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Wednesday, June 21, 2017

The Mummy (2017)

Alrighty folks, sorry for the lack of activity, but here we go with the new review! I understand that I'm quite behind, but please understand that I'm busy making new videos for y'all, too! Hang in there!


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                  Tom Cruise stars as Nick Morton, a military operative who is a high-key treasure hunter. Where he's stationed, it's crowded with enemies. He and his buddy Sergeant Vail are on their own, and Nick wants to go into the enemy-infested area to look for some loot. Vail doesn't like it, but Nick assures him, "It'll be quick. In 'n out."

                  Next thing you know, they're being shot at, and Vail is freaking out. He gets so worked up that he calls in an airstrike, and the tangos leave almost immediately after getting bombarded. One of the shots from the airstrike opens an enormous hole in the ground, and it reveals a mummy-looking statue. You can guess where the mummy is.
                  Now, I didn't mention the beginning before this particular sequence because I want it to be a surprise for you folks. It's the new mummy's origin story, and it's actually quite interesting. It's unique to Ahmanet and who her character is developed to be.
                  Okay, anyway, Nick's superior comes onto the scene along with Jenny Halsey, an archaeologist. Apparently, Nick and Jenny have a history, one as soon as the evening before. The backstory explained here is awkwardly dropped in front of Nick's superior, and it feels out of place in the whole unraveling of things. But watching the rest of the film, there's really no other place they could have done it. I kind of wish the two didn't know each other before this encounter, but it's whatever.
                  They dig up the sarcophagus, and as they're doing so, Jenny is examining the grave. She makes a bunch of ominous realizations (out loud thank god) about how the set up of the chamber is not anything good. The statues looking like Anubis are facing inwards, not outwards, meaning that they are guarding the individual from leaving, not from anything coming in.
                  The other thing is that there's a pool of mercury covering the sarcophagus, which is being
suspended by four poles held down by enormous rocks that act as a sort of pulley device. Mercury is significant because that's what the Egyptians believed could restrict the powers of darkness. Kind of like Dracula and silver.
                  And finally, there's no treasures inside the tomb. This is symbolic of no preparation for the afterlife. So whatever this person of nobility (hence the personal tomb) did, it was nothing good. And that's also why it's so far from Egypt itself. It's actually located in Mesopotamia, present-day Iraq. In other words, the Egyptians wanted nothing to do with this force of evil. So it's gotta be pretty bad. Of course it is, otherwise there wouldn't be a movie, right?
                  From there, I think you can deduce what happens. The only riddle you'll really have to solve is how Tom Cruise is alive for the remainder of the movie since he dies in the plane crash. So go and see it!


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Ratings:
Family Friendliness - 8/10 Sarcophagi The film is suprisingly family-friendly. I mean, don't gemme wrong, the mummies themselves are pretty scary. They're almost zombie-like, which kind of irked me because it felt like a World War Z-esque film. Nonetheless, there's hardly, if any, swearing, no nudity, and only a few scenes of intense violence and scary images.
Story line - 8/10 Mummies Alright, the story was there, no doubt. And since it was acting as a springboard into Warner Brother's "Dark Universe", it was good in that respect. It was interesting and unique, and I believe the writers did a fantastic job.
Compared to "The Mummy (1999)" - 6/10 Monsters DO NOT GET ME WRONG, this was a good movie on its own. But literally everyone has seen the 1999 version of an ancient Egyptian god come to life and terrorize the planet, so it's hard to live up to the precedent that film set. Had I never seen Brendan Fraser's incarnation of the movie, I would have loved this one so much more. But here's the reason why this 2017 version didn't live up: character development.
                  As a standalone reboot of the franchise we all know and love starring Brendan Fraser, it was kind of a disappointment. Each character, no matter how minor in the original Mummy, had something that defined them and made you understand them. That way, when they died, you felt bad! Even if they were being jerks to Rick! In this version of The Mummy, you felt no pity for those who
died. You were only attached to Nick and Jenny, and they were overall stale characters.
                  Also, if you compare Imhotep and Ahmanet, I believe Imhotep is a better mummy. Not because he's more badass or anything. Here's why: background. Imhotep was driven by love to summon the dark arts. So his rage came from something that was pure, and that made his story tragic. I pitied Imhotep, even though I knew he had to go.
                  Ahmanet was driven by rage from the get-go. There's nothing behind that except greed. So I don't really pity her because she was just being a selfish and whiny baby because she couldn't get the throne. AND she was so pissed about the throne being taken from her that she KILLED A BABY!!! How messed up d'you have to be to kill a baby? You've gotta have a screw loose or something. I don't think even Imhotep would have done that.
Story Action Balance - 7/10 Buses There was a lotta lotta action, and I don't think there was enough build up to the mummy's grand reveal to make her scary as much as Imhotep was scary in the original Mummy. Then again, that's my nostalgic self looking for something to live up to Brendan Fraser. Unfortunately, you can't look at this movie that way.
Overall - 7/10 Stars Personally, I think this is a generous rating. But I try to be generous with films as much as I can. I hope you can forgive this film more than I have, and I haven't even completely expressed my distaste for this movie so as to give you folks a chance to watch it. So please lower your expectations and give it a chance guys.


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