blockbuster of the nineties."[51] Emma Stefansky, writing for Thrillist, said it was "the beginning of the end" for action-adventure films, as superhero films would soon supplant it in the coming years.[52] Rotten Tomatoes called the film "Indiana Jones for a new generation."[53] Reviewers felt Fraser's portrayal of Rick set a new mold for action heroes that more films would follow in the years after,[54][55] while also considering Evelyn a character allowed to break free from a traditional damsel in distress role.[52][56] The movie is considered as a classic in the adventure genre,[57][58][59] generating retrospective praise for Brendan Fraser's portrayal of Rick O'Connell.[60][61]
Nick returns to life in a morgue. Chris's ghost appears and tells him he has been cursed by Ahmanet, who seeks to use him as a vessel for Set. Ahmanet's mummy escapes from the sarcophagus and begins feeding on people to regenerate her body, turning them into zombies. She recovers the Dagger of Set and attempts to stab Nick before realizing that the ruby is not attached to it. She and her army chase after Nick and Jenny until soldiers appear and subdue her.
Jon Spaihts, known for his work on the Alien prequel Prometheus, was writing the film, while Sean Daniel would act as producer.[29][30] Spaihts hoped to take the franchise back to its horror roots and "simultaneously open it up to an epic scale we haven't seen before".[31] Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci became involved with the project shortly thereafter; signing a two year deal with the studio to produce The Mummy as well as a "reimagining" of Van Helsing.[32] Len Wiseman was selected to direct the film in September 2012 due to his work on Underworld.[33] Wiseman aimed for a contemporary setting and to make something "entirely different" than the Fraser-led films, while Kurtzman indicated that while The Mummy would still fall into the "four-quadrant audience zone", the film would have a darker tone.[34][35] The works of Michael Crichton were also cited as an influence on the reboot.[36] Universal anticipated a 2014 release.[37] The studio was keen on having production underway in 2013. State of Play screenwriter Billy Ray was contracted to pen a competing draft as a contingency plan should Spaihts' draft fail to satisfy. Universal also prepared to combine the "best of" both scripts if neither were up to par.[38][39] Wiseman would fall off the project in July 2013 in order to focus on Sleepy Hollow.[40] Despite the setback, the project was still a high priority for Universal and was still moving "full-speed ahead".[41]
Principal photography on the film began on April 3, 2016, in Oxford, United Kingdom.[68][69] Pinewood Studios and Shepperton Studios were also used for production, with underwater scenes shot at Pinewood.[70] Filming on the movie concluded on July 17, 2016, in London.[71] Production then moved to Namibia for two weeks, with principal photography wrapping up on August 13, 2016.[72]
During production, Cruise wielded "nearly complete creative oversight" on the film. Cruise was said to have felt like the "real director" of The Mummy by handling the action sequences and "micro-managing" the overall project when Kurtzman struggled to handle the scope of the film. Christopher McQuarrie and Dylan Kussman were enlisted, along with one or two other writers, to help transform the screenplay into a full-fledged Tom Cruise-vehicle; subsiding Boutella's role whilst bringing Cruise to the forefront. The new writers also implemented a plot point which involved the protagonist becoming possessed. Universal was reportedly unimpressed, but continued to let Cruise rework the film.[78] McQuarrie, Kussman, and David Koepp, who was writing the Bride of Frankenstein reboot at the time, were awarded screenplay credit, while story credit was attributed to Spaihts, Kurtzman, and Lumet.[79] On set, crew members were allegedly split between whether they believed Cruise's direction was over-excessive or if he was improving a film "troubled from its inception". Universal denied that the actor's influence negatively impacted the film, saying "Tom approaches every project with a level of commitment and dedication that is unmatched by most working in our business today. He has been a true partner and creative collaborator, and his goal with any project he works on is to provide audiences with a truly cinematic moviegoing experience."[78]
Composer Brian Tyler started work on the music for the movie early, writing about a half hour of music before filming even began. Working on the film for a year and half, Tyler recorded with an 84-piece orchestra and 32-voice choir at London's Abbey Road. He ultimately wrote and recorded over two hours of music, which, given the length of the film (110 minutes), resulted in a soundtrack album longer than the film itself.[84]
Glen Kenny of RogerEbert.com gave the film 1.5/4 stars, writing: "I found something almost admirable about the film's cheek. It's [so] amazingly relentless in its naked borrowing from other, better horror and sci-fi movies that I was able to keep occupied making a checklist of the movies referenced."[106] Entertainment Weekly's Chis Nashawaty wrote that the film "feels derivative and unnecessary and like it was written by committee."[107]
In 2022, director Alex Kurtzman commented that the film is "probably the biggest failure of [his] life" and that there's "about a million things I regret about it". However, he noted that the job gave him more experience and knowledge as a filmmaker.[111] Brendan Fraser, who starred in the previous Mummy films, stated that, in his view, the film failed due to a lack of "fun. That was what was lacking in that incarnation. It was too much of a straight-ahead horror movie. The Mummy should be a thrill ride, but not terrifying and scary. I know how difficult it is to pull it off. I tried to do it three times."[112]
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