Reviewed by Johnny McNair 

Universal Studios Home Entertainment – 2 hrs 5 mins – 1999 – Rated PG-13 – 1080p Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35: 1 – DTS-HD Lossless Master 5.1 Audio

Universal owns the rights to several classic movie monsters, so it’s always good to dust one off and revive it for a new audience, which is exactly the case with 1999’s re-vision of The Mummy. Director Stephen Sommers does nothing to hide that he was attempting to make a special-effect-filled, rambunctious, action-figure-ready, summer popcorn film that emulates a live action video game. Previously only available on HD-DVD, The Mummy is now available on Blu-ray from Universal Studios Home Entertainment, and while it will never be considered a classic piece of cinema, it’s a total roller coaster ride, requiring you to fasten your seatbelt before you press play.

THE MOVIE

The Mummy stars Brendan Fraser as Rick O’Connell an American adventure seeker in 1930’s Egypt who pairs up with an historian named Evelyn (Rachel Weisz) and her clumsy brother Jonathan (John Hannah), who have discovered a map that they believe will lead them to the lost city of Humunaptra, and ultimately fortune and glory. But things turn out for the worst when they unleash the wrath of the infamous mummy called Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo), who has returned to resurrect his lost love from the dead (Patricia Velasquez), and crush anyone who gets in his way.

The plot of the film is simple enough to be spoon-fed to a child, the dialogue is silly, and the acting is from the school of William Shatner; so all you have to keep you going is the non-stop action and special effects galore. Fortunately Brendan Fraser, while no Harrison Ford, is likable enough to keep your attention. His boyish charm, and goofy style makes you root for him, because he’s like a frat boy stuck in the 1930’s. Rachel Weisz and John Hannah play well against him, and when the three of them are on screen, there is plenty of humor and hijinx.

One of the biggest complaints with Stephen Sommers’ Mummy movies is that they rely too much on CGI effects, making all the actors look like props. Yes, there are an uncountable number of visual effects in this movie, but it’s no different from the Star Wars prequels, where all the actors are wooden and the world they interact with was created in a computer. Basically with the Mummy films you know what you’re getting into before the opening title fades on, so if you’re expecting Oscar caliber material, you need to rethink things before you slide this disc in your player.

The success of the Indiana Jones films has paved the way for The Mummy, because there are so many instances when you’ll be reminded of Indy because it’s burnt into pop culture. The Mummy actually does a good job of attempting to stand separate from the Spielberg films by adding a lot more humor and toning down the violence to the level of a Road Runner cartoon. Ironically the latest Indiana Jones flick, The Temple of the Crystal Skull, feels more like a Mummy film now rather than being the one that set the tone for the genre.

A film like The Mummy goes with hi-definition like popcorn and butter; they were made for each other. After seeing this movie is perfect HD there’s just no going back. The Mummy films have been released and re-released multiple times on DVD because they are easy sells, so once the new Mummy film that’s in theaters makes it way to Blu-ray, there will probably be another super-duper edition for the trilogy. Basically if you have a Blu-ray player and an HDTV you’re going to buy The Mummy just for the eye candy alone. It’s a harmless and fun film, and every now and then we need that to block out the cold and cruel world we live in.

VIDEO

For a film that’s just about a decade old, it still looks fresh in beautiful hi-definition, with a 1080p image and 2.35:1 aspect ratio. The daylight shots are crystal clear sharp, and the night scenes, like both The Mummy films are lit so that there’s a nice soft glow. Rachel Weisz is photographed in the old style Hollywood way with a filter for her close-ups to make her look more angelic, and Brendan Fraser is soaked with a harder style of lighting to make him look tough and roguish. The CGI effects are the selling point of the movie, and while some look too cartoon-ish, others look great and will leap off your screen. Grain does show up in spots, but overall this is a very nice transfer.

AUDIO

To match it’s visual style, The Mummy’s DTS-HD Lossless Master 5.1 sound mix is very impressive, right down to the flesh eating bugs that are poured into the Mummy’s tomb. This is one of the films that keeps you watching because there’s so many sounds going on at once, particularly in the action scenes that you’re drawn in. No question about it, if you’ve got the sound system to support it, you’re in for a good time.

EXTRAS

Fans will be happy to know that all of the bonus material from the previous HD-DVD has safely made it over to the Blu-ray. All of the supplements are in standard definition transferred from the original DVD, so now you can pack that old copy in storage or ebay it.

There are three audio commentaries offered for the film making it seem like it Lawrence of Arabia or something; so if you want to know all there is about The Mummy, there’s enough available to make your ears bleed. The first audio commentary, and the best one, is by director Stephen Sommers who brings the film’s editor Bob Ducsay along for the ride. Sommers loves his job and he has a lot to say about the process, so if you’re a fan this is good stuff.

The second commentary track features a solo run with the star of the film, Brendan Fraser, who seems to be having a ball with funny tid-bits. The final commentary track has co-stars Oded Fehr, Arnold Vosloo, and Kevin J. O’Connor mixing it up with Mummy stories, so if there’s something you always wanted to know about the film, one of these three tracks should fill the void.

Since the release of the Mummy films on Blu-ray coincides with the current run of the third film that is now in theaters, what better tool would there be to advertise it than this? The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is a sneak peek at the new film that stars Brendan Fraser and Jet Li, including clips of the action scenes and mini-interviews with the director and cast.

The nearly an hour long documentary ‘Building a Better Mummy’ is a good featurette that dives into what got Universal into re-vamping the franchise for a new generation and how Stephen Sommers worked to make it happen. Interviews with the cast and special effects team highlights this piece that sells the project.

‘An Army to Rule the World, Part 1’ is a four minute spot that looks at the films complicated CGI effects.

‘Unraveling the Legacy of The Mummy’ runs eight minutes goes back to the classic 1930’s movie and shows how it’s been updated for today’s audiences.

Three different scenes are given the storyboard-to-screen comparison to show how it was pulled off.

There are two minutes of deleted scenes, but nothing here will change what was in the theatrical version.

Universal has brought the U-Control feature that originated on HD-DVD to Blu-ray, allowing an icon to sit on the lower right side of your screen, and when activated you can open up a Picture-in-Picture box to see behind the scenes clips and interviews as the movie plays. Most of the stuff in the PIP is material already seen in the standard extras, but here it’s neatly assembled so you can watch them along with the film. This was a good feature on HD-DVD and it works just as well on Blu-ray.

BOTTOM LINE

The Mummy will in no way ever be on the level of Raiders of the Lost Ark, but it is a fun filled action adventure tale that fits the tradition of the Saturday morning serials that inspired it. It’s great to have this movie finally available on Blu-ray, offering excellent picture, audio, and bonus features. Any fans of the Mummy franchise must definitely add this disc to their collection, because movies like this are what high-definition was made for.

SCORES (Out of 5):

The Movie: 3.5

Video: 4.0

Sound: 4.0

Extras: 4.0

Bottom Line: 4.0