The Mummy

This frantic fantasy-adventure was designed as the first entry for a Universal franchise featuring interconnected classic horror monsters from the 1920s, ‘30s and ‘40s. Opening with an Egyptian proverb about reincarnation, The Mummy introduces Princess Ahmanet (Sofia Boutella), who murdered her pharaoh father, his second wife, and their infant son after making a pact with the god Set. Mummified and buried alive, Ahmanet's tomb is discovered in Iraq by antiquity-hunting Army Sergeant Nick Morton (Tom Cruise), his buddy Chris Vail (Jake Johnson), and archeologist Dr. Jenny Halsey (Annabelle Wallis). Disregarding Jenny's warning about an ancient curse, cocky Nick releases Ahmanet from imprisonment, after which the ancient enchantress sucks the life out of victims with a deadly kiss (transforming them into zombies), while her spirit inhabits and confuses Nick, her “chosen” host. Eventually, everyone winds up in London, where Nick confronts maniacal Dr. Jekyll (Russell Crowe) and his alter-ego Mr. Hyde, who heads Prodigium, a clandestine organization monitoring evil entities around the world, as they search for the mystical Dagger of Set and its ruby finial. Lacking mystery, danger, or fun, this superficial concept plays like an elaborate, expensive prologue for future films. Not recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Alex Kurtzman and costars Sofia Boutella, Annabelle Wallis, and Jake Johnson, a conversation with Kurtzman and star Tom Cruise (21 min.), the production featurettes “Life In Zero-G: Creating the Plane Crash” (8 min.), “Meet Ahmanet” (8 min.), “Rooted in Reality” (7 min.), “Becoming Jekyll and Hyde” (7 min.), “Choreographed Chaos” (7 min.), “Nick Morton: In Search of a Soul” (6 min.), and “Cruise in Action” (6 min.), deleted and extended scenes (5 min.), and the Ahmanet Reborn animated graphic novel (4 min.). Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are bonus DVD and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a cinematic mess of a movie.] (S. Granger)