Rewind Back to 2001: “The Mummy Returns” (25th anniversary)

Released on May 4, 2001, “The Mummy Returns” continued on with the still entertaining story from the 1999 movie “The Mummy.” Just like its 1999 predecessor, the 2001 sequel became a huge success and later spawned a prequel (“The Scorpion King”), an indirect sequel (“The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor”) and a recently announced direct sequel set for release NEXT YEAR! (As you can tell from “next year” being in all caps, I’m excited for the sequel!).

Now that this year marks the movie’s 25th anniversary, I really wanted to add it to my Rewind Series and revisit this entry of the “Mummy” franchise.

The evil mummy Imhotep returns to wreak havoc as he resumes his relentless search for power and immortality. To make matters worse, another ancient evil has been unleashed, even more dangerous than Imhotep.

Only the heroic Rick O’Connell and his wife stand in the way of these twin terrors as they embark upon a desperate mission to save the world.

I remember watching the 1999 “Mummy” movie and living every minute of it. In fact, I still check it out almost every time it’s available on streaming. Now, even though this 2001 sequel is not nearly as great as the first movie, “The Mummy Returns” is still a fairly entertaining movie - even with the dated CGI (more on that in a bit).

“The Mummy Returns” delivers non-stop adventure and fun, awesome action sequences that are still very entertaining and the chemistry between Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz (who are coming back for the 4th movie) is still great. It’s also great to see how this sequel allows their characters to grow as a married couple with a child while still maintaining the fun tone of the 1999 adventure movie.

The 2001 sequel can still be remembered for its relentless pace with a sense of “Indiana Jones” style adventure action and exploration. There are quite a few massive fan favorite sequences that are fun to watch, such as the double-decker bus chase through London, the tidal wave water-bending sequence, the creepy pygmy mummy ambush in the oasis and the final pyramid battle.

The visual effects (for the most part) are still decently fine for the early 2000s. The moments that feature the army of Anubis warriors rising from the sand and the frenetic

battles of pygmy mummies look really good. And even though the wall of water sequence is entertaining and exciting, the visual effects of this sequence can look a little cartoony. Nowadays, some of the okay visual effects really stand out more due to today’s high-definition TVs and 4K remasters.

The obvious low point of the movie’s visual effects is the CGI Scorpion King at the movie’s climactic end. Just looking at the Scorpion King in high definition really reminded me of the visuals you would see on a PlayStation 2 or something. Visual effects artists did later reveal that because of Johnson’s then packed WWE schedule, they were never able to scan his face for reference material, forcing them to animate the entire character blindly under a brutal deadline.

“The Mummy Returns” is widely regarded as an energetic, crowd-pleasing, though noticeable flawed blockbuster sequel. While praised for its fast pace, fun spectacle, and returning cast chemistry, critics and audiences cite its convoluted script and dated CGI as its main weaknesses.

Despite its over the top tone and effects shortcomings, it still maintains a strong cult following. This highly entertaining adventure set up the “Scorpion King” spin-off series, which has also gotten a mixed reaction.

MPA: Rated PG-13 for adventure action and violence   (runtime 130 minutes)

Initial release date: May 4, 2001

Streaming service: Peacock/HBO Max/various PVOD services (as of writing this review)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOh3mbolnfA

• Rachel Weisz and Patricia Velasquez trained for five months for their fight scene. They did the fight without any stunt performers.

• Although the characters of Rick and Evelyn had grown and matured in the second film, director Stephen Sommers wanted it to be clear that Jonathan had learned absolutely nothing from his first adventure.

• The much-criticized digital effects of The Scorpion King were rushed and were only completed eight days before the film's release.

• The designs for Meela's dress is a near replica of her body paint from her previous life as Anck-su-namun.

• Dwayne Johnson's first big screen appearance not related to wrestling.

• This sequel was greenlit by Universal the morning after The Mummy (1999) opened in May 1999.

• London's Tower Bridge was closed to allow for filming. They were allowed to close it for 20 minutes at a time, but the resulting traffic jam after the first time brought threats of arrest from Scotland Yard and a reduced closing time of 10 minutes.

• Ardeth Bay (Oded Fehr) is the only person in the film who refers to Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo) as "the Creature." This is explained in the novelization of the film; which states that Ardeth (as do all Medjai) fears even referring to Imhotep by name while the mummy is still in his undead form, calling him "He That Shall Not Be Named". Ardeth Bay in the novel overcomes this unease and reluctantly refers to Imhotep by name after the mummy's regeneration.

• Hundreds of real scorpions and tarantulas were used in the film.

• Rachel Weisz's first sequel. She would decline the opportunity to return for the third installment, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008).

• Grossed $68 million domestically in its opening weekend, then the second-biggest opening in history, after The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), with $72 million.