The Mummy Returns

The Mummy Returns
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Stephen Sommers
Written by	Stephen Sommers
Based on	Characters by Stephen Sommers Lloyd Fonvielle Kevin Jarre
Produced by	Sean Daniel James Jacks
Starring	Brendan Fraser Rachel Weisz John Hannah Arnold Vosloo Oded Fehr Patricia Velásquez Freddie Boath Alun Armstrong The Rock
Cinematography	Adrian Biddle
Edited by	Bob Ducsay Kelly Matsumoto
Music by	Alan Silvestri
Production company	Alphaville Films
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date	May 4, 2001 (2001-05-04)
Running time	129 minutes
Country	United States
Languages	English Arabic
Budget	$98 million[1]
Box office	$435 million[1]

The Mummy Returns is a 2001 American adventure horror film,^[2] written and directed by Stephen Sommers, starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo, Oded Fehr, Patricia Velásquez, Freddie Boath, Alun Armstrong, and Dwayne Johnson in his acting debut. The film is a sequel to the 1999 film The Mummy. It was distributed by Universal Pictures.

The Mummy Returns inspired the 2002 prequel film The Scorpion King, a spin-off that is set 5,000 years prior and whose eponymous character, played by Dwayne Johnson (The Rock), was introduced in this film. The Mummy Returns was a commercial success despite mixed reviews. It was followed by the 2008 sequel The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

Plot[]

In 3067 BC, the Scorpion King leads an army to conquer the world. However, his army is defeated and exiled to the desert of Ahm Shere. After the Scorpion King vows to give Anubis his soul in return for the power to defeat his enemies, an oasis and pyramid magically form, and the Scorpion King is given an army of jackal-like warriors. The Army of Anubis sweeps across Egypt, but once their task is finished, Anubis claims the Scorpion King's soul and the army returns to the Underworld.

In 1933, Rick O'Connell and his wife Evelyn explore ancient ruins with their son, Alex, where they find the Bracelet of Anubis. In London, the bracelet locks onto Alex, showing him a vision directing him to Ahm Shere, but is later warned that, should he not enter the pyramid's boundaries within a week, the bracelet will kill him.

Evelyn is captured by an Egyptian cult who resurrect Imhotep with the Book of the Dead; they wish to use his power to defeat the Scorpion King, giving him command of Anubis' army to conquer the world. The cult, led by Baltus Hafez, includes enforcer Lock-Nah and Meela Nais, the reincarnation of Imhotep's love Anck-su-namun. The O'Connells set out to rescue Evelyn, accompanied by her brother Jonathan and the Medjai Ardeth Bay. Jonathan gets his hands on a mysterious golden scepter.

Rick frees Evelyn and flees, but Alex is subsequently kidnapped by Lock-Nah and forced to travel to Egypt along with the cult. The O'Connells pursue them, with help from Rick's associate Izzy. The bracelet gives Alex directions to Ahm Shere that the cult follows. At each location, Alex leaves clues for his parents, who follow in Izzy's dirigible. Imhotep uses the Book of the Dead to give Meela the soul of Anck-su-namun, but by doing so he allows Evelyn to unlock the memories of her previous life as Princess Nefertiri, the bracelet's keeper and Pharaoh Seti I's daughter.

At the edge of the Oasis, Imhotep uses his magic to crash the dirigible; Izzy stays behind in hope of repairing it. By nightfall, the O'Connells infiltrate the cult, but both groups are attacked by pygmy mummies. Rick retrieves Alex while Ardeth kills Lock-Nah. They escape the pygmies, who kill all the cult members except for Baltus, Imhotep and Anck-su-namun.

The O'Connell's arrive at the pyramid, and the bracelet detaches from Alex. Anck-su-namun, Imhotep, and Baltus then arrive and kill Evelyn before entering the pyramid. Inside the pyramid, Baltus puts on the bracelet and revives the army. Anubis takes Imhotep's powers, wanting Imhotep to fight as a mortal.

Rick finds Imhotep summoning the Scorpion King inside the pyramid and fights him. The Scorpion King, now an enormous monster, interrupts the fight and attacks Rick. At the same time, Ardeth and the Medjai battle Anubis's resurrected army outside. While Rick and the Scorpion King fight, Baltus is killed. Jonathan and Alex steal the Book of the Dead from Anck-su-namun and use it to resurrect Evelyn, who confronts Anck-su-namun.

