the mummy movie review tom cruise

Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors.

Now streaming on:

By now you’ve probably read a number of scathing reviews of “The Mummy,” Universal’s inaugural entry in a possibly grievously ill-advised “Dark Universe” franchise, wherein the legendary studio intends to reboot its most Famous Monsters of Filmland. Perhaps I’m becoming jaded in my old age, but I was more amused than appalled.

Don’t get me wrong. “The Mummy,” directed (if that’s what you want to call it; I honestly think the better term here is “ostensibly overseen on behalf of the studio executives”) by Alex Kurtzman from a script by David Koepp , Christopher McQuarrie , and Dylan Kussman , has plenty to get irritated about. I got sand in my synapses during an early scene in which Tom Cruise , as a looter named Nick Morton (oh, “Mort,” I get it now), and his sidekick, played by Jake Johnson , casually slaughter a bunch of “Iraqi insurgents” trying to track down a mysterious treasure. Oh, sure, filmmakers, by all means use a tragic and unnecessary war that’s still yielding horrific consequences for the world as the backdrop for your stupid horror movie plot machinations, no problem here.

And, of course, there’s the movie’s very old-school sexism. "The Mummy" has two female characters: One is corrupt albeit not unattractive ancient Egyptian royal Ahmanet, who, once freed from her tomb in the present day, is the incarnation of all evil and stuff. (She is played by Sofia Boutella , whose filmography testifies that she’s accustomed to being ill-used in motion pictures). The other is faux-archeologist/genuine anti-evil secret agent Jenny ( Annabelle Wallis ) who’s mainly around to be rescued by Nick, and whose surface venality suggests that his business card describes him as a “lovable rogue.”

So yes, should one choose to take offense, one certainly may. But I have to be honest—speaking of venality, I found something almost admirable about the film’s cheek. It’s amazingly relentless in its naked borrowing from other, better horror and sci-fi movies that I was able to keep occupied making a checklist of the movies referenced. At its opening, remnants of a past civilization are discovered while workmen are tunneling underground for a new subway route. That’s from “Quatermass and the Pit,” aka “Five Million Miles to Earth.” As many other reviewers have noted, once Jake Johnson’s character buys in and is reborn as a wisecracking undead sidekick warning Nick about how he’s been cursed by incarnation-of-evil Ahmanet, it’s “American Werewolf in London” time, albeit with PG-13-rated special effects rather than the side of ketchup-dipped corned beef that fell from Griffin Dunne ’s face in the earlier movie. What else? A woman whose kiss drains the life force out of those who receive it, from the wacky space-vampire movie “Lifeforce”? Check. A brain-draining insect in the ear from “Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan”? Check. Spavined slapstick undead assaulters out of “ Evil Dead ”? Check. Underwater fights with the undead out of Lucio Fulci ’s “Zombie”? Check. (These too are toned down considerably from the source material.) Someone saying “Plans?” with the precise intonation Sir Ralph Richardson used in “ Tales from the Crypt ”? Also check. Don’t even get me started on the, um, appropriation of a famous line from the Universal monster movie “ Bride of Frankenstein .” But that’s life, and that movie literally IS Universal’s property.

There have been a lot of crocodile tears already shed about the fact that The Mighty Tom Cruise has allowed himself to be used in such dreck, and also that Russell Crowe has been compelled to continue to sink into a form of self-parody by appearing as the head of Jenny’s anti-evil agency, a character named Dr. Henry Jekyll, and yeah, it’s the same guy. Or some iteration of the same guy. As it happens, Dr. Jekyll was never one of the Universal Studios monsters, but the character IS in the public domain, so I guess the corporate overlords of the Dark Universe figured “what the you-know-what.” 

Anyway, I cannot feel too aggrieved for either star. As Richard Harris and Richard Burton found out for themselves many years before Crowe came along, there comes a time in the career of every loose-cannon macho actor where the any-port-in-a-financial-year-storm approach to career management is all for the best. As for Cruise, he is known for his try-anything-once sense of cinematic adventure, and he does like his franchises. The Morton character is admittedly more of a callow nothingburger than any he’s played. And given how the movie ends I’m a little disappointed that he wasn’t named Larry Talbot. But who knows, maybe he’ll be obliged to change it for the next installment. Which I am looking forward to, out of nothing but base curiosity.

Glenn Kenny

Glenn Kenny was the chief film critic of Premiere magazine for almost half of its existence. He has written for a host of other publications and resides in Brooklyn. Read his answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

Now playing

Evil Does Not Exist

Unsung Hero

Christy lemire.

A Man in Full

Rendy jones.

Peyton Robinson

Sheila O'Malley

The Blue Angels

Matt zoller seitz, film credits.

The Mummy (2017)

Rated PG-13 for violence, action and scary images, and for some suggestive content and partial nudity.

110 minutes

Tom Cruise as Nick Morton

Sofia Boutella as Princess Ahmanet / The Mummy

Annabelle Wallis as Jenny Halsey

Jake Johnson as Sgt. Vail

Courtney B. Vance as Colonel Gideon Forster

Russell Crowe as Dr. Henry Jekyll

• Alex Kurtzman

Writer (screen story by)

• Jon Spaihts
• Jenny Lumet
• David Koepp
• Christopher McQuarrie
• Dylan Kussman

Cinematographer

• Ben Seresin
• Paul Hirsch
• Gina Hirsch
• Andrew Mondshein

Latest blog posts

Handmade Magic: Jason and the Argonauts

House of the Dragon Returns with a Captivating Yet Convoluted Second Season

Hulu's Queenie is a Masterful Study of Self-Growth

Fear, Hope, and Joy: Ramata-Toulaye Sy on Banel and Adama

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

An ancient Egyptian princess is awakened from her crypt beneath the desert, bringing with her malevolence grown over millennia and terrors that defy human comprehension. An ancient Egyptian princess is awakened from her crypt beneath the desert, bringing with her malevolence grown over millennia and terrors that defy human comprehension. An ancient Egyptian princess is awakened from her crypt beneath the desert, bringing with her malevolence grown over millennia and terrors that defy human comprehension.

• Alex Kurtzman
• David Koepp
• Christopher McQuarrie
• Dylan Kussman
• Sofia Boutella
• Annabelle Wallis
• 1K User reviews
• 421 Critic reviews
• 34 Metascore
• 4 wins & 18 nominations

• Nick Morton

• Jenny Halsey

• Henry Jekyll

• Colonel Greenway

• Professor Robin Johnson …

• Construction Manager

• Ahmanet's Warrior

• King Menehptre

• Arabian Princess

• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

Did you know

• Trivia The zero gravity scene took sixty-four takes and was shot for two days in a special plane that was lined in padded green fabric covered in reference marks The plane would fly to a high altitude then dive along a parabolic path, falling at the same rate as the gravitational pull. This has been used for several films in the past, including Apollo 13 (1995) 22 years earlier. It was invented by NASA, where it was used for zero-G training for astronauts. Reportedly, a lot of the crew got nauseous during the scene and vomited, except for the main stars, Tom Cruise and Annabelle Wallis , who were really proud of the stunt.
• Goofs The god Set is referred to as the god of death, but in Egyptian mythology Set was the god of chaos and violence while Anubis, who was later replaced by Osiris was the god of death.

Dr. Henry Jekyll : Welcome to a new world of gods and monsters.

• Crazy credits After the Universal logo appears, the world goes dark and a "Dark Universe" title appears.
• Alternate versions There are three distinct versions available: the worldwide theatrical release, with a runtime of "1h 51m (111 min)", a U.S. theatrical release running "1h 50m (110 min) ", and a special cut for India, with a runtime of "1h 50m (110 min)".
• Connections Featured in Monster Vision: A History and Analysis of Horror Cinema (2016)
• Soundtracks Bang Bang You're Dead Written by Didz Hammond (as David Hammond), Carl Barât (as Carl Barat), Gary Powell , Anthony Rossomando Performed by Dirty Pretty Things Courtesy of Mercury Records Limited Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User reviews 1K

• ILuvTVMovies
• Oct 20, 2023
• How long is The Mummy? Powered by Alexa
• If the ancient Egyptians wanted Ahmanet to be sealed in her tomb for eternity, why did they build a quick release system to pull her sarcophagus out of the mercury?Seems like a plot hole.
• June 9, 2017 (United States)
• United States
• Official Facebook
• Official Instagram
• Egyptian (Ancient)
• Untitled Mummy Reboot
• Old Central St Martins, 12-48 Southampton Row, London, England, UK
• Universal Pictures
• Dark Universe
• Perfect World Pictures
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $125,000,000 (estimated)
• $80,227,895
• $31,688,375
• Jun 11, 2017
• $409,231,607

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 50 minutes
• Dolby Digital
• Dolby Surround 7.1

Related news

Contribute to this page.

• IMDb Answers: Help fill gaps in our data
• Learn more about contributing

More to explore

Recently viewed.

