The greatest movie ever!

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

It's sad to see what could have been an excellent sequel turned into just another stupid movie of stupid action. The bases for a great story are there, but it was very poorly delivered. The adorable heroes seem to have another personality, causing them to lose the chemistry between them from the first movie, much because of the script and the dialogues, especially Evelyn who in this film discovers - see the stupidity - to be the reincarnation of the princess "warrior" Nefertiri, which makes her a woman of guns instead of the charming half-snobbish girl of the first movie, the purpose of this so she can have some fight sequences with Anksunamun, the lover Imotep wants to resurrect.What really irritates me is that in the end Anksunamun turns her back on Imotep by betraying him to death. Why?!? Does not make sense. Why would she have killed the Pharaoh and committed suicide for Imotep's sake now to turn her back on him? That was part of the charm of these villains: even though they were evil, they had this human spark - they loved each other. But I also have to admit that from the entire movie - from the WHOLE movie - that was the only scene that really messed with me so cruel it was. If they had to die then it should be together: she would try to save him but she would fail, both falling into the abyss with the souls pushing them away and taking them to the bottom as they try in vain to hold hands. Would not this end be more beautiful and even more tragic and appropriate?Alex, the son, is funny in the role of "smart kid" but unnecessary to the plot, and the sequence in which he leaves the clues to his parents in plain sight for all to see is very badly thought so much in terms of writing as accomplishment. The whole film is exaggerated: the action is exaggerated (now the mummies run along walls and ceilings), comedy and goofiness and animation are exaggerated, too many special effects obviously unfinished that do not mix well at all with the rest of the background unlike the first movie. This is one of those cases where LESS would be MORE. And it makes me sad that the fantastic first movie does not have a better reputation because of these horrible sequels.

Plot; The O'Connell's race against the minions of Imhotep in an effort to stop them from reaching and defeating the legendary Scorpion King and taking control of the armies of Anubis.At its best, The Mummy Returns equals and/or surpasses the first entry; itself a rootin'-tootin' and refreshingly unapologetic goodtime popcorn movie. Unfortunately Returns isn't always at its best. Setting the bulk of the first act in London gives it some aesthetic diversity, and I actually found the two action scenes there (One in the O'Connell's house, the other on a double-decker bus) to be my favorites in the movie. I also preferred Alan Silverstri's rip-roarin' action score to Jerry Goldsmith's from the original. But unfortunately the titular Mummy doesn't loom as large here, and with the Scorpion King not showing up until the last few minutes, Imhotep's minions aren't nearly enough to make up for it.Despite inserting a spunky kid (Will Hollywood never learn?), a clunky middle act and some absolutely cringeworthy CGI in the finale, The Mummy Returns unwraps enough fun to satisfy.

I wasn't a major fan of the first MUMMY film so it took me six years to finally bother watching this sequel – when I happened to catch it on television. In all respects it's a direct continuation of the first in the series, with the viewpoint of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". THE MUMMY made a whole heap of cash at the box office, so the big wigs ordered more of the same, and what we get is THE MUMMY RETURNS. Loud, brash, and resolutely dumb, this is a film that requires you to leave your brain outside the door before sitting down to watch. It's packed with preposterous special effects and some awful acting, but despite these things, I couldn't help but enjoy it a little. It's certainly more fun than the first film, as everything's settled down a little and there are no hopes waiting to be dashed. Despite the overlong running time, THE MUMMY RETURNS provides adequate entertainment for those in a forgiving mood.I won't talk about the plot – suffice to say the action shifts from Egypt to London and then finally back to Egypt again. It's all wonderfully stupid, and the script is a real clunker this time around. Unfortunately the film-makers decided to put a kid into the proceedings, and Freddie Boath plays an irritating public school brat of a boy; you'll be praying for him to get his head lopped off or at the very least lose an arm during the proceedings, but to no avail. Fraser and Weisz return as the hero and heroine; Fraser is typically wooden, while Weisz gives another absolutely appalling performance; how is this woman still getting acting jobs? Far better is John Hannah, whose comic relief role is reduced here, and the returning Arnold Vosloo seems a lot more comfortable with his central role. Heads up to The Rock, who impresses despite only having five minutes of screen time, and Patricia Velasquez, who seems to be trying to rival Weisz in terms of bad acting but who really looks the part – especially those eyes! Other characters I liked were Izzy, the black pilot; the black bodyguard, who whups major backside, and Alun Armstrong, who seems a little lost here, a world away from his usual films.This being an action-adventure, you'd better pray there's plenty of action to be had, and the good news is that there most definitely is. Whether it's mummies chasing a double decker bus through the streets of London, Arabs and Westerners duking it out in displays of swordsmanship, or deadly pygmies lurking in the bush, the fight scenes come thick and fast and once again, they're heavy on the special effects. As for those FX, they're a mixed bunch, ranging from passable but seeming to deteriorate as the film progresses. By the time the completely-CGI Scorpion King shows up at the film's climax, they're hopelessly messy and quite appalling, and the cartoonish pygmies are also a disappointment. But never mind that – THE MUMMY RETURNS improves on the first film, and that's a definite good thing. Just don't go in expecting too much.

The Mummy Returns is directed by Stephen Sommers and has music by Alan Silvestri. The film stars Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, Arnold Vosloo, John Hannah, Oded Fehr, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Alun Armstrong, Patricia Velasquez, Freddie Boath and The Rock.Set several years after the first film, this sequel finds Rick(Brendan Fraser)and Evelyn(Rachel Weisz)now married. The couple have a young son called Alex(Freddie Boath). The trio are in Egypt looking for artefacts, they come across an ancient bracelet which once belonged to The Scorpion King(The Rock). The Scorpion King sold his soul to the Anubis, in return he had command over an evil army and was seemingly invincible. Unbeknown to the O'Connell's, followers of Imhotep have once again raised him from the dead, his former lover Anck Su Namun(Patricia Velasquez)has been reincarnated and the pair want the bracelet of Anubis to command the armies so they can dominate the world. Alex tries on the bracelet and discovers he can't take it off, Imhotep and his followers kidnap the boy. Rick, Evelyn, Jonathan (John Hannah)and Ardeth Bay(Oded Fehr) try and get him back and foil this evil plan.Evelyn keeps having strange visions which we soon discover are past memories, she is revealed to have been the daughter of the Pharaoh murdered by Imhotep.This film has much more action than the first one, it's a non stop thrill ride and has a cracking score. The special effects are once again not all that great, especially those for the mummy and Scorpion King. I didn't like Evelyn turning out to have been an ancient princess or what is revealed about Rick, I think that takes something away from the film. In the first film and for the first part of this sequel, Rick and Evelyn are just normal people who come up against out of the ordinary things, they find the strength and courage to fight those things. Making them connected to the past takes away their normality, learning that these things were meant to be just seems unnecessary to me.The cast once again deliver good performances, Oded Fehr is hysterical as the badass Ardeth Bay. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is chilling as Lock-Nah one of Imhotep's supporters, he's great at playing villains and is very intense here.Worth a watch, but it's not as good as the first film.