This first installment of Universal’s Dark Universe gives audiences Tom Cruise action, old school scares, and an incredibly fun Russell Crowe.
The creative minds of Alex Kurtzman and David Koepp can count a handful of hits and beloved classics between them. While the former co-wrote and helped produce Alias and the rebooted Star Trek franchise, fans have the latter to thank for the first installments of the Jurassic Park, Mission: Impossible, and Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man franchises. But every runner must stumble; a fact which has proven true in Kurtzman’s case with the decidedly lacking Cowboys & Aliens and in Koepp’s with the plot-heavy, yet surprisingly humorless Mortdecai. Nonetheless, the two have built up enough goodwill from both audiences and studios alike that their teaming up on The Mummy, this first, closely watched entry in Universal’s Dark Universe which will feature a fresh rebooting of each of the studio’s beloved monsters, would be a collaboration that makes perfect sense. The end result, however, is a patchy exercise of dueling storytelling styles. Add to the mix The Usual Suspects scribe Christopher McQuarrie, and The Mummy turns into one of the most mixed blockbuster bags in recent memory, but one which, to everyone’s credit, is never boring.
In The Mummy, an Army sergeant named Nick (Tom Cruise), out looking for priceless artifacts he can sell on the black market, finds himself as “the chosen one” of an unstoppable force of evil in the form of an ancient Egyptian princess (Sophia Boutella), recently awoken after being mummified for her crimes centuries before. Desperate for answers as the evil closes in, Nick and beautiful archaeologist Jenny (Annabelle Wallis) turn to the mysterious Dr. Henry Jekyll (Russell Crowe) for help.
It’s inevitable that because of its star, certain parts of The Mummy should naturally feel like a Tom Cruise movie. Sequences such as the much-hyped plane ride (and eventual crash), as well as the scene with Nick and Jenny running through a museum as glass explodes all around them, could have been plucked straight from any one of the Mission: Impossible films. The same goes for the many, many beatings given to all of the mummy’s newly-recruited evil soldiers. At times Kurtzman, who possesses one of the most unique editing styles around, chooses to employ simultaneous action, a device which works against the film more than helps it by asking a bit much of its passive audience. While there is enough action in The Mummy to please both Cruise and his fans, the filmmakers are smart enough to not make it TOO overpowering, even if it a healthy portion of it does border on unnecessary at times, pausing both the story and scares.
When it isn’t busy trying to be an action/horror flick, The Mummy manages to function as an modern-day version of a classic Universal monster movie. There are more than a handful of scenes taking place in crypts and forests featuring ghoulish creatures, all of which give off genuine thrills and suspense. Meanwhile, the scenes featuring Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and the mad scientist lair both reside in, are full of great energy and promise with regards to what the dark universe will bring in the future. Finally, there is the underlying theme of the evil and darkness that lurks inside of man, an essential ingredient of such classic monster films, which is more than present here. We see this perfectly in Nick, whose being chosen by a mummy can be seen is punishment for his unsavory habit of looting, leaving him questioning his own evil by the film’s end. All of this gives off the feel and sensibilities of the kind of the original Universal monster films from the ‘30s, combined with an edgy modern flair.
The turns by the actors prove interesting, at least where the two leads are concerned. From my recollection, this is the first instance in a long time that we see a Cruise character that’s almost totally vulnerable. Sure, other films have seen the star bound and gagged, temporarily thwarting his character’s efforts to clear his name. Yet this is one of the rare times in which the actor has portrayed someone almost totally at the mercy of a force he can neither control nor understand. This brings forth moments of great vulnerability for the actor, and he dutifully plays out Nick’s fear as a result of not having an assortment of gadgets to help him out of trouble. Crowe, meanwhile, looks to be having a blast, and rightfully so. The dual nature of the actor’s character(s) is full of such great theatricality, calling on his ability to be incredibly grandiose, no matter which side he is playing on the screen.
One of the aspects about The Mummy which concerned me for months before watching it was the marketing. Every trailer released for the film seemed so thrown together, showcasing effect after effect, yet never really letting me know what kind of movie The Mummy was. As to be expected, the marketing led way to a blended, double jointed movie which feels a tad patchy, yet does manage to pull itself together. For me, The Mummy recalled the feeling of being a 10-year-old out of school and spending the summer at the movies when mythology, accuracy, and authenticity weren’t as important in relation to the exhilaration and wonder of getting lost in fantastic images on a screen. Sure, Cruise and the movie couldn’t do 95% of the things they depicted in real life; but I realized such facts only became important as I got older. This time around, the kid in me just got on the rollercoaster and didn’t for one second care about how the ride was made.
