Review of Mummy, The

Introduction

The Mummy - probably the closest we`ll get to Indiana Jones on DVD for a while.

It was a big seller, the shops were chock full of it. I missed this one at the cinema, so thought I should rent it on DVD to find out what the fuss was about.

Video

Plenty of CG stuff here (you can see how it was all done by watching one of the featurettes). I wasn`t entirely convinced by it though, some of the effects just didn`t seem to look right at times.

The 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer is very good, sharp with lots of lovely desert colours, but it also copes well during the darker moments (of which there are quite a lot !)

Audio

An excellent DD 5.1 track which really aids and abets the atmosphere of the film.

There are plenty of `scary` action scenes to give sudden jumps in volume, and some quieter, more suspense-laden moments too.

Features

I did feel that the film was a bit of a let down. But the disc itself tries to compensate for this by cramming in a whole load of extras.

You get a reasonable featurette "Building A Better Mummy", a directors commentary, some deleted scenes and another "special effects" featurette which is quite good.

There are a few other bits and pieces squeezed in too. Top marks for making an effort with the extras !

Conclusion

Ok, so the visuals are good, the sound is great and there are lots of extras. But the film itself really seemed to be a bit lacking. Perhaps it was the Indiana Jones thing, it seemed like it had all been done before, and better.

The special effects in "The Mummy" are more "modern", but that`s not always such a good thing. The Indy stories had something else to them. I was also reminded of old Sinbad movies in many places, probably most in some of the fight scenes !

I know it`s a remake of an old classic, and that the original probably had some influence on the Indy films, but I was expecting more. Maybe I thought it was supposed be scarier (the original was more of a horror film), but it seemed more comedy than horror.

The let-down of the film is compensated for in some way by the excellent extras. It`s a bit of a popcorn movie really, but I would say that it is worth a watch - a try before you buy title. It might leave you wanting to see those old Indy films again too !