Rick discovers Jonathan’s scepter is actually a mystical spear, which he uses to stab the Scorpion King, sending him and the army back into the Underworld. The oasis then begins to destroy itself.

As the pyramid crumbles, Rick and Imhotep both cling to the ledge of a pit that leads to the underworld. Rick implores Evelyn to escape before it's too late, but she risks her life to pull Rick to safety. Seeing this, Imhotep cries out for Anck-su-namun to come to his aid, but she abandons him. Heartbroken, Imhotep lets go and falls into the underworld. Meanwhile, the collapse of the pyramid causes Anck-su-namun to fall into a pit of scorpions, killing her. Izzy arrives with a modified dirigible and rescues the O'Connells just before the oasis and the pyramid are totally destroyed, though not before Jonathan swipes the pyramid's crystal jewel. They depart into the sunset, with Ardeth Bay saluting them before riding off.

Cast[]

• Brendan Fraser as Rick O'Connell
• Rachel Weisz as Evelyn O'Connell / Nefertiri
• John Hannah as Jonathan Carnahan
• Arnold Vosloo as Imhotep
• Oded Fehr as Ardeth Bay
• Patricia Velásquez as Meela Nais / Anck-Su-Namun
• Freddie Boath as Alex O'Connell
• Alun Armstrong as Baltus Hafez
• The Rock as Mathayus of Akkad / The Scorpion King
• Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Lock-Nah
• Shaun Parkes as Izzy Buttons
• Bruce Byron as Red
• Joe Dixon as Jacques
• Tom Fisher as Spivey
• Aharon Ipalé as Pharaoh Seti I

Music[]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Empire
Filmtracks
Tracksounds

The Mummy Returns: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released on May 1, 2001 by Decca Records.

It contains the score composed and conducted by Alan Silvestri as well as a version of the song "Forever May Not Be Long Enough" by the rock band Live, which slightly differs from the song's album version. A 2-CD expansion was released by Intrada Records in 2018.^[3]

Reception[]

Box office[]

The film grossed $202 million in the United States and Canada box offices and $233 million internationally, grossing over $435 million worldwide.^[1]The film broke the record for highest Friday and Saturday with $23.4 and $26.8 million respectfully. In its opening weekend, the film made $70.1 million, making it the second highest opening weekend of all time, only behind The Lost World: Jurassic Park.^[4]

Critical response[]

The Mummy Returns received mixed reviews from critics. It currently holds a 47% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 141 reviews.^[5] Metacritic reported, based on 31 reviews, an average rating of 48 out of 100.^[6] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of “A-“ on an A+ to F scale.^[7]

Roger Ebert, who awarded the first film three stars, gave the second film only two, saying that "The mistake of The Mummy Returns is to abandon the characters, and to use the plot only as a clothesline for special effects and action sequences."^[8] James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave the film two and a half stars (out of four), calling it "hollow, lightweight entertainment—not unpleasant, but far from the summer's definitive action/adventure flick.^[9]

Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times gave the film a positive review, praising its "constant plot turns, cheeky sensibility and omnipresent action sequences."^[10] Todd McCarthy of Variety praised "the nonstop action of the final hour", saying that it "bursts with visual goodies."^[11]

Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal gave the film a negative review, saying that it "has all of the clank but none of the swank of the previous version."^[6] Charles Taylor of Salon.com was also not impressed, calling The Mummy Returns "everything the first Mummy was fun for not being."^[12]

Accolades[]

This section does not cite any sources. Please help by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Home media[]

The film debuted on VHS and DVD on October 2, 2001.^[13][14] It was subsequently released on the high-definition Blu-ray format in July 2008,^[15] and on UHD Blu-ray in 2017.^[16]

References[]

External links[]

Wikiquote has quotations related to: The Mummy Returns

• Official website
• The Mummy Returns at IMDb
• The Mummy Returns at AllMovie
• The Mummy Returns at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Mummy Returns at Metacritic
• The Mummy Returns at Box Office Mojo