• International edition
• Australia edition
• Europe edition

The Mummy review – Tom Cruise returns in poorly bandaged corpse reviver

Framed as more of a superhero origin movie than ancient curse mystery, a messy plot unravels fast

B e afraid, for here it is … again … emerging waxily from the darkness. This disturbing figure must surely be thousands of years old by now, a princeling worshipped as a god but entombed in his own riches and status; remarkably well preserved. It is Tom Cruise, who is back to launch a big summer reboot of The Mummy, that classic chiller about the revived corpse from ancient Egypt, from which the tomb door was last prised off in a trilogy of films between 1999 and 2008 with the lantern-jawed and rather forgotten Brendan Fraser in the lead. And before that, of course, there were classic versions with Boris Karloff and Christopher Lee both variously getting the all-over St John Ambulance treatment.

Traditionally, The Mummy is a scary movie (though unserious) about taboo and transgression, based on the made-up pop myth about the mummy’s “curse” – which has no basis in the history of ancient Egypt, but is a cheeky colonialist invention, which recasts local objection to our tomb-looting as something supernatural, malign and irrational.

Yet that is not what this Mummy is about. It brings in the usual element of sub-Spielberg gung-ho capers, but essentially sees The Mummy as a superhero origin movie; or possibly supervillain; or Batmanishly both. The supporting characters are clearly there to be brought back as superhero-repertory characters for any putative Mummy franchise, including one who may well be inspired by Two-Face from The Dark Knight.

This has some nice moments but is basically a mess, with various borrowings, including some mummified bits from An American Werewolf in London. The plot sags like an aeon-old decaying limb: a jumble of ideas and scenes from what look like different screenplay drafts. There are two separate ancient “tomb-sites” which have to be busted open: one in London and one in Iraq. (The London one, on the site of the Crossrail excavation, contains the remains of medieval knights identified as “crusaders” who have in their dead Brit mitts various strategically important jewels they have taken from Egyptians: who were subsequently buried in what is now Iraq. Erm, Egyptians in Iraq? Go figure. Perhaps it’s because they are evil and had to be taken out of the country, like CIA rendition of terror suspects.)

The Cruisemeister himself is left high and dry by plot lurches that trigger his boggle-eyed, WTF expression. In one scene, he is nude so we can see what undeniably great shape he’s in. The flabby, shapeless film itself doesn’t have his muscle-tone.

Cruise plays Nick Morton, an adorable rascal in the Iraqi warzone who goes around in a TE Lawrence headdress stealing antiquities to sell; well, it’s that or let them be destroyed. He’s helped by his exasperated buddy Chris (Jake Johnson), while Nick has already seduced beautiful expert Jenny Halsey (Annabelle Wallis) who in spite of herself is entranced by Nick’s distinctive cherubic handsomeness. Then they blunder across the extraordinary tomb of evil Egyptian sorceress Ahmanet (Sofia Boutella) who has some kind of weirdo mind-meld experience with Nick. Her creepy spirit accompanies him back home where she is intent on getting that precious jewel to unlock her full power. Nick’s plane crashes, giving him the opportunity for some Mission: Impossible-type midair acrobatics, those gorgeous chops pulling some serious Gs.

Russell Crowe lumbers on at one stage, amply filling a three-piece suit, playing an archaeological expert and connoisseur of secret burial sites, who has some sinister connection with government agencies. Unlike Nick, he has no Indiana Jones-type heroism, and that formal attire of his signals that he does not have Nick’s kind of heroic looseness. He is a figure to be mistrusted, although when he reveals his name and his destiny, he is just a distraction – and silly.

In the end, having encouraged us to cheer for Tom Cruise as an all-around hero , the film tries to have it both ways and confer upon him some of the sepulchral glamour of evil, and he almost has something Lestat -ish or vampiric about him. Yet the film really won’t make up its mind. It’s a ragbag of action scenes which needed to be bandaged more tightly.

• Horror films
• Russell Crowe
• Action and adventure films

Comments (…)

Most viewed.

THE MUMMY (2017)

"messy mummy".

What You Need To Know:

Other Content: Hero is seen drinking to forget the odd horrors he’s seen in a humorously intended moment; and strong miscellaneous immorality includes “hero” and his sidekick break their military superiors’ orders to sneak into an Iraqi village and loot a treasure to sell to high bidders, and it is discussed that they do this on all their missions.

More Detail:

THE MUMMY is an action-adventure movie with strong fantasy and horror elements that is a reboot of the classic 1932 horror film THE MUMMY starring Boris Karloff and the 1999 hit adventure starring Brendan Fraser. It follows the adventures of a rogue US soldier named Nick Morton as he accidentally revives and releases an evil, mummified Egyptian princess named Ahmanet, then tries to stop her from bringing Set, the Egyptian god of Death, into the world.

While THE MUMMY has some exciting moments and star Tom Cruise brings humor and vulnerability to Nick in a refreshing change of pace from his usually unstoppable heroes, its plot is unfocused and falls apart in the final half-hour. Even worse, it features overly gruesome effects throughout, in addition to highly pagan and occult elements and repeated depictions of its nude villainess committing or attempting violence in sexualized situations. Ultimately, the hero accepts the use of occult means to solve plot problems toward the end.

The story kicks off in England in 1127 AD, as a Crusader knight is buried with a giant red diamond in his tomb while other knights chant in Latin in a foreboding ceremony. It then jumps to the present day, where the tombs of the knight and his peers have been discovered and a mysterious man named Henry (Russell Crowe) takes over the excavation site with his minions.

As Henry stands in awe of the tombs, his pretentious voiceover and a rather intense flashback informs viewers that the site is tied to an evil ancient Egyptian woman named Ahmanet (Sofia Boutella). She was the daughter of a pharaoh, destined to inherit the throne until the pharaoh fathers a son, who would take her place in line.

Ahmanet clings to her power by killing her father, his wife and male child. She also tries to live forever by ritually killing a lover with the supernaturally powered Dagger of Set, the Egyptian god of Death. However, she is captured before achieving her goal, mummified alive and trapped in a pit more than 1,000 miles outside of Egypt, with the intention of keeping her there forever.

Back in present-day Iraq, two US reconnaissance officers, Nick Morton (Tom Cruise) and his sarcastic sidekick, Chris Vail (Jake Johnson), have gone rogue by looting and selling the ancient treasures of the villages they’re supposed to protect from Muslim insurgents. Nick finds way more than he imagined when, while searching for the Dagger of Set, the ground opens to reveal Ahmanet’s pit. Once inside, Nick’s reckless actions unwittingly bring her sarcophagus to the surface.

This discovery results in a confrontation with beautiful archeologist Jenny Halsey (Annabelle Wallis), who’s angry because Nick stole her map to the pit after a one-night stand. Nick’s military supervisor orders the sarcophagus flown on a cargo plane to the US for examination. This unleashes a string of disasters including a sandstorm and a massive swarm of crows that destroy the plane’s engines and windshield.

Nick saves Jenny from certain death by offering her the only parachute on the plane as it careens to the ground. He then awakens mysteriously unscathed and in a body bag in a hospital morgue. However, Chris is now a wisecracking zombie. Also, Nick is troubled by visions that make Jenny realize Ahmanet is alive and trying to make him her accomplice in bringing Set to life and making herself immortal. Ahmanet is also on a rampage to find the diamond that was buried with the Crusader, because it’s the key to giving the dagger its full evil powers.

Somehow, Director Alex Kurtzmann manages to make THE MUMMY seem fun and coherent for its first two-thirds. However, when Nick and Ahmanet each wind up at Henry’s bizarre compound, it goes off the deep end with a string of violent and annoying confrontations that destroy what little logic remains. The movie ends with a ridiculous voiceover conversation between Henry and Jenny that tries to establish further globetrotting adventures for Nick. Regrettably, the idea is such a jumble that it may never occur, despite Universal Studio’s desire to raid its vault of monster characters to create a new franchise.

It’s a nice change of pace to see Tom Cruise play a character who’s not unstoppably superhuman like his MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE agent, Ethan Hunt. However, this MUMMY is too convoluted in places, too gruesome in others, never quite scary enough, and sadly falls completely to pieces in its utterly bizarre and confusing final half hour.

THE MUMMY features grisly effects throughout and a pagan/occult storyline centered on false gods and evil incantations. Also, the hero eventually uses occult means to solve plot problems and is infected partly by evil. Finally, there are some strong sexual elements in two scenes where the evil princess tries to use the Egyptian god of Death’s dagger in an occult ritual. Those two scenes include partial explicit female nudity.

THE MUMMY fails to be media-wise entertainment. It’s definitely too excessive.

• Election 2024
• Entertainment
• Newsletters
• Photography
• Personal Finance
• AP Investigations
• AP Buyline Personal Finance
• AP Buyline Shopping
• Press Releases
• Israel-Hamas War
• Russia-Ukraine War
• Global elections
• Asia Pacific
• Latin America
• Middle East
• Election Results
• Delegate Tracker
• AP & Elections
• Auto Racing
• 2024 Paris Olympic Games
• Movie reviews
• Book reviews
• Personal finance
• Financial Markets
• Business Highlights
• Financial wellness
• Artificial Intelligence
• Social Media

Review: In ‘The Mummy,’ Tom Cruise dances with the undead

• Copy Link copied

Of all the CGI-ed supernatural forces slung in Alex Kurtzman’s “The Mummy” (and, believe me, there are a lot), none can compete with the spectral spectacle of Tom Cruise, at 54.

