The Mummy Returns Again

by Mark Beall Dec 5th 2005 // 9:01PM

Filed under: Action, Casting, RumorMonger, Scripts, Remakes and Sequels

Back in June, we reported on some early rumors regarding the nature of The Mummy III, and recent news now seems confirmed their validity. The new Mummy film will indeed depart the traditional Egyptian setting and head for the Orient – specifically, 1940’s China (yes, the Japanese presence in China will be noted in the film, for you history nerds keeping score). At the forefront of the story is the mighty (but very dead) Emperor Qin Shihuang, who is interested in…wait for it…world domination, which he plans to achieve by activating (perhaps by means of a magic button or something) his enormous army, which is handily still around thanks to a curse which turned them into terracotta and preserved them throughout the centuries.

Am I the only one that thought the Scorpion King was the third installment in the Mummy line- which would actually make The Mummy Goes to China part four. Whatever the case, apparently we haven’t had enough of the franchise-for which Brendan Fraser is probably quite glad. If I’m being completely open, something inside of me honestly enjoys the soft action of The Mummy flicks and the fresh-faced semi-action hero Brendan Fraser. They weren’t masterpiece films or anything, but they were good, honest fun. I think they are running dangerously close to overdoing it, however, with yet another film (some might say that they overdid it with Scorpion). Some early commentators are suggesting that “the script might not yet be on par with the previous installments in the series”, but come on, who are we kidding. The scripts weren’t fantastic to begin with. If you enjoyed the simple fun of the first two, you’ll probably enjoy the third. The news is early, however, so I’m sure as more info develops we will all take the occasional potshot.

12 Comments

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1
12-05-2005 @ 9:56PM
Scott Weinberg said...
Didn't much care for Mummy1 first time I saw it, but it has grown on me over time. TMR I just hated. And TSK was like a junior Conan for 12-year-olds. Not very good, but I do think it's a better movie than Part 2. (Chuck Russell is a better director than Stephen Sommer is.)

Can't say I'd blame Fraser for returning to the Mummy-well again. We haven't seen a whole lot of him lately, and I dig the goofball. (His best work EVER was on a few episodes of Scrubs.)
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2
12-06-2005 @ 1:20AM
bgdc said...
not on par with the originals? If those movies were any worse they'd be released by troma.

BTW, Fraser is a real actor for god's sake. Go see Gods and Monsters, Crash or The Quiet American. He can act and be totally credible! He needs to stop making these crap Mummy films if he ever wants to be regarded as anything other than the Gen Y's idiot version of Indiana Jones.
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3
12-06-2005 @ 2:17AM
Geoff said...
Man, bgdc, don't be so uptight. I agree with Mark -- the Mummy films are good, clean fun in approximately the same class as action movies with Vin Diesel or The Rock (such as the first XXX or The Rundown). These aren't great cinema, but they're entertaining popcorn movies, and there's definitely a place for that.

Gods and Monsters was an excellent film, yes, and I applaud Fraser demonstrating his breadth in ways that neither Diesel or, um, Rock have managed to do (yet), but it's popcorn films like these that enable Fraser to make those smaller films. Would you moan about Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart stooping to perform in the X-Men, Star Trek or Lord of the Rings films?
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4
12-06-2005 @ 2:28AM
Jim said...
Aw c'mon guys, these new mummy movies are fun. They're not meant to be works of art, just escapism, and Rachel Weisz and Patricia Velasquez are easy on the eyes.
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5
12-06-2005 @ 8:25AM
wqe said...
The first film was very nice. The second was not bad. The Scorpion King was trash. Maybe need to think up something new.
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6
12-06-2005 @ 8:30AM
Adam said...
Actually the Scorpion King wasn't back until the end.

The whole CG, The Rock, Scorpion king totally destroyed that movie.

Actually This is the third installment. The Scorpion King was a spin off and was suppossed to be a series as well.
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7
12-06-2005 @ 11:06AM
bgdc said...
I didn't find the mummy films to be fun or light. I found them to be poorly written, shoddily directed and sporting some lousy FX.

The Rock was actually quite solid in The Rundown and he stole the show in Be Cool (a movie in search of a story and director). The Rundown shocked the hell out of me because it had an almost 1980s style flair for biting dialogue between the leads, fun action set pieces and an all around blast of macho glee. Of course, I also think Peter Berg in ten thousand times more creative than the boob who made the Mummy films.

I really do like fun. Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang was probably the most thoroughly amusing film of 2005 and also one of the most empty. Behind the goofiness and the over-the-top bits was Shane Black's intelligence though. Stephen Sommers is just another Paul WS Anderson (not PT Anderson).

Sorry, I'd rather burn down the Mummy sets than allow them to sully the screen with more of Sommer's poor writing and tired stories. That style film was done already and far better with spielberg's Indy Films. They're not gonna top Raiders or Last Crusade. Hell, Spielberg hasn't in the past 16 years either and if he can't, why the heck is Sommers even trying?
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8
12-06-2005 @ 5:46PM
Debbie said...
Another Mummy? I have mixed feelings. On one hand, I rather enjoyed both Mummy movies (the first more than the second). They were good, clean fun...something that is lacking in a lot of today's movies. And I absolutely LOVE seeing Brendan Fraser on film. He is a gorgeous hunk of a man who has both dramatic and comedic talents...a rarity amongst his contemporaries. On the other hand, sequels are always a risk. The creative juices just seem to run dry and the scripts get more and more ridiculous. Brendan, you are such a fine actor (School Ties, Gods and Monsters, The Quiet American, Crash, The Passion of Darkly Noon) that you NEED to stay away from the curse of "The Sequel"!!
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9
12-07-2005 @ 5:26PM
Finished.Law.School said...
The Mummy films were more entertaining than a bunch of the rubbish being made now. I look forward to a sequel that is in the same vein as the original two.
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10
12-08-2005 @ 2:55PM
Alysa said...
As someone said, it's the silly movies, that let the real talent of Brandan show in other films.

And who am I to say if a movie is good or not, If I like it fine and if I don't thats ok too. It's just intertainment. So it's going to be made in China....we can trade popcorn and soft drinks for a few egg rolls and rice tea for one afternoon.
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11
12-13-2005 @ 8:49PM
Jason Anderson said...
I enjoyed the first two Mummies and the Scorpion King was just plain fun. But I like to think of Scorpion as a spin-off which leaves room for a Mummy III. Sure, they just released the two Mummies and Scorpion on DVD as a boxed set which means that what I just said about Scorpion not being a Mummy was completely wrong. But I don't care. I guess they'll make a new boxed set. All four. Hmm...

I dunno why, but I really like Brendan Fraser in this role. Actually, I like him in most roles, but I really liked this one.

And Rachel Weisz... need I say more.
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12
1-06-2006 @ 11:43AM
patrick simone said...
I loved the 1st 2 movies and the scorpian king was ok but if they dont bring back Ancksunamun and Imhotep,i wont go see it,also,they will lose a lot of fans if they stray to far from the 1st 2 and they should have never ended TMR the way they did.
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