Rent The Mummy (1999)

Indiana meets George of the Jungle. - The Mummy review by JD

Two of the main actors are well known for their light hearted roles (Four Weddings and George of the Jungle). The action scenes have the same look and feel as Indiana Jones and so I was surprised to look back at the film and remember that its 15 rating for horror is justified. I think however it is a horror comedy, and one of the best of this genre.

A hugely enjoyable action adventure, with great performances & a stunning 4K remaster (4K Blu-ray) - The Mummy review by TB

This is such a great film. Brendan Fraser is never better as Rick O'Connell and Rachel Weisz his guide and later love interest. The action is brilliantly staged and there is never a dull moment.

For me though, the best thing by far is how light the film is in tone. Unlike the terrible Tom Cruise reboot, which decided that throwing lots of story with terribly shot action was the way to go, this Mummy film certainly delivers the scares and action, but with a lightness of touch which is so welcome. Stephen Sommers deserves so much praise for not only writing but also directing this, never losing the wide-eyed excitement we as the audience get.

And welcomingly, this film has been remastered on 4K Blu-ray with brilliant results. The CGI has held up so well and the colour palette looks stunning. I have The Mummy Returns to watch next and I hope this remastering is as good with that as this.

Finally, the 15 rating still baffles me. Whilst there are absolutely some unpleasant moments and shocks, these are never more than a strong 12 rating.

Great Fun - The Mummy review by GI

This is a rollicking and thoroughly entertaining piece of hokum obviously influenced by Indiana Jones but manages to keep itself exciting, humorous and downright good fun from start to finish. Despite its horror film roots this is actually a piece of fantasy adventure made with adults in mind although there's no resort to gore or fright, it's more of a swashbuckler than an outright monster film. Set in the 1920s Brendan Fraser is fantastic as the hero Rick O'Connell who happens to know the location of a lost Egyptian city being sought after by egyptologist Evelyn (the tantalisingly beautiful Rachel Weisz) and her hapless brother Jonathan (John Hannah). Unfortunately for them others are looking for it too but it's protected by an ancient brotherhood who happen to know an ancient evil resides there and of course it's not long before this gets awakened. So what with it's 50s serial styling, great storytelling and a nostalgic feel for those great fantasy films of yesteryear like Jason and The Argonauts (1963) this is absolutely superb. There was a couple of fairly pointless sequels but this one is a film to really enjoy time and time again.