He and his abs are almost creepily ageless. So it’s almost fitting that in one of the typically bonkers scenes in “The Mummy,” Cruise awakes naked and unscathed alongside cadavers in a morgue, where he bewilderedly removes the tag attached to his toe. Indefatigable and un-killable, Cruise really is the undead. He’s like the anti- Steve Buscemi.

Yet Cruise and “The Mummy” — the opening salvo in Universal’s bid to birth its “Dark Universe” monster movie franchise — are a poor fit, and not the good kind, like “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.” There’s plenty of standard, cocky Tom Cruise leading man stuff here: running, swimming, daredevil airplane acrobatics, more running. But his relentless forward momentum is sapped by the convoluted monster mishmash that engulfs “The Mummy,” a movie conceived and plotted like the monster version of Marvel. Increasingly, Cruise — like big-budget movies, themselves — is running in circles.

He plays Nick Morton, a roguish Army sergeant who plunders antiquities from Iraq with his partner Chris Vail (Jake Johnson). In a remote village they, along with archaeologist Jenny Halsey (Annabelle Wallis), unearth a giant Egyptian tomb bathed in mercury. In it lies the Egyptian princess Ahmanet (Sofia Boutella) who was mummified alive (imagine that wrapping job) after trying to unleash the evil Egyptian god of Set while killing her Pharaoh father, his second wife and the newborn baby that would deny her the throne. Naturally, she’s going to get loose.

Hers and other backstories are shown as “The Mummy” stumbles out of its grave, vainly trying to organize the story around two burial sites (the other is in London), the strange visions that begin plaguing Morton, and a quixotic (or merely capitalistic) gambit to stitch together a unifying principle for the Dark Universe. Mysterious apocalyptic happenings (a swarm of crows, a horde of rats, occasional ghouls) prompt a series of helter-skelter chase scenes that eventually lead Morton and Halsey to Prodigium, a stealth organization led by the dapper Dr. Henry Jekyll (Russell Crowe) that controls monstrous outbreaks, including those of its schizophrenic leader.

Prodigium would seem to be the connecting tissue for Universal’s shared universe, with plans for “Frankenstein,” ’'The Invisible Man,” ’'The Creature From the Black Lagoon” and more in the works. Much of “The Mummy” hinges on Boutella’s vengeful and vaguely misogynistic monster (she for some reason needs a man — Morton, it turns out — to really do damage). But much of the film endeavors to set up the characters — maybe even famous phantoms — to come.

What the supposed value of having these movies “share” a universe is, I’m not sure. Movies aren’t sandboxes and the only time I remember enjoying a character connect films was Michael Keaton’s Ray Nicolette popping up in the Elmore Leonard adaptations “Out of Sight” and “Jackie Brown.”

Where these films could be fun, though, is seeing a talented star play a big, theatrical character that would honor the ghosts of Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. Javier Bardem and Johnny Depp are already lined up, so who knows? But the desperate need to graft them into a larger comic-book-like “world” — and a thinly conceived one, at that — suggests there won’t be much room for any actor to breathe.

For now we’re cursed with “The Mummy,” a messy and muddled product lacking even the carefree spirit of the Brendan Fraser “Mummy” trilogy. There are moments of humor in the script by David Koepp, Christopher McQuarrie, and Dylan Kussman, but Cruise isn’t the one (maybe Chris Pratt?) to pull off aloofly referring to the mummy as “the chick in the box.”

Almost to the degree that he was in “The Edge of Tomorrow,” Cruise is put through the ringer. A spiraling cargo plane spins him like laundry. He careens through a double-decker bus. His rib cage is yanked. Cruise remains, as ever, eminently game. But he, like us moviegoers, might have to starting wondering: What god have we angered?

“The Mummy,” a Universal Pictures release, is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for “violence, action and scary images, and for some suggestive content and partial nudity.” Running time: 110 minutes. One and a half stars out of four.

Follow AP Film Writer on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP

Review: ‘The Mummy,’ starring Tom Cruise

The unimpressive big budget rebooting of The Mummy – which is set to kick off a “Dark Universe” franchise that brings together some of the silver screen’s most iconic movie monsters – is one of the laziest summer blockbusters in recent memory. It’s so uninspired that about halfway through the film I started wondering about the career of actor and filmmaker Ed Burns and what he’s been up to for the past couple of years (outside of publishing a candid memoir). I thought about Ed Burns because one of the characters exclaims “It Burns!” at a certain point, and I thought this person said “Ed Burns.” Then I started thinking about how the dreadfully wonky script – packed with stilted one-liners that no one could make funny and more exposition than development – would have been the kind of blockbuster Ed Burns would have been hired for circa 2004. You could have kept this same screenplay, hired Ed Burns as the lead instead of a megastar like Tom Cruise, and the film would be no better or worse. Then I started thinking about how I kinda missed Ed Burns. I was so bored by The Mummy that if I wasn’t questioning how bad it was or how little sense it made, I was probably thinking about Ed Burns. I pondered leaving the theatre to Google Ed Burns on my phone, but out of duty (and because I was seated in the centre of a lengthy IMAX auditorium row) I refrained. To say that this isn’t how one should jumpstart a franchise would be an understatement.

After an opening scene set in 1127 England, which sounds nothing like a location where a Mummy movie should take place, the action is transported to modern day Iraq, which, again, isn’t Egypt, but at least there’s sand. Roguish military analyst and black market antiquities smuggler Nick Morton (Cruise) and his partner-in-crime (Jake Johnson) have a hot tip about a secret underground tomb buried in insurgent occupied territory. Nick knows this because he stole the information from Jenny Halsey (Annabelle Wallis), an archaeologist in the employ of academic jack-of-all-trades Dr. Henry Jekyll (Russell Crowe). Inside the tomb, they find the mercury submerged sarcophagus of Ahmanet (Sofia Boutella), a former Egyptian princess who was embalmed alive after slaughtering her family in a power play and attempting to resurrect the dark lord Set. The trio attempt to exfiltrate their loot, but Ahmanet’s ark powers have already been awakened, crashing their plane and leaving Nick cursed until the princess can use his mortal body to become a vessel for Set and hell on Earth can be unleashed.

The Mummy never takes itself very seriously, which certainly counts for something, but it also doesn’t give anything back to the audience that could amuse them outside of empty explosions, jump scares, and corny dialogue, all of which can be fun on their own, but are painfully cynical here. On one hand, the second film to be directed by screenwriter Alex Kurtzman (following the even more unwatchable People Like Us ) comes drenched in flop sweat, but on the other it’s so glossy that it looks like peering into a studio’s bottomless wallet. Every penny of the film’s massive budget is up there on screen, but it’s in service of absolutely nothing whatsoever and only exists to make more films at a later date that hopefully aren’t as soulless as this.

It took a total of six writers (three getting story credit and three getting writing credits) to come up with The Mummy , including Jurassic Park and Mission: Impossible writer David Koepp, The Usual Suspects and Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation scribe Christopher McQuarrie, Kurtzman, actor turned writer Dylan Kussman, Jon Spaihts ( Prometheus , Passengers ), and Jenny Lumet ( Rachel Getting Married ). I don’t know who came up with what, and I don’t know how any of them can claim any sort of ownership over this constantly contradictory, exposition laden hodgepodge, but I can see why none of them would be quick to take sole ownership over such barely functional material. There isn’t a line of dialogue for the first thirty minutes of the film that isn’t breathlessly trying to set up The Mummy ’s needlessly convoluted world building, and the other ninety minutes are mostly people shouting or explaining why certain things can or can’t be done to stop Ahmanet or Nick’s curse.

The Mummy becomes so fixated on its overblown need to establish a franchise that it forgets to create any characters worth paying attention to. Forget about caring for these people, they aren’t even developed enough to encourage passing interest. Ahmanet and her motivations are explained in a single scene. Crowe’s two-sided doctor is only on hand to hint at future installments in the “Dark Universe,” and everyone else acts like they were given any direction at all.

Kurtzman seems to have simply pointed at pictures of other archetypes instead of providing actual direction. For Cruise, laying the forced charm on thicker here than he has since Cocktail , Kurtzman probably just pointed at a photo of Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones. For Wallis (who’s truly awful and can’t even display congenial chemistry with Cruise, let alone romantic sparks as required by the script), Kurtzman probably pointed to a picture of Emily Blunt from Edge of Tomorrow . Jake Johnson, trying desperately to make something out of his goofy role, probably studied the part of Evil Ed from Fright Night for his turn as Cruise’s undead buddy. They can’t make anything out of this, and why should they when they’re all going to play second fiddle to the bombast and spectacle, anyway?

Kurtzman awkwardly stages and edits dialogue scenes like he’s uncomfortable watching what’s happening, but to his credit, he does manage a few decent action sequences, all of them involving Ahmanet’s growing army of the undead. The zombie design throughout The Mummy and the look of Ahmanet are top notch, and scenes where a pack of baddies swarm a speeding ambulance careening through a forest and an escape from underwater zombies are the most fun moments The Mummy can offer up.

