The Mummy Returns
2001 · Directed by Stephen Sommers
Original language: English
- adventure
- action
- fantasy
The story
Rick and Evelyn O’Connell, along with their 8-year-old son Alex, discover the key to the legendary Scorpion King’s might: the fabled Bracelet of Anubis. Unfortunately, a newly resurrected Imhotep has designs on the bracelet as well, and isn’t above kidnapping its new bearer, Alex, to gain control of Anubis’s otherworldly army.
What it’s like
Big, bright studio adventure with saturated desert gold, sandstorms rolling over dunes, and the blue-green glow of Nile water and jungle canopy. The camera is restless and wide, with fast cutting, swooping crane moves and busy CGI spectacle, and the score is brassy orchestral swell with pounding percussion that rarely drops out. Its vibe is playful, cheerful bombast: a sequel that trades the first film's gothic dust for scale, with a 1930s pulp sensibility and a lot of quipping between its leads. The mood runs light and fast, pitched at high energy, with a family-friendly warmth around a bickering married couple who protect their young son. Action is frequent and loud, with CGI monsters, a mummified army, sword and gun fights, falls, explosions and a rampaging giant Scorpion King, but the violence is cartoonish, bloodless-to-mild and rarely lingers on suffering. Good for a Saturday afternoon, a comfort-food action rewatch, or a long-haul flight when you want spectacle without dread. Best for viewers who want big set pieces, goofy humour and a sincere family heart rather than quiet or scary atmosphere.
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