THE MUMMY (1999) *1/2 First off, it's always an honour to witness Bernard Fox (Dr. Bombay from "Bewitched") at work. There would be no argument for investing time in this film without him, his Britishness, his flying a plane into a mystical storm after drinking and lamenting the fact that he didn't die a heroic death in WWI, and the tenuous hope that somehow Samantha would show up. It is about reincarnation you know, Egyptian crypt magic and the protections of celestial forces that humans can control. It must be someone's bag, but Brendan Fraser has the range and virtuosity of an oak. He's fine so long as he can be acting big, but everything else is out of reach. You take a bunch of B actors (and Fox), a D script, an F director, an A special effects budget...it's kind of funny, often intentionally ("I'm a librarian!" climaxes Rachel Weisz), but there may be real cartoons on the other channel.
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