There’s something interesting that I’m sure will be forwarded in future installments (should this be successful) about evil acting as a pathogen-like disease, but that gets lost amid a lot of convenient plotting designed to keep the action going regardless of how little fun it is or how little it makes sense. At certain points, Ahmanet seems like a tactical genius, and at others like a buffoon who couldn’t trick a toddler. Sometimes she can teleport. Sometimes she can’t. Sometimes she’s super strong. Sometimes she can literally be shoved out of the way. Sometimes she can control the minds of others. Sometimes she either can’t, she forgets, or she can’t be bothered, even when it would make her evil plans come to fruition a lot sooner. Dr. Jekyll has found a way to suppress his devilish alter ego, but the only means of doing it is a convoluted device that will conveniently be out of reach at the worst possible time. If you think a character is going to die or get hurt, you’re right. Nothing is ever in question, nor are you to question it, and you’re told implicitly just to look at everyone’s pretty face and sit in awe of fireballs, dust storms, and steampunk looking laboratories that haven’t looked original or fresh on screen since the late 90s.

By the time The Mummy reached it’s almost pathetically weak and unexciting climax, I could admit that I have seen worse summer blockbusters than this – and indeed we all have – but I can think of few films that were as much of a safely played, ludicrous null set. Even the worst summer blockbusters have at least a trace of misguided or misplaced ambition, but The Mummy might as well come packaged in a nondescript manila envelope as a reward for collecting cereal box tops. It’s the cheapest feeling expensive movie I’ve seen in ages, and it has the potential to torpedo an entire intended franchise before it even fully begins. It fails at thrills, it fails at B-movie campiness, and it’s arguable if it improves on the sight of a blank screen.

The Mummy opens at theatres everywhere on Friday, June 9, 2017.

Check out the trailer for The Mummy :

Join our list

Subscribe to our mailing list and get weekly updates on our latest contests, interviews, and reviews.

Thank you for subscribing.

Something went wrong.

We respect your privacy and take protecting it seriously

Andrew Parker

Andrew Parker fell in love with film growing up across the street from a movie theatre. He began writing professionally about film at the age of fourteen, and has been following his passions ever since. His writing has been showcased at various online outlets, as well as in The Globe and Mail, BeatRoute, and NOW Magazine. If he's not watching something or reading something, he's probably sleeping.

You may also like

Kung fu panda 4 director mike mitchell and..., inside out 2024 review | sisters, inside out 2024 review | extremely unique dynamic.

Holy crap. I died laughing just reading this.

Comments are closed.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Accept Read More

• Search Please fill out this field.
• Newsletters
• Sweepstakes

The Mummy reboot slammed as 'worst Tom Cruise movie ever' by critics

Critical Mass: Universal's first Dark Universe flick is dead on arrival

Universal's first foray into the depths of its Dark Universe probably would have benefitted from a brighter guiding light.

After spending over three decades dazzling audiences across large-scale action-adventures on the big screen, Tom Cruise 's latest genre spectacle, The Mummy , is set to unravel in theaters this Friday. Movie critics, however, got a peek under wraps this week, as movie reviews for the blockbuster project debuted online Wednesday morning. The consensus? According to a vast majority of them, perhaps this romp should've remained buried.

EW's Chis Nashawaty says "the story feels as stitched together as Frankenstein's monster: a little bit of An American Werewolf in London here, a little Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade there, some Jekyll and Hyde as frosting," adding that, while Cruise is the film's "secret weapon," the project ultimately "feels derivative and unnecessary and like it was written by committee (which a quick scan of its lengthy script credits confirms)."

The Mummy stars Cruise as Nick Morton, a globetrotting explorer who accidentally unleashes an unspeakable, ancient Egyptian evil into the world in the form of Sofia Boutella's Princess Ahmanet, a four-pupiled, reawakened royal wreaking havoc on earth during her multi-millennia quest to find a mate.

Cruise boards the franchise at the top of what Universal hopes to mold into a successful worldwide cinematic universe, with subsequent entries planned to feature the Invisible Man (Johnny Depp) and Frankenstein's Monster (Javier Bardem). It was previously brought to life by the studio throughout the 1930s and 1950s, with actors from Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney, Jr. lending their acting talents to the series; it was later popularized for contemporary audiences by the likes of Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and more in a three-film revival released between 1999 and 2008.

While the current Mummy release charts familiar territory for its A-list star, IndieWire 's David Ehrlich calls the film "the worst Tom Cruise movie ever."

"It stands out like a flat note on a grand piano. It's not that Cruise hasn't had misfires before (and between Rock of Ages , Oblivion , and [ Jack Reacher ], they're happening at a faster rate), but The Mummy is the first of his films that doesn't feel like a Tom Cruise movie," he continues. "It's not that it's bad, it's that it never could have been good. It's an irredeemable disaster from start to finish, an adventure that entertains only via glimpses of the adventure it should have been. It's the kind of movie that Tom Cruise became a household name by avoiding at all costs."

Similarly, Variety 's Owen Gleiberman criticizes director Alex Kurtzman's treatment of the material, which he indicates played better as "empty-calorie creature-feature" fare in the previous Fraser flicks.

"It will grab ideas, motifs, and effects from almost any genre and jam them together, palming off its grab-bag quality as 'originality.' Scene for scene, The Mummy has been competently staged by director Alex Kurtzman, who has one previous feature to his credit (the minor 2012 Chris Pine heart-tugger People Like Us ) and has never made a special-effects film before," Gleiberman writes. "Yet competence isn't the same thing as style or vision. The Mummy is a literal-minded, bumptious monster mash of a movie. It keeps throwing things at you, and the more you learn about the ersatz intricacy of its 'universe,' the less compelling it becomes."

Whereas other critics have championed Cruise as the sole bright spot in the production, The Hollywood Reporter 's John DeFore actually calls Cruise "weirdly out of place" as he plays a character who's "a stiff" in a "limp, thrill-free debut" for the Dark Universe.

The Verge 's Tasha Robinson, despite writing a more positive review than her peers, perhaps best sums up the critical consensus, explaining: " The Mummy is a relatively functional creature-feature movie, packed with oversized action sequences. But it reminds viewers at every turning point that it isn't a story so much as a prologue, a brand-deposit setup meant to whet their appetites for more Dark Universe. The approach may pay off in the long run, but in the short term, it feels like sitting down for a movie, and getting a feature-length trailer instead."

The Mummy opens in theaters this Friday, June 9. Read on to find out what these and more critics are saying about the film.

Chris Nashawaty ( EW )

"He may not be totally comfortable selling some of the film's jokier moments, but at 54, he's a seasoned pro at selling narrative silliness with a straight face, a clenched jaw, and an inhuman sense of commitment. I'm not sure that this aimless, lukewarm take on The Mummy is how the studio dreamed that its Dark Universe would begin. But it's just good enough to keep you curious about what comes next."

David Ehrlich ( IndieWire )

" The Mummy , much like the enduringly delightful 1999 version, tries to juggle a number of different tones, often alternating between action, horror, and comedy within the span of a single scene. That would be a difficult feat for a dexterous master like Bong Joon Ho, but for Alex Kurtzman — whose only previous directing credit is for a limp 2012 Chris Pine weepy called People Like Us — the challenge is clearly beyond his talents. The laughs are few and far between, as neither Johnson nor Cruise has ever been forced to parrot such weak banter, and the jump scares are haphazardly peppered into random scenes, as though that might be enough to indicate a sense of impending doom. It's even worse when Kurtzman tries to meld those two modes into one, this tonally scattershot movie paying a half-assed homage to An American Werewolf in London before abandoning the idea in favor of generic genre sludge."

Owen Gleiberman ( Variety )

"It's here that you begin to divine the film's basic strategy: It will grab ideas, motifs, and effects from almost any genre and jam them together, palming off its grab-bag quality as 'originality.' Scene for scene, The Mummy has been competently staged by director Alex Kurtzman, who has one previous feature to his credit (the minor 2012 Chris Pine heart-tugger People Like Us ) and has never made a special-effects film before. He knows how to visualize a spectacular plane crash, or how to play up the Dagger of Set — a mystical weapon of death that needs a giant ruby to complete it — so that it doesn't seem as chintzy as something out of a National Treasure movie (which is basically what it is). Yet competence isn't the same thing as style or vision. The Mummy is a literal-minded, bumptious monster mash of a movie. It keeps throwing things at you, and the more you learn about the ersatz intricacy of its 'universe,' the less compelling it becomes."

