Seth Lamey
In the past 100 years and more, there have been many variations and adaptations of The Mummy, a Universal Pictures creation alongside Frankenstein and Dracula adaptations. Monster movie flicks scared and dazzled audiences just after the advent of sound. As a pre-code supernatural thriller in 1932, The Mummy did as well. While the “undead” frequently found footing with zombies and ghosts in the decades after, “mummies” laid dormant as big-screen draws. One of the biggest movie stars in the world, Tom Cruise, had a failed franchise starter in 2017. Through all that history, there was, however, a fun and charming summer blockbuster adaptation made in 1999. The Mummy, directed by Stephen Sommers and starring future Academy Award winner Brendan Fraser, freshened up the old Universal property and ushered in a blockbuster template that was in vogue after the turn of the century.
The narrative and story elements for The Mummy were fairly simple, beginning with setting up a prologue in ancient Egypt, dictating the stakes. After high priest Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo) and his forbidden lover Anck Su Namun (Patricia Velasquez) are found out by Pharaoh Seti, they betray and murder him, leading to both their deaths. Imhotep is mummified alive and with a powerful curse that, should he be resurrected, would prove doom for the mortal world. The film cuts to 1926 Egypt, where librarian and aspiring Egyptologist Evelyn Carnahan (Rachel Weisz, another future Oscar winner) and her brother Jonathan (John Hannah) embark on an adventure to Hamunaptra—better known as The City of the Dead—in hopes of finding out what a special key opens. They enlist the help of the rugged and daring American adventurer named Rick O’Connell (Fraser), whose gun-blazing attitude and cheeky smile help them get into and out of trouble. After another team of American treasure hunters also awakens Imhotep, it’s up to Rick, Evy, and Jonathan to save the day.
Director Stephen Sommers would be tasked with leading the production as writer and director after some nominal success with a pair of Disney flicks, The Jungle Book and The Adventures of Huck Finn, and the creature-feature Deep Rising. His idea to keep some horror aspects of The Mummy merged with the thriller/blockbuster aspects was a smart decision that paid off commercially and modestly with critics. The film would take advantage of elaborate set design and on-location shooting in Morocco and the Sahara Desert. The film also devoted $15 million of its $80 million budget to special effects. Combinations of all tricks in the bag (old and new) were used. Miniatures, matte paintings, landscape shots, and CGI motion capture were used to create the ancient Egyptian city Thebes in the prologue, as well as the fast-paced and gnarly design of Imhotep as a resurrected Mummy. The film is simple in its story design and stakes, and is at its best when the cast and action set pieces lead the way.
Brendan Fraser picked up The Mummy at exactly the right time for his stardom’s trajectory in the late 1990s. He had moderate success in both comedies and dramas, and his live-action George of the Jungle cartoon remake was a box office hit. A strong, charming, and dashing role like Rick O’Connell was perfect for him to step into the molds of Errol Flynn in The Adventures of Robin Hood and Harrison Ford from Raiders of the Lost Ark before him, all with a dash of desert landscape homage to Lawrence of Arabia. Stephen Sommers aimed to take what those films did well and mix it with Egyptian world-building both in ancient times and “modern” 1920s. Finding a cast to fill out an ensemble around its chosen star who understood the assignment was key to The Mummy’s success.
While Fraser brings the American hero archetype to The Mummy, Rachel Weisz as Evy adds the brains, heart, and soul to the film. Her soft and sweet performance balances out the machismo and stupidity exhibited by Rick, Jonathan, and the daft American cowboy counterparts. Her knowledge of Egyptian history and language is a vital resource throughout the film, as is her romantic connection to Rick. The two make a fine lead couple as the film goes on, and the rest of the cast is filled out with some fine character acting. John Hannah as Jonathan, Vosloo as Imhotep, Kevin O’Connor as Beni, Oded Fehr as Ardeth Bay, and Jonathan Hyde as Dr. Allen Chamberlin round out an ensemble of actors playing their parts well and knowing what type of serial movie they were making, which balanced thrills with camp. The banter between Rick and Jonathan, Rick and Evy, Rick and Beni would bring a lightheartedness to some dark scenes of cursed mummy’s vengeful violence. Arnold Vosloo as the evil high priest Imhotep gives an ethereal performance that sets up perfectly to contrast with Fraser as Rick O’Connell’s strapping male hero.
Sommers was helped in creating the aesthetic look of The Mummy by production designer Allan Cameron (Starship Troopers, The Da Vinci Code). Cinematographer Adrian Biddle, an Oscar nominee for Thelma and Louise, was tasked with providing a dynamic camera framing to action sequences via wide shots and employing close-ups during more intimate drama. The Mummy has a brisk pace, with action scenes happening every 20 minutes to give the film a propulsive feeling. Set pieces at Hamunaptra bookend the film, concluding with thrilling fight sequences in Seti’s underground tomb full of treasure. Legendary musical composer Jerry Goldsmith provided the bombastic and energetic score for The Mummy, helping to mark it as a blockbuster cherished in the new century.
The biggest beneficiary from the templated success of The Mummy has to be the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Disney saw that they could cast likable movie stars to lead swashbuckling blockbuster affairs with treasure and the undead as main protagonists. The creativity of fun set pieces and the improving CGI capabilities expanded the scope of what could be done on-screen in big-screen adventure films. This success in 1999 pioneered even more loose adaptations of existing intellectual properties at other studios.
The film was a big hit for Universal, kickstarting a minor franchise. The Mummy would garner two sequels for a trilogy. Sommers and his main cast made a quick turnaround for The Mummy Returns in 2001. While a dip in quality was present with a retreaded formula of the first film, the first sequel has its moments of thrilling fun and was another box office success. After some dormancy, the third film in 2008, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, brought back Brendan Fraser without Sommers and Weisz. It was thought to end the franchise on a less successful note before long-held rumors of a fourth fikn bringing back the full trio were confirmed for a 2028 release.
The Mummy was the apex of Stephen Sommers as a blockbuster filmmaker. While he had moderate success with Van Helsing and G.I. Joe adaptations, none compared to his reimagining of The Mummy as a summer blockbuster success. Brenda Fraser’s career was unfortunately derailed after he was sexually assaulted by a leader of the Hollywood Foreign Press, a shadow that followed him for years until he was ultimately given grace. His body also broke down after many surgeries he required after The Mummy trilogy and other action films. He was ultimately redeemed with an Oscar win for his heartbreaking performance in the 2022 film The Whale. Rachel Weisz has had a solid and successful career, intermixing roles on the mainstream and independent filmmaking circuits. She has been nominated twice for Academy Awards, and she won Best Supporting Actress in 2006 for The Constant Gardener. The rest of the cast carved out some decent careers out of character actor performances, but not many noteworthy high points since 1999.
While the new adaptation of Lee Cronin’s The Mummy looks promising as the “elevated horror” that fits in with Blumhouse and A24 brands, we can remember that, once upon a time, a film bearing a Universal Pictures horror icon and made in the style of swashbuckling fun came before it. Hollywood has long been an evolving place for blockbuster filmmaking, thanks to a mix of practical and computer-generated special effects. Utilizing both, Stephen Sommers used simple writing and effective filmmaking within the good vs. evil adventure formula to craft a hit. Done right, The Mummy has earned its own longevity. Your move, Lee Cronin.
