Just little thoughts and shmeels; a Random Book filled with likely to be crazy things that you don't even know if they'd make sense or not...I mean, I know they don't, so-
PROCEED WITH CAUTION!
(Yep, that was a forced callback to the title- YEE HAW)...
If you're familiar with the first saga before this reboot, I'll tell you now, you're in for some changes, both good and bad.
If you're not, I suppose this is a solid start for an introduction to the franchise, but do go back and find the previous ones! Way better!
With that said, let's discuss what was wrong with this movie. You see, right from the beginning, Universal Studios claims this movie to be a part of their "Dark Universe."
"Dark Universe" will be Universal's version of an expanded universe of movies (like how Marvel, DC, and others are doing so nowadays)- but instead, with legendary monsters.
As of right now, it is confirmed that "The Mummy" will lead the franchise, followed by a Frankenstein movie, and Hollow Man (The Invisible Man).
In this reboot of "The Mummy," however, a good portion of the movie was taken up for hyping this "Dark Universe." There's a company in the movie that investigates and researches monsters, and Russell Crowe's character, Dr. Jekyll, acts as this "Nick Fury" figure (in analogy to the Marvel Cinematic Universe)- where you most likely will see him as the guy in charge who wants all these monsters together.
They even made several references in this movie to what appeared to be a vampire (it was a skull with fangs) and reptilian hands (likely The Missing Link) in their own glass containments, among other things in a lab.
Now, as cool as this all sounds, it unfortunately stole the spotlight on what exactly this movie itself was about. There were several points that made me think, "Wait, this is still 'The Mummy,' right?...Right."
They focused a lot on setting the foundation for the whole Dark Universe in one movie, that it sort of diluted the essence of The Mummy franchise.
The older movies give you this, ancient, cryptic, feeling that feels like you're watching a movie about some evil mummy! In this 2017 reboot, you get that feeling, but it definitely removes the "ancient" aspect of it and makes it feel less mythically charming.
Despite this, the effects of the movie were great, it was fun looking at the detail put into the makeup and CGI. Tom Cruise at the lead was good, but a bit cliché given all he does is action movies, and I felt like he didn't really "act," he was just using signature elements that make his other movies great. Towards the end is where things were shaking up a bit, leading to an interesting twist at the end (no spoilers here).
In fact, he reminded me more of Nathan Drake from the video game series "Uncharted." Anyone familiar? Yeah, no?
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Well, with the way Cruise (he even looks like him) portrayed his character in "The Mummy," would have been a much better fit for Nathan Drake for the long in-development Uncharted movie.
Anyway, Cruise and Russell Crowe had a scene where their talents were really playing off each other and it was quite interesting to watch these cinematic veterans together.
As for our titular "mummy," Sofia Boutella played the antagonist wonderfully! She was evil to the core, empowering, and enigmatic. No problems with her at all!
Just as in the older "Mummy" movies, there are parts of humor that lighten the adventure properly, but this rendition overdoes it slightly, and sometimes a bit unnecessarily at some points.
A slightly weaker start to what the Dark Universe is anticipated to be, but just enough to keep my eyes peeled for the following movies.
"The Mummy" gets a 3.98/5 from me.
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