John DeFore ( The Hollywood Reporter )

"It's no surprise that the action to come has vastly more in common with the CGI bombast of the Brendan Fraser-starring Mummy films than the quiet, slow-creeping horror of the version Karl Freund directed in 1932. What is surprising is that this film's action makes one slightly nostalgic for the 1999 incarnation, or at least prompts one to ask if it wasn't maybe more fun than we gave it credit for. So much of the action takes place in monotonous half-light; so little of it displays even the ambition to show audiences something new — unless we count the Mummy's eyes, which have two irises each, for no apparent reason other than somebody thought that would look cool on a movie poster. The most involving scene by far shows Morton swimming through underwater crypts, trying to save Halsey from Ahmanet before he either drowns or is destroyed by the zombie warriors swimming behind him. But that sequence lasts just a minute or two, and is immediately followed by a Morton/Mummy standoff in which Cruise fails, rather spectacularly, to wring a laugh out of a kiss-off line one hopes neither Koepp, nor McQuarrie, nor Kussman would admit to having written. It's the kickoff of a climax that requires more heroic self-sacrifice from Morton than we have any reason to believe he's capable of. Unless, that is, we have a financial interest in the sequel set up by Jekyll's longer-than-necessary final voiceover."

Tasha Robinson ( The Verge )

"The Mummy is a relatively functional creature-feature movie, packed with oversized action sequences. But it reminds viewers at every turning point that it isn't a story so much as a prologue, a brand-deposit setup meant to whet their appetites for more Dark Universe. The approach may pay off in the long run, but in the short term, it feels like sitting down for a movie, and getting a feature-length trailer instead."

Stephen Witty ( New York Daily News )

"This Mummy just has Tom Cruise doing a Tom Cruise impression (don't walk when you can run, don't fall when you can tumble). And silly plot gimmicks that feels stolen from an "Avengers" script, from a magic rock everyone wants to an open ending that basically says 'Stay tuned!' Don't. Sofia Boutella — the Algerian dancer who brought some mystery to Kingsman and Star Trek Beyond — is certainly eye-catching as the ancient enchantress. And for the geekiest fanboys, searching the scenes for in-jokes, the movie offers lots of trivial gifts. But The Mummy movie itself? This is one present you don't want to unwrap."

Chris Hunneysett ( The Daily Mirror )

"This big budget action adventure lumbers into cinemas and begs to be put out of its torment. Long before it ended, so did I. Though the world is threatened when an ancient terror is unleashed, a directorial dead hand can't muster a sense of fun, danger, mystery or suspense… This stumbling mess is intended to be a franchise starter for Universal Studio's Dark Universe. It's a series of connected films rebooting classic movie monsters such as the Wolfman… Next year we'll have a new version of The Bride of Frankenstein and Johnny Depp has been announced as the Invisible Man. After this dull horror show, that's a truly terrifying prospect."

Peter Bradshaw ( The Guardian )

"The Cruisemeister himself is left high and dry by plot lurches which leave him doing his boggle-eyed WTF expression. In one scene he is nude so we can see what undeniably great shape he's in. The flabby, shapeless film itself doesn't have his muscle-tone… In the end, having encouraged us to cheer for Tom Cruise as an all-around hero, the film tries to have it both ways and confer upon him some of the sepulchral glamour of evil, and he almost has something Lestat-ish or vampiric about him. Yet the film really won't make up its mind. It's a ragbag of action scenes which needed to be bandaged more tightly."

Related Articles

Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes

Trouble logging in?

By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes.

Email not verified

Let's keep in touch.

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

• Upcoming Movies and TV shows
• Trivia & Rotten Tomatoes Podcast
• Media News + More

By clicking "Sign Me Up," you are agreeing to receive occasional emails and communications from Fandango Media (Fandango, Vudu, and Rotten Tomatoes) and consenting to Fandango's Privacy Policy and Terms and Policies . Please allow 10 business days for your account to reflect your preferences.

OK, got it!

Movies / TV

No results found.

• What's the Tomatometer®?
• Login/signup

Movies in theaters

• Opening this week
• Top box office
• Coming soon to theaters
• Certified fresh movies

Movies at home

• Fandango at Home
• Netflix streaming
• Prime Video
• Most popular streaming movies
• What to Watch New

Certified fresh picks

• Hit Man Link to Hit Man
• Am I OK? Link to Am I OK?
• Jim Henson Idea Man Link to Jim Henson Idea Man

New TV Tonight

• Star Wars: The Acolyte: Season 1
• Ren Faire: Season 1
• Sweet Tooth: Season 3
• Clipped: Season 1
• Queenie: Season 1
• Mayor of Kingstown: Season 3
• Becoming Karl Lagerfeld: Season 1
• Criminal Minds: Season 17
• Power Book II: Ghost: Season 4
• Erased: WW2's Heroes of Color: Season 1

Most Popular TV on RT

• Eric: Season 1
• House of the Dragon: Season 2
• Evil: Season 4
• Dark Matter: Season 1
• Tires: Season 1
• Star Wars: Ahsoka: Season 1
• Best TV Shows
• Most Popular TV
• TV & Streaming News

Certified fresh pick

• Star Wars: The Acolyte: Season 1 Link to Star Wars: The Acolyte: Season 1
• All-Time Lists
• Binge Guide
• Comics on TV
• Five Favorite Films
• Video Interviews
• Weekend Box Office
• Weekly Ketchup
• What to Watch

Glen Powell Movies Ranked by Tomatometer

Star Wars TV Shows Ranked by Tomatometer

What to Watch: In Theaters and On Streaming

Movie Re-Release Calendar 2024: Your Guide to Movies Back In Theaters

Vote For the Best Movie of 1999 – Round 4

• Trending on RT
• The Acolyte First Reviews
• Vote: 1999 Movie Showdown
• The Watchers

Where to Watch

Watch The Mummy with a subscription on Peacock, rent on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, or buy on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

What to Know

It's difficult to make a persuasive argument for The Mummy as any kind of meaningful cinematic achievement, but it's undeniably fun to watch.

Critics Reviews

Audience reviews, cast & crew.

Stephen Sommers

Brendan Fraser

Rick O'Connell

Rachel Weisz

Evelyn 'Evie' Carnahan

John Hannah

Jonathan Carnahan

Arnold Vosloo

Kevin J. O'Connor

Movie Clips

More like this, related movie news.

Subscribe Now! Get features like

• Latest News

• Entertainment
• Real Estate
• Election Results 2024 Live
• RBI MPC Meet 2024 Live
• Crickit Predictor
• New Zealand vs Afghanistan Live Score
• World Cup Schedule 2024
• World Cup Most Wickets
• The Interview
• World Cup Points Table
• Web Stories
• Virat Kohli
• Mumbai News
• Bengaluru News
• Daily Digest
• Election Schedule 2024

The Mummy movie review: Dead, decaying, badly bandaged. The worst Tom Cruise film ever

The mummy movie review: the dark universe of monster movies kicks off with the tragically terrible the mummy. this is the worst film of tom cruise’s career..

The Mummy Director - Alex Kurtzman Cast - Tom Cruise, Annabelle Wallis, Russell Crowe, Jake Johnson, Sofia Boutella Rating - 0.5/5 Unpleasant as it may sound, it is nonetheless a truth that these days, we are peddled movies in a manner similar to the local fast food joint convincing you to go for that combo meal instead of just the cheapest thing on the menu. For the price of one movie, we are promised numerous unsolicited sequels, prequels, spinoffs and soft reboots – whether we like it or not.

It’s as if the studios are over-compensating. It’s as if they already know they need to add bells and whistles to what they’re selling to brighten up the deal.

The Mummy is exactly that. On paper, it’s as corporate as movies can get in this current landscape of endless interconnected universes. But for a moment, through the fog of cynicism, there was hope. You see, it had history on its side. The initial burst of Universal Monster movies – films like Dracula, Frankenstein, and the original Mummy – lasted three decades, through the silent era and into the age of the talkies, and made stars out of Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and Lon Chaney Jr. It was, in many ways, the original shared universe; one that laid the foundation for the trend we’re witnessing these days.

But don’t blame The Mummy. Don’t even blame Marvel, and their decade-long, industry-altering series of cross-connected films. Blame its ancestors.

As dismal things are, as dismal as things can be, if there is one thing we can be sure of in this world, it is that Tom Cruise never gives a bad performance. In fact, he often brightens up some movies that would no doubt have been rather terrible were it not for his hubristic thirst to push himself with every role.

It is with great pain then, that I inform you that the era of barely-passable Tom Cruise movies has come to an end. Gone are the days of The Last Samurai, Oblivion, Jack Reacher and Knight and Day. And gone, most definitely, are the days of Risky Business, A Few Good Men, Collateral, Jerry Maguire, Vanilla Sky, Edge of Tomorrow, Mission Impossible III, and Tropic Thunder – objectively the best Tom Cruise movies ever. We are now entering into uncharted territory – a land where a Tom Cruise movie can exist, and elicit nothing more than a sleepy shrug.

Welcome to the Dark Universe, a new world of gods and monsters.

The Mummy, its first film, fails on every level, and others we haven’t yet arrived at. It follows in the tradition of the Mummy movies that came before. Cruise plays a vaguely-defined soldier of some sort, who inadvertently reawakens the evil Princess Ahmanet, and immediately gets cursed. He then spends the rest of the film trying to swat away Ahmanet’s advances in what plays out like the most uncomfortable stalker-prey romance in recent memory. Desperate for help, chased by zombies and mice, he arrives at the doorstep of Dr Jekyll, played in an extended cameo by Russell Crowe.

