Hey, here is a clever idea!
Take most of your classic monster characters and breath new life into them by targeting them to today’s millennial moviegoers.
Which is exactly what Universal Pictures has up its sleeve.
It’s called Universal’s universe of (their) monsters for modern audiences.
And they’ve got plenty of them.
From Dracula, Frankenstein and The Invisible Man—all Universal monster classics— foreshadowing possible 21st century resurrections.
Or as I like to think of them: Popcorn thrillers with classic roots.
Kicking off the renewed franchise Universal Studios pays homage to its original 1932 thriller THE MUMMY which starred Boris Karloff.
In this 2017 reincarnation, a U.S. Army soldier (of fortune) and his buddy accidentally awaken Princess Ahmanet who was buried alive in a stone coffin for crimes committed against her family in Egypt some 5,000 years earlier.
She’s played in rather bizarre fashion by Sofia Boutella who you may remember from THE KINGSMAN and STAR TREK BEYOND.
Welcome to a frightening NEW world of gods and monsters which now hits Tom Cruise and company in the worst imaginable ways.
From the sands of the dessert to modern day London, things go from bad to worse—only to encounter the slightly off-center goings on of eccentric Doctor Henry Jekyll and ultimately his alter-ego, Mr. Hyde.
Both are played by Russell Crowe.
Hmmmmm, now to connect the dots without losing his head in the process….that’s what’s going down here for Cruise.
So far, so good.
However it’s really not that good despite the heavy CGI effects-laden action.
The story line seems to go all over the place and I found myself not caring what happens—and to whom.
Mr. Cruise’ acting comes across as sub par as he seems to find himself in endless peril.
Frankly, I had expected more substance to this starter film in the series and felt the audience never really got into it either.
At the end of advance screenings there is either applause or silence depending, of course, on the film’s subject matter.
But there’s nothing worse than hearing just two or three people applauding at the end—-and that’s what happened at THE MUMMY.
Draw your own conclusions.
Brendan Fraser’s 1999 version all of a sudden doesn’t look so bad anymore…….
My grade: C
JACK GOES TO THE MOVIES Friday mornings during Kansas City’s Morning News on 98.1 FM, KMBZ.
With Tom Cruise leading the way, good ads, franchise movie which is all studios invest in these days….I say its a hit. Several hundred million box office at the end. Even if it isn’t very good.
I’m disappointed Tom Cruise went under the knife and got plastic surgery. Sure, he’s nuts with the Scientology but all religions are crazy. Getting plastic surgery ruined his natural good looks, which is a crime against nature.
…and Universal has spent a FORTUNE in TV ads for this one so it’ll probably do OK—especially overseas.
But I’ll bet that “WONDER WOMAN” will STILL come in # 1 this weekend even though its the second week for the blockbuster!
You bet correctly.
I’m afraid Tom Cruise has finally fell to earth. He just doesn’t seem right in The Mummy and the critics are crucifying this movie. It’s just not as good as the 1999 version either. It kind of sucks living in a world where Tom Cruise movies are just so-so. I kinda feel sorry for the guy..