"No harm ever came from reading a book."
Hello everyone!
And I have a wonderful movie for you tonight.
This is for all of us who've seen this one so many times it's basically like the air we breathe, who reference quotes from it in our daily lives or just to have great fun, and of course, who look forward to watching it AGAIN just as soon as we possibly can.
There are some movies you can watch over and over again without so much as blinking an eye.
Some that stay with you no matter where you go or what you do.
Tonight's choice is among them, possibly in the top category, because honestly, what could be better than the hot sands of Egypt, a rugged explorer, and mummies?!?
Nothing, that's what (or, not a lot)!
The Mummy is a 1999 adventure flick that features Brendan Fraser, he of the fabulous come-back fame, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah and Oded Fehr in their masterpiece roles of explorers, librarians and guardians.
The story first tells us that the high priest Imhotep, way back when in Ancient Egypt, dared to love the Pharaoh's woman, and for that he was cursed - mummified and buried alive, never to die and never to live again, locked away at Hamunaptra, the ancient city of the dead. This is, of course, after his girl commits suicide and he's killed the Pharaoh but, ya know.
Anyway, three thousand years later, the thing is still safely ensconced in the sands of Egypt when we meet up with our heroine Evie, daughter of wealthy patrons who's a bit clumsy and sheltered but yearns to do something meaningful with her life.
She gets her chance when her brother Jonathan reveals he stole what looks to be some sort of sun-rayed device from a card game, and they find a map inside, supposedly leading to Hamunaptra.
The map meets an unfortunate accident via museum curator, so the siblings go to find the original device owner, Rick O'Connell, who's about to be hanged in the Egyptian jail - which is why he thinks it's a great idea to kiss Evie and demand she rescue him so he can take them across the desert.
Evie, being much quicker on the uptake than anyone would assume, strikes a deal with the warden, and soon all four of them (yes, warden included) are on a boat traveling down the Nile.
It's here Rick realizes that another group, this one American, is also making for Hamunaptra, led by none other than his old buddy Benny (aka, the buddy who left him to die back in the days of their military service). Benny gets yeeted over the side of the boat, but by this point they've been infiltrated by a group of mysterious, dark-robbed figures who seem hell-bent on either killing our adventurers or taking the map.
Once off the burning boat (and on the right side of the river, if you know, you know) Rick & Co find refuge with the desert people who clothe them, feed them, and sell them camels for the last leg of their trip. Finally, after a quick race with the Americans, they reach Hamunaptra first (also, the city only gets shown at sunrise/sunset so, tough luck getting to it any other time) and can start digging.
They all have their own reasons for being here, Jonathan mainly for treasure, but Rick is here specifically for Evie, as you can tell by his awkward, shy flirting and gifting her tools to help her dig (said tools were stolen but, we don't talk about that).
Evie guides them into the tombs where they find the sarcophagus of Imhotep (not that they know it's him at this time), and lose their warden buddy who basically un-alives himself because a scarab is trying to eat him (no joke, there ARE loose horror elements in this movie you have to pay attention to as you go).
They get warned by those dark-robbed figures to leave and never return, but Evie is hell-bent on finding a book, which the Americans find first, but she's the one who realizes that to open it, they'll need the key that Jonathan originally stole from Rick. So, she steals the book and opens it herself, reading from it against Rick's better judgement - and waking old Imhotep up.
Thus, the chain of events begins during which Imhotep swallows up all those who were present at finding the book (aka, the Americans) so that he can become truly immortal, and fights to resurrect his lost love.
He needs a human sacrifice for that though. Guess who it is?
Our intrepid explorers team up with Ardeth Bay, leader of those dark robes, as well as the museum curator, to try and find a way to put Imhotep back under. For that, they need another book - not the Book of the Dead, like they have just now, but the Book of Amun-Ra. Unfortunately, they're a little slow on the uptake since Imhotep has been gaining strength, and he takes Evie when he fast-travels to Hamunaptra.
The men rush after him in a plane, although they lose their pilot in the end, and the final battle takes place in the maze of the dead city as they strive to stop Imhotep from completing his goals.
This includes, but is not limited to, Rick fighting off mummies, Evie running for her life from one particularly blood-thirsty one that wants to come BACK to life, Jonathan bopping about with a book of pure gold, and Imhotep losing his immortality so that Rick can stab him right at the very end.
Now, because this is a movie, Benny also has to make a few more appearances, and he accidentally sets in motion a mechanism that closes the tombs off from the living world, getting trapped inside while he's at it ... buh-bye, Benny.
Our heroes, however, make it out into the sunshine again, and Rick and Evie finally kiss as they head off into the sunset - conveniently, riding camels that just so happen to have their saddle-bags filled with gold Benny managed to pilfer from the treasury before the end.
Which basically sets them up for life, and isn't that a fitting way to end the movie?
Charming, adventurous, and filled with the best kind of humour, The Mummy is a wonderful mix of sass, history and fun for everyone to enjoy. It takes a timid wallflower librarian and puts her in the spotlight, but never changes her character from who she is at her core, which helps in making the rugged, brave hero fall head-over-heels for her. Add in a kleptomaniac brother and a mysterious, helpful stranger, and you have yourself a recipe for success.
Between Brendan Fraser's comedic timing and Oded Fehr's too-serious mien that only adds to the humour, Rachel Weisz has the perfect backdrop to both resurrect a mummy, and put him back under.
Stay tuned for when I eventually bring the original trilogy to a close with a review of The Mummy Returns, and in the meantime remember: death is only the beginning.
xx
*images and video not mine
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