Unfortunately, in case you haven’t guessed yet, The Mummy is as bland as the name they’ve given Cruise’s character. Nick Morton. Nick Morton. Let that sink in. Nick Morton. Agreed, no one plays a blue collar, salt of the earth type better than Cruise, but this is taking it too far. Especially since his character here is hardly someone you’d catch in a Ford factory.

He is, however, literally the most thinly-written person Cruise has ever played in his life. Sample this piece of dialogue between him and his friend/comedic relief character from his first scene in the film. To set the stage for you; The duo have decided, on the spur of the moment, to engage what appear to be ISIS terrorists in a gunfight. The bad guys are shooting up a monument, and this is what they gave Cruise, one of the greatest action stars in the history of movies, as an excuse for a script:

VAIL (Jake Johnson): We’re going to die! NICK (Cruise): Let me think!

VAIL: What?! NICK: Let me think!

VAIL: What are you thinking?! NICK: (Pauses) Let me think!

VAIL: What?! NICK: I think we’re going to die here!

VAIL: I knew it!

Shakespeare, I am sure you’d agree, would be swelling with pride.

So here’s what wrong with this movie – besides the symphonic back-and-forth you just read. It’s sexist. It’s also very racist. The characters are so poorly written, we don’t know a thing about them aside from what their most immediate goal is. It’s cringe-inducingly unfunny when it tries to joke, and it’s hysterical when it tries to be serious.

It’s biggest blasphemy however, is that robs Tom Cruise of his heroism.

It is categorically the worst movie of Tom Cruise’s career. Sitting through it was a pain unlike any other. One can only hope that this awakens something in Cruise, much like Ahmanet, and sends his career down a new path. He’s 54 now. He can’t run forever.

Watch the Mummy trailer here

Follow @htshowbiz for more The author tweets @RohanNaahar

Get World Cup ready with Crickit ! From live scores to match stats, catch all the action here. Explore now!

Get more updates from Bollywood , Taylor Swift , Hollywood , Music and Web Series along with Latest Entertainment News at Hindustan Times.

Join Hindustan Times

Create free account and unlock exciting features like.

• Terms of use
• Privacy policy
• Weather Today
• HT Newsletters
• Subscription
• Print Ad Rates
• Code of Ethics

• Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh
• Live Cricket Score
• India Squad
• T20 World Cup Schedule
• Cricket Teams
• Cricket Players
• ICC Rankings
• Cricket Schedule
• Points Table
• T20 World Cup Australia Squad
• Pakistan Squad
• T20 World Cup England Squad
• India T20 World Cup Squad Live
• T20 World Cup Most Wickets
• T20 World Cup New Zealand Squad
• Other Cities
• Stock Market Live Updates
• Income Tax Calculator
• Budget 2024
• Petrol Prices
• Diesel Prices
• Silver Rate
• Relationships
• Art and Culture
• Taylor Swift: A Primer
• Telugu Cinema
• Tamil Cinema
• Board Exams
• Exam Results
• Competitive Exams
• BBA Colleges
• Engineering Colleges
• Medical Colleges
• BCA Colleges
• Medical Exams
• Engineering Exams
• Horoscope 2024
• Festive Calendar 2024
• Compatibility Calculator
• The Economist Articles
• Lok Sabha States
• Lok Sabha Parties
• Lok Sabha Candidates
• Explainer Video
• On The Record
• Vikram Chandra Daily Wrap
• EPL 2023-24
• ISL 2023-24
• Asian Games 2023
• Public Health
• Economic Policy
• International Affairs
• Climate Change
• Gender Equality
• future tech
• Daily Sudoku
• Daily Crossword
• Daily Word Jumble
• HT Friday Finance
• Explore Hindustan Times
• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Use
• Subscription - Terms of Use

‘The Mummy’ Review: Not Even Tom Cruise Can Save Universal’s ‘Dark Universe’

Despite some great work by sofia boutella and tom cruise, there’s very little life in this particular ‘mummy.’.

You have to say this about Universal Pictures: they’re not being half-assed when it comes to their new cinematic world. Much like the film’s superhero brethren, The Mummy opens by throwing its Dark Universe logo out there for the whole world to see, promising from the film’s first moments that there will be plenty more where this came from. Granted, many film critics have questioned whether it was wise for Universal to plan out a handful of movies before the first film was even in the bag, and while The Mummy is not without its moments, it’s a far cry from Iron Man or even Man of Steel as the starting point for a new movie franchise.

This modern retelling of The Mummy focuses on Tom Cruise ’s Nick Morton and Jake Johnson ’s Chris Vail, a pair of treasure hunters who use their status as military contractors to loot villages before they are occupied by American armed forces. With the help of Annabelle Wallis’s Jenny Halsey — the film’s resident it-belongs-in-a-museum type — the two men accidentally unleash Sofia Boutella ’s undead Ahmanet on the world, who promptly kills off Cruise’s character before returning him to life as her champion and the eventual vessel for the Egyptian god of death. To figure out how to defeat her, Morton and Halsey will need the help of Russell Crowe ’s Henry Jekyll, the head of a secret government agency that fights evil throughout the world.

Much credit should go to Sofia Boutella, whose Ahmanet is unquestionably the most fleshed-out — pun entirely intended — character in the film. Boutella plays Ahmanet as a woman who knowingly damned herself for a seat at the table; her chance to rule as Queen of Egypt was taken away when her father’s wife gave birth to a son, and her decision to murder her way to the throne — seen through an extended flashback sequence before we’ve even been introduced to Cruise or Wallis’s characters — offers some tragic complexity to an otherwise basic character (she later offhandedly defends herself by saying that “those were different times,” and I find no holes in that particular piece of logic). Put another way, The Mummy joins Cruise’s The Last Samurai where the wrong character ascends to the title role.

This shouldn’t be misconstrued as a knock on Cruise, though, as the actor is doing his damnedest to make The Mummy a movie worth watching. Cruise seems to be relishing his opportunity to play against type; while Cruise may be known for his competent and earnest action characters, Nick Morton is the actor’s rare idiot antihero, and the film’s funniest moments come from his panicked acknowledgment that he’s in over his head. One fight sequence that takes place in a graveyard, for example, finds the perfect balance of Cruise’s analog style and the movie’s digital effects: Cruise punches his way through an army of the undead, only to get his hands and feet stuck in their torsos, recoiling in disgust as their bodies disintegrate around them. Those worrying that the actor’s physical accomplishments would be lost amidst the CGI will be relieved to know that The Mummy still takes great pleasure in watching Cruise beat himself up for our entertainment.

The pivot, sadly, comes when the film introduces Morton to Russell Crowe’s Henry Jekyll. It’s not as if Jekyll is an impossible character to bring to the screen; look no further than James Nesbitt’s character in the 2007 BBC miniseries Jekyll to see how the character can be adapted for contemporary audiences. But not only does Crowe’s performance rank far closer to Hasselhoff than Nesbitt, he also helps move the film into its dreary final half, turning the supernatural comedy of the first half into a dour (and unsubstantiated!) love story between the two leads. How is it that a government agency set up to fight monsters is so devoid of fun? Shouldn’t one of the film’s six screenwriters have watched Hellboy before embarking on a similar story? I’m always of the opinion that Hollywood blockbusters should risk being a little weird, but what’s the point in making a movie about monsters if you’re going to let it play out with all the panache of a ’90s action movie?

There are other problems, too. Courtney B. Vance ’s Colonel Greenway, despite being one of the few prominent people of color in the film, is introduced and killed off within a matter of minutes. The film’s entire opening action sequence is also predicated on the idea that Iraqi insurgents have no respect for their own history or culture and are either blowing up or shooting any architecture older than a decade. If the film were better, these failures of representation might have gotten lost in the subsequent conversation — it’s happened before and it will happen again — but they have nowhere to hide given the mediocrity of the film. As it stands, The Mummy is practically begging audiences to take it to task.

The Mummy seems like a film that has been reverse-engineered around its set-pieces, leaving little room for the necessary character work that would sell the relationship between Cruise and Wallis. There was a solid movie somewhere in the midst of all the bland writing; had The Mummy spent more time as a buddy comedy between Cruise and Johnson and less time alternating between a love story and a franchise building block, fans might’ve been willing to sign on for another spin in the studio’s franchise. As it stands, though, The Mummy is a disappointing example of what happens when a movie’s marketing department is steering the ship.

Related Topics: The Mummy , Tom Cruise

Recommended Reading

43 things we learned from christopher mcquarrie’s ‘mission: impossible – dead reckoning’ commentary, the pop song formula behind ‘top gun: maverick’, why the stunts in ‘top gun: maverick’ feel so dang real, back to the movies: ‘mission: impossible 7’ will remind us why we need movie theaters.

Terrible Reviews for ‘The Mummy’ Are Really Bad News for Universal

Tom Cruise’s The Mummy reboot officially hits theaters this Friday. But film critics who saw early screenings of the new monster movie began filing their reviews on Wednesday, and the results are far from good for Universal Pictures.

Comcast-owned Universal is positioning this latest iteration of The Mummy , which stars Cruise along with Sofia Boutella and Russell Crowe, as the first installment in a major franchise of monster movies set within the same cinematic universe. Now, the first movie in what Universal has dubbed its Dark Universe franchise, will have to overcome an overwhelmingly negative critical reception if it hopes to have a successful opening weekend at the box office that would set the stage for the studio’s planned slate of additional monster movie reboots featuring iconic characters like the Invisible Man and Frankenstein’s monster.

Granted, not all of the critics’ takes have been counted yet, but The Mummy currently sports a putrid 27% rating based on Rotten Tomatoes’ formula aggregating reviews. The Hollywood Reporter called the film a “limp, thrill-free debut,” while the website IndieWire slammed The Mummy as “the worst Tom Cruise movie ever.” The reviews aren’t all terrible, as Entertainment Weekly ‘s Chris Nashawaty graded the movie as a “B-“, though even he said The Mummy “feels derivative and unnecessary and like it was written by committee (which a quick scan of its lengthy script credits confirms).” ( Entertainment Weekly and Fortune are both owned by Time Inc.)

Get Data Sheet , Fortune ‘s technology newsletter.

It certainly appears to be a troubling start for a movie that cost Universal a reported $125 million to make, not including the likely high cost of the studio’s major marketing push as Universal tries to start its Dark Universe off on strong footing. Analysts are projecting that The Mummy could pull in only about $35 million in domestic ticket sales in its opening weekend, which would be a majorly disappointing box office debut for any expensive project, much less one meant to launch a new franchise.

The Mummy will also face stiff competition this weekend from Warner Bros.’s Wonder Woman , which is coming off an historic opening weekend that saw the female-led DC Comics superhero movie notch the largest opening ever for a film directed by a woman (director Patty Jenkins), with $100.5 million in domestic box office sales. Universal may have to hope that The Mummy fares better overseas, where foreign audiences are expected to turn out for a reliable box office star like Cruise. The film already opened in South Korea on Tuesday and nabbed that country’s biggest opening day box office ever, with earning $6.6 million.

Looking ahead, Universal has already announced plans for a 2019 adaptation of the 1935 classic film The Bride of Frankenstein , with actor Javier Bardem as Frankenstein’s monster. The studio has also signed on Johnny Depp to eventually play the lead role in a reboot of The Invisible Man . Universal released a series of classic monster movies in the early 20th Century, including the 1932 version of The Mummy that starred actor Boris Karloff in the iconic title role. The film studio is taking advantage of its wealth of intellectual property in the genre, as it did with its series of The Mummy reboots and sequels that kicked off with the 1999 version starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz.

Most Popular

He taught at MIT, worked at Morgan Stanley, and convinced Bill Ackman and Galaxy to back his $200 million crypto fund by his early 30s. His future is now in jeopardy

Boomers are setting up a showdown with millennials, aging in place and plunking down hundreds of thousands on renovating their homes

Roaring Kitty was poised to become a freshly minted billionaire until GameStop threw a monkey wrench in the plan

Cathay Pacific trainee pilots have damaged so many planes a U.S. flying school has banned them from solo flights

AI-generated ‘BBL Drizzy’ started as a Drake joke—but music creators are now terrified it spells the beginning of the end

Jerome Powell could spark a serious stock market surge—even though he’s not cutting rates, Wall Street guru Ed Yardeni says

The Mummy Review #2: Tom Cruise Sinks in This Joyless Disaster

Your changes have been saved

Email Is sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

Netflix's New Shark Movie Sinks Godzilla Despite Biting Reviews from Rotten Tomatoes Audiences

The karate kid reboot update shares sneak peek of set photo, morgan freeman names his most underrated movie and it's a tear-jerker.

Three years ago, Universal announced what would become the Dark Universe franchise; a relaunch of its classic monster movies with A-list actors in the lead. The first installment, The Mummy , is an epic dud that should ring alarms at the studio. It is a joyless, bloated spectacle with a weak script and terrible performances. The film attempts two big changes from the known story. The first is updating the supernatural antagonist to a female. The second is having Tom Cruise play against his wholesome image. Both backfire for a litany of reasons I will discuss in this review. Minor spoilers are ahead.

Tom Cruise stars as Nick Morton, a duplicitous recon soldier that steals antiquities and sells them on the black market. His subordinate and partner in crime is Chris Vail (Jake Johnson), a wise-cracking oaf that follows Nick like a dog. Along with perennial damsel in distress archaeologist, Jennifer Halsey (Annabelle Wallis), they discover the ancient prison of Egyptian Princess Ahmanet (Sofia Boutella). She was damned to eternity for trying place the spirit of death into the body of her lover. When Nick accidentally releases her, she finds a new hunky stud to carry the mojo of the grim reaper.

The Mummy is wall to wall action during its two hour runtime. A few scenes are well done, especially an insane plane crash . The problem is that the other money-shot effects scenes are dark, murky, and all too familiar. I strained mightily to see definition through my 3D glasses. The majority of the big stunts are done at night or in a low lit setting. The center focus on the actors loses acuity in soupy backgrounds. We also have the swarms of insects and mummified undead running around. These types of visual effects were interesting twenty years ago, but commonplace now. The sad irony is that they actually look cooler in Brendan Fraser's Mummy films. The cinematography and 3D conversion are problematic.

Tom Cruise has made a career of playing the clean cut good guy. His attempt to portray a shady character here falls flat. He just doesn't pull it off. The character's dialogue is terrible, but the mannerisms aren't there. I think Cruise was attempting a Chris Pratt, heroic scoundrel vibe. What we get is Ethan Hunt goes mystical. The film's conclusion sort of explains why the character is written as such, but it's just not a successful role for Cruise.

The women in the film, Annabelle Wallis and Sofia Boutella , are wasted. The female baddie is no feminist villain. Her character's mission is just to find a man so she can be his queen. If her character is so power hungry, why is her entire goal to play second fiddle? There's a logic and motivation gap that makes no sense at all. Wallis, a talented actress, spends the entire film being rescued and talking about Cruise's sexual proclivity. It's a running conversation between the leads throughout that isn't funny. In fact, it's quite tasteless and juvenile . None of the women in this reboot hold a candle to Rachel Weisz in the 90's film.

The most important goal of The Mummy is to establish the groundwork for the upcoming Dark Universe films. We are introduced to Prodigium, a secret organization that battles monsters. Its leader is Dr. Jekyll (Russell Crowe). This character will be the thread that ties the franchise together. Once again, the setup is unimpressive. I was completely underwhelmed by Crowe as Jekyll, and his monster turn into the evil Mr. Hyde. This scene should have been a highlight, but is unremarkable. What's even more interesting is the comparison between Cruise and Crowe. Crowe, who is a year younger than Cruise, looks the part. Cruise continues to be an ageless wonder. Scientology might be working in Cruise's favor, the introduction of Prodigium in this film does not.

2017's The Mummy isn't nearly as entertaining as the 1999 film starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz. Those characters were fun and likeable. That story worked with the bells and whistles, a true popcorn film. This reboot isn't remotely in the same league. Cruise takes a $130 million dollar mulligan on this one. I pray the forthcoming films are better written, acted, and produced. Universal Pictures' Dark Universe stumbles badly out of the gate.

• Movie and TV Reviews

• Today's news
• Reviews and deals
• Climate change
• 2024 election
• Fall allergies
• Health news
• Mental health
• Sexual health
• Family health
• So mini ways
• Unapologetically
• Buying guides

Entertainment

• How to Watch
• My watchlist
• Stock market
• Biden economy
• Personal finance
• Stocks: most active
• Stocks: gainers
• Stocks: losers
• Trending tickers
• World indices
• US Treasury bonds
• Top mutual funds
• Highest open interest
• Highest implied volatility
• Currency converter
• Basic materials
• Communication services
• Consumer cyclical
• Consumer defensive
• Financial services
• Industrials
• Real estate
• Mutual funds
• Credit cards
• Balance transfer cards
• Cash back cards
• Rewards cards
• Travel cards
• Online checking
• High-yield savings
• Money market
• Home equity loan
• Personal loans
• Student loans
• Options pit
• Fantasy football
• Pro Pick 'Em
• College Pick 'Em
• Fantasy baseball
• Fantasy hockey
• Fantasy basketball
• Download the app
• Daily fantasy
• Scores and schedules
• GameChannel
• World Baseball Classic
• Premier League
• CONCACAF League
• Champions League
• Motorsports
• Horse racing
• Newsletters

New on Yahoo

• Privacy Dashboard

Tom Cruise Remembers Edge Of Tomorrow, But When Is That Sequel Happening?

• Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again later. More content below

10 years ago today, you would have been able to buy a ticket to one of the best action movies we’ve ever seen, Edge of Tomorrow . Although the movie never took up the No. 1 spot at the box office during its time in theaters, it remains a top-tier thrilling science fiction film starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt in many cinephile’s hearts. With it’s recent anniversary in mind, Cruise has remembered the epic action flick.

Tom Cruise isn’t one to spam on social media. He chooses his moments, so on Thursday afternoon, he decided to pay tribute to Edge of Tomorrow with thoughtful words about the movie. He said:

It’s been 10 years since Edge of Tomorrow first hit theaters! I want to take the opportunity to thank Emily Blunt once again for being such a great friend and brilliant actress. I love her performance in this film. Her dedication. Her humor. Her vulnerability and power. She brought it all.

I can’t help but wonder if this tribute means we’ll be getting the Edge of Tomorrow sequel many have been hoping for! The comment section was, of course, riddled with calls from fans for another movie from the established world, but we don’t know if it’s happening yet.

The latest update we’ve heard about Edge of Tomorrow 2 was when Emily Blunt stated that she knew Cruise was interested in making a sequel, but she shared feelings that it might be too late to do so now . Blunt has previously been vocal about the continued back pain the movie caused her , but one would imagine she might change her mind if Cruise and the filmmakers had a really good idea for it. As the star continued in his Instagram post:

This anniversary brings back incredible memories. My first collaboration with Doug Liman. Rejoining the indomitable Brendan Gleeson. And my first time working alongside the great Bill Paxton. His performance and the character he created left an indelible mark on this film. Hitting this kind of tone was no easy task. The writing and storytelling of Christopher McQuarrie made the movie work. Along with the dedication of our entire team who helped bring it to the screen—it was an absolute joy creating it with you all.

Tom Cruise kept his working relationships with many of his Edge of Tomorrow collaborators. As he shared, it was the first time he got to be directed by Doug Liman, whom he later worked with on 2017’s American Made . It’s also a part of his ongoing partnership with Christopher McQuarrie, who had written and directed him in Jack Reacher prior to writing the script for Edge of Tomorrow .

After the 2014 movie, the pair made a Reacher sequel, The Mummy , four Mission: Impossible movies and Top Gun: Maverick together, with McQuarrie often changing between directing, writing and producing roles from one collaboration to the other. Here’s how Tom Cruise ended the tribute:

To everyone who has enjoyed this film over the years, thank you for being a fan. And thank you to Warner Bros. for making this film. I can’t wait to share more about the great movies we’re working on.

What do those comments mean? Is he hinting at “working on” another Edge of Tomorrow or just getting nostalgic on the movie’s 10th anniversary? We don’t know, but his comments only make us want a sequel more!

While we wonder about that, you can see Tom Cruise next on the big screen for Mission: Impossible 8 , which is among the upcoming 2025 movies . Ethan Hunt will return, surely for more breathtaking action, just under a year from now, on May 23, 2025.

Recommended Stories

Civilization 7 is coming in 2025.

The long-running turn-based strategy series Civilization is getting another mainline sequel. And it's even coming to Nintendo Switch.

Caitlin Clark hits 7 3-pointers, ties career-high 30 points in Fever's win over Mystics

Caitlin Clark put on a show for Washington, D.C. fans, hitting seven three-pointers and scoring 30 points in the Indiana Fever's 85-83 win over the Washington Mystics.

Alan Wake 2’s first expansion brings Remedy’s other heroes to Night Springs

Think of it as Remedy’s take on Marvel’s What If…: You’ll get to play as Alan Wake’s biggest fan, Rose Marigold, Quantum Break’s Jack Joyce and Control’s Jesse Faden, within the world of Alan Wake 2.

UFO 50, the latest game from the Spelunky team, will finally arrive September 18

UFO 50, the latest project from Spelunky studio Mossmouth, is due to hit Steam on September 18, about six years after it was originally expected to launch.

Mets' Pete Alonso asks if he can get Sunday roast in London on a day besides Sunday

Before the MLB London Series, New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso asked reporters if he could get the town's famous Sunday roast on a day other than Sunday.

‘Thirst-person shooter’ The Crush House hits PC on August 9

The Crush House, the latest game from Reigns developer ​​Nerial, will debut on August 9.

25 best anniversary gifts for your husband that he'll never forget

We've got everything from romantic and unique gifts to practical and funny ones.

Phoenix Springs, possibly the prettiest detective game ever, arrives September 16

Phoenix Springs is a point-and-click detective game that looks like the cover of a mid-century sci-fi novel, and it’s due to go live on Steam on September 16.

Silent Hill creator's new game, Slitterhead, lands November 8

Slitterhead will land on November 8 and there's a new trailer with lots of blood.

NASA puts $10M down on Mars sample return proposals from Blue Origin, SpaceX and others

It turns out the space industry has a lot of ideas on how to improve NASA’s $11 billion, 15-year plan to collect and return samples from Mars. Seven of these proposals have caught the agency’s attention. Announced today, NASA has awarded $1.5 million contracts to seven companies to further develop their plans for the revamped Mars Sample Return mission.

'Hot Hot Hot':The Mummy's Rachel Weisz Recalls Filming In Like 140-Degree Heat And Trying To Avoid Getting Cranky

It's the heat, not the hu-mumm-ity.

Did anyone else have “The 1999 cinematic masterpiece The Mummy returning to theaters” on their 2024 movie schedule bingo card? I certainly didn’t, but considering this year was the 25th anniversary of Stephen Sommers’ horror/adventure/rom-com starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz , it was the perfect time for that throwback. 

What’s better is that thanks to another fun blast from the past, Weisz’s recollections of the intensely hot experience of making that first Mummy movie have resurfaced from the depths of entertainment journalism. Fellow fans of this beautiful “adventure romp” should take a moment to rejoice with me, as ET Online released a rare reel of interview footage from The Mummy’s 1998 on-location shoot. 

With those clips came stories of how the production was quite taxing, including Rachel Weisz’s story about the heat of the moment: 

It’s been hard in terms of that it’s been very hot. But no, it’s been fun. The whole movie’s very very fun. It’s like a big, fun adventure romp. We’ve had real fun making it. … It’s just hard in that when it’s 140 degrees, it’s as hot as 140 degrees. It’s just hot hot hot hot hot. You have to sit very still, like a lizard sometimes, just to conserve your energy. Just ‘cause [it’s] just hot.

I’m kind of feeling the heat after reading Rachel’s description of getting through The Mummy experience, which is totally valid as the film did hit up the Moroccan desserts to capture its tale of the cursed afterlife. Or, to piggyback off of how Brendan Fraser put it in this very same clip, a guy who wakes up and misses his girlfriend, but decides to throw a tantrum of Biblical proportions to get her back. Even supernatural beings like Arnold Vosloo's Imothep don't want to hang around the desert for longer than they have to.

Here are some further explorations into CinemaBlend’s coverage of The Mummy’s silver anniversary, now 100% free of ancient curses! (Cup of coffee sold separately. Sorry Brendan!)

The Brenaissance Continues As The Mummy Returns To Theaters. Why The Brendan Fraser Classic Needs To Be Seen On The Big Screen

Rumors Swirled Tom Cruise Was Originally Considered For The Mummy. What The Director Says About Brendan Fraser Being Cast

'Brendan Did It To Himself So He Can’t Blame Anybody': The Mummy Director Says Rumors Brendan Fraser Nearly Died On Set Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

Looking back at this vintage Mummy coverage also shows a bit of Rachel Weisz and Brendan Fraser’s uncertainty that the 1999 blockbuster would perform even half as well as it did. However, that skepticism understandably came from a history of development hell that saw this project move through around a decade of changing hands, as well as story treatments. 

With that in mind, going through all of that heated history to make a potential box office dud would have been painful. However, it does sound like Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, and even John Hannah did have a lot of fun during that experience. So maybe they'd still have told these stories fondly if The Mummy Returns wasn't guaranteed to happen.

As some would tell you in their analysis of the late ‘90s, a cultural shift was happening at the box office that didn’t know what audiences wanted. I believe we’re in the middle of another sort of shift of that order right now, as reports of Furiosa ’s complicated opening weekend seem to have indicated that the film had missed its money mark. With that in mind, I'm kind of further convinced that maybe it’s time for The Mummy ’s potential resurrection after all.

CINEMABLEND NEWSLETTER

Your Daily Blend of Entertainment News

Surely this year's theatrical rollout made enough money to show the enduring power of this property, right? Should we be lucky enough to see that come to pass, let’s hope that there’s a proper mix of practical shooting locations and select backlot shoots. If only so the magic touch that made those movies so perfect to behold can be maintained while keeping Rachel Weisz and Brendan Fraser in a comfortable level of danger and heat. 

Mummy fans, don’t fret. While there’s no official news of any sort of continuation of the adventures of Rick and Evelyn, we still have those first two films to treasure and enjoy. And if you’ve got a Peacock subscription , you can do just that, as that platform is the current home to The Mummy and The Mummy Returns , at the time of this publication. 

Mike Reyes is the Senior Movie Contributor at CinemaBlend, though that title’s more of a guideline really. Passionate about entertainment since grade school, the movies have always held a special place in his life, which explains his current occupation. Mike graduated from Drew University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, but swore off of running for public office a long time ago. Mike's expertise ranges from James Bond to everything Alita, making for a brilliantly eclectic resume. He fights for the user.

Fans Want Lord Of The Rings’ Viggo Mortensen In The New Movie, And He Recently Took Up Aragorn’s Sword For Another Movie

Jurassic Park Author Michael Crichton’s Posthumