Reviewed by Johnny McNair 

Universal Studios Home Entertainment – 2 hrs 10 mins – 2001 – Rated PG-13 – 1080p Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35: 1 – DTS-HD Lossless Master 5.1 Audio

After The Mummy racked up over $400 million worldwide at the box office in 1999, you had to know there was going to be a sequel. Well two years later the gang from the first film returned in the follow-up appropriately titled, The Mummy Returns. It’s a sequel that plays it safe by getting back everyone from the first film and making the effects shots grander so you know that they were given a bigger budget this time around. The Mummy Returns is now available on Blu-ray from Universal Studios Home Entertainment, and while a good portion of the film is a set-up for The Scorpion King spin-off movie, there’s still plenty of popcorn thrills to keep you entertained.

THE MOVIE

Director Stephen Sommers is back at the helm with Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Oder Fehr, and Arnold Vosloo, all jumping back into action. The Mummy Returns takes place several years after the first film, where Rick and Evelyn are now married and have a son (Freddie Boath) who loves to get into mischievous adventures like his folks. This leads them to the discovery of a golden bracelet that was once worn by the mighty Scorpion King himself (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson), a feared warrior who was out to conquer the world. They soon discover that the mummy they eliminated in the first film has been resurrected and is out for revenge, and to double the trouble the Scorpion King wants in on the action leading to a big bang for your buck conclusion.

If you’ve seen the first film, you pretty much know what to expect here; it’s the same movie with a couple of new tricks in the bag, but it’s still a lot of fun. The action is bigger, the stakes are higher, and the special effects are more over the top than anything from the original film. It all works because the actors are comfortable with their roles and are playing them to their fullest, particularly Fraser who goes into full action-hero movie mode, and looks like he spent a lot of time in the gym to look the part. And where Rachel Weisz looked more like a librarian in the last film, here she’s allowed to let down her hair and be more of a hottie, which pays off in her on-screen cat fight with the Mummy’s lady, Patricia Velasquez.

If the first Mummy seemed like a sugar coated Raiders of the Lost Ark; The Mummy Returns plays itself out like a wilder Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. They even have a little kid as a sidekick just like Indy did. And like the Indy sequel (or should I say prequel), The Mummy Returns has so many special effects shots that it’ll make you dizzy if you try to focus on them all. Some are great such as army of CGI mummies, but the finale, which features a computer-generated Scorpion King looks so phony that you may laugh rather than get the thrill that was intended.

This is one of those popcorn sequels that does all the work for you so all you have to do is sit back, relax and enjoy the ride. Just like the first film, suspend all logic and just have fun with it. If you have the original Mummy film on Blu-ray, you must have this sequel as well; otherwise it would be like owning only one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. These are the kinds of movies that show of hi-definition so unless these movies are just not your thing, the Mummy films definitely belong in your collection.

VIDEO

Just like the first Mummy Blu-ray, the sequel also has the same 1080p picture quality and 2.35:1 aspect ratio, so if you play them back-to-back the look is identical. The special effects again are the highlight that will stand out on your screen. The skin tones and black levels are solid, and all the daylight sequences look incredible. Grain surfaces in places, but things move so fast in this film that if you blink you’ll miss it.

AUDIO

The same DTS-HD Lossless Master 5.1 audio mix that made the first Mummy sound so good is used just as well here. The opening battle scene that introduces the Scorpion King will blow you away if you have a home theater set-up to exploit it, and the gunshots will echo all round your room. This is an excellent use of sound with even dialogue tones that never become blended into other audio effects during the big action scenes; and the music score by Alan Silvestri seals the deal.

EXTRAS

All of the extras that filled the HD-DVD are also available on the Blu-ray version, and obviously everything is in standard definition to match the specs of the original DVD.

Just as with The Mummy, director Stephen Sommers and editor Bob Ducsay return to discuss The Mummy Returns. This is a very informative track because both men are very passionate about the film, so those interested are sure to get something out of it.

‘An Army to Rule the World, Part 2’ runs about six minutes and talks about the CGI work that went into the movie, including the Scorpion King battle at the end.

‘Unraveling the Legacy of The Mummy’ is the same eight minute piece that was on The Mummy disc, talking about the classic 1930’s movie and how it’s been updated for today’s movie-goers.

‘Spotlight on Location’ is a twenty minute promotional featurette that shows a behind the scenes look at The Mummy sequel, that includes interviews with the cast and filmmakers. This is basic fluff stuff that we’ve all seen before.

‘Visual and Special Effects Formation’ shows four different effects scenes from the movie and allows you to view them in different stages from the first raw pass, to the final effects shot that was used in the film. This is cool stuff, but the CGI of The Rock as the Scorpion King still looks fake.

The music video for ‘Forever May Not Be Long Enough’ by the group Live is included. So if you’re a fan, woo hoo!

The U-Control feature that originated on HD-DVD is now here on 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.

If you already picked up The Mummy on Blu-ray the same promotional feature for the new film,’ The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor’ is on this disc as well with a behind the scenes glimpse, as well as mini- interviews Brendan Fraser, Jet Li, and the director Rob Cohen.

BOTTOM LINE

Like most sequels, The Mummy Returns is not as good as the first, but it remains in the same spirit, offering a fun filled adventure and a chance to revisit the characters again. This Blu-ray offers the same solid image and audio quality as the first film, so both movies will look good side-by-side in your collection. If you’re a big fan of the Mummy films you will not be disappointed and have probably already made your purchase.

SCORES (Out of 5):

The Movie: 3.0

Video: 4.0

Sound: 4.0

Extras: 4.0

Bottom Line: 4.0