Product Description

RICK AND EVELYN ARE MARRIED WITH A CHILD AND LIVING IN LONDON. THE MUMMY OF IMHOTEP IS ON DISPLAY AT A MUSEUM IN THE ENGLISH CITY WHERE HE IS RESURRECTED.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8771 in DVD
• Brand: Universal Studios
• Released on: 2001-10-02
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 130 minutes

Amazon.com
Proving that bigger is rarely better, The Mummy Returns serves up so much action and so many computer-generated effects that it quickly grows exhausting. In his zeal to establish a lucrative franchise, writer-director Stephen Sommers dispenses with such trivial matters as character development and plot logic, and charges headlong into an almost random buffet of minimum story and maximum mayhem, beginning with a prologue establishing the ominous fate of the Scorpion King (played by World Wrestling Federation star the Rock, in a cameo teaser for his later starring role in--you guessed it--The Scorpion King). Dormant for 5,000 years, under control of the Egyptian god Anubis, the Scorpion King will rise again in 1933, which is where we find The Mummy's returning heroes Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz, now married and scouring Egyptian ruins with their 8-year-old son, Alex (Freddie Boath). John Hannah (as Weisz's brother) and Oded Fehr (as mystical warrior Ardeth Bay) also return from The Mummy, and trouble begins when Alex dons the Scorpion King's ancient bracelet, coveted by the evil mummy Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo), who's been revived by... oh, but does any of this matter? With a plot so disposable that it's impossible to care about anything that happens, The Mummy Returns is best enjoyed as an intermittently amusing and physically impressive monument of Hollywood machinery, with gorgeous sets that scream for a better showcase, and digital trickery that tops its predecessor in ambition, if not in payoff. By the time our heroes encounter a hoard of ravenous pygmy mummies, you'll probably enjoy this movie in spite of itself. --Jeff Shannon

Additional features
Fans of the special edition of the original Mummy will find just as satisfying a treasure room in this sequel DVD. Director Stephen Sommers and executive producer-editor Bob Ducsay are back with an animated play-by-play commentary, complementing the movie with technical tidbits and entertaining production stories. The "Spotlight on Location" featurette is the usual promotional puff piece, but the Visual and Special Effects Formation galleries dig deep into four key effects scenes (including the pygmy mummy attack), each broken down into four stages of development and illustrated with work-in-progress footage, raw animation, and production sketches. In addition to the historical factoids, production notes, games, and promotions for The Scorpion King is a five-minute collection of outtakes cleverly cut together like a mock movie trailer. --Sean Axmaker

From The New Yorker
A huge popular success, but harder to follow than "Memento," whose story runs backward, or "The Circle," which is in Farsi. It has something to do with cursed tombs and the return of legions of mummies, but the plot is gibberish, the action is garbled, and there is such a superfluity of prancing creatures, devil-eyed villains, and roiling clouds of digital dust that one can only respond to it as a series of random sensations. Call it camp without jokes. Directed by the shlockmeister Steven Sommers. With Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz as the married adventurer-archeologist team and the wrestler Dwayne Johnson, known as the Rock, who emerges in all his glory at the movie's end wearing giant crab claws. -David Denby
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Action-packed entertainer
If you like non-stop action and great special effects then 'The Mummy Returns' is worth watching. Wrestling fans will be pleased to see 'The Rock' cast as the Scorpion King. Female fans of Oded Fehr, the Israeli actor, will be delighted to see him cast again as the dashing Egyptian horseman and fighter Ardeth Bay.

Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser) and Evie (Rachel Weisz) are married in this sequel and have a young son who does a good job of keeping the villains on their toes. Evie is supposed to be a reincarnation of Nefertiti, the Pharaoh's daughter. Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo), the Pharaoh's high priest, and Anck-Su-Namun (Patricia Velazquez), the priest's paramour, are brought back to life to fight the Scorpion King and take control of the army of Anoubis, the dark god of the underworld.

Some movie buffs have expressed reservations about the historical inaccuracies in both 'The Mummy' and 'The Mummy Returns'. However, these inaccuracies are not offensive to Egyptian Culture. This movie is merely a work of fiction. Some scenes and dialogs may seem to be cliched. Several scenes are a rehash of 'The Mummy'. The characters in the movie jokingly admit to the 'same old end of the world' plot.

Even with all its cliches, this movie is worth watching.

Great Fun; Oded Fehr Rocks!
Anyone looking for a "great" movie will probably be disappointed, but anyone looking for sheer fun will probably be more than satisfied. Director Steven Sommers took his enjoyable 1999 movie "The Mummy" and expanded it out to an epic scale. The action picks up 10 years after the original; tomb raiders Evelyn and Rick O'Connell (now married, with 8-year-old child Alex in tow) discover another Egyptian artifact (the bracelet of the legendary Scorpion King) that unleashes yet another peril to the world, and once again, Evie and Rick have to stop it.

A contingent of bad guys, however, want in on the action, and they raise Imhotep (the mummy from the first movie) because he's the only one strong enough to take on the Scorpion King. The bad guys are led by a woman named Meela, who claims to be the reincarnation of Anck-Su-Namun, Imhotep's long-lost forbidden love.

Sommers cleverly adds an expanded backstory to the main characters from the earlier film, and while some of it stretches the imagination-- it seems like every character is a reincarnation of someone else-- it's executed in a mostly fun and believable way. In particular, the development of an ancient rivalry between Evelyn and Meela is fabulously well-done, adding considerable dimension to the reasons for Imhotep's horrible punishment in the first film. Arnold Vosloo was great in "The Mummy," but now, teamed up with his long-lost love, he's a thousand times more fun-- creepier, smarter, and yet at times endearingly vulnerable.

Mystical warrior Ardath Bay (the very hot Oded Fehr) also has an expanded role in this film, and helps ground viewers when they are faced with things like multiple reincarnations and hoardes of screaming pygmy mummies. Fehr brings exactly the right touches of appeal, swashbuckling dash, and "exotic" Middle Eastern mystery to the role.

A surprising amount of care seems to have been given to the supporting characters; they have just enough depth but not too much: Evie's brother Jonathan is back, providing much of the comic relief (but he also has some wonderful moments of heroism); little Alex is fun and resourceful without being overly precocious. Special care seems to have been taken with the villains: they are by turns menacing, funny, and *smart*, often a rare thing in the action/ adventure genre. In particular, Bay's rival Lock Nah is well-written and well-acted.

The script isn't exactly Shakespeare, but it's fast, funny, and (mostly) makes sense. The action sequences are spectacularly well-choreographed, and of course, the special effects are impressive. Sommers also allows some wonderful moments of human emotion: the sexual chemistry between Evie and Rick (ditto Meela and Imhotep); Jonathan's concern for his sister and nephew; Evie and Rick's love for their son; Bay's concern for his friends (and his great affection for his wonderful hawk). These little touches make the difference between a mindless action flick, and something that really stays with you after the credits roll.

Oddly enough, the much-touted presence of WWF star "The Rock" as the Scorpion King turns out to be almost negligible: it's a cameo that mostly sets up his own epic "The Scorpion King," due out in 2002. The real heart of this movie are the Evelyn-Rick and Imhotep- Anck-Su-Namun love stories. Without these and the other great characters from "Mummy Returns," it's hard to imagine that the next movie in this franchise could possibly top this one.

So if you're looking for something great, rent "Lawrence of Arabia." If you're looking for a highly enjoyable popcorn flick, "The Mummy Returns," should fit the bill perfectly.

Despite thin plot, this Mummy still entertains
When THE MUMMY came out 2 years ago, many critics savaged the film as being not up-to-par with the old Boris Karloff classic and being an Indiana Jones rip-off. In fact, it was a fun-filled and enjoyable movie that never pretended to be more than what it was: a fun popcorn movie with action and thrills. In the sequel, THE MUMMY RETURNS, the same thing applies. Despite a thin plot with basic cardboard characters, this flick packs enough action, fun, and special effects to satisfy any action junkie. The battles on the double-decker bus ,the Anubis army and the Scorpion King bring fond memories of the great Ray Harryhausen films. Brendan Frasier is again solid as the adventurer, Rick, while Rachel Weisz gets to show a little range of emotion as Evie. The rest of the cast is as good as last time, while the Rock does a fine job in his cameo appearance as the Scorpion King. If you're looking for a critical masterpiece, search elsewhere. This is a movie meant to be viewed in a spirit of fun and, in that regard, this film is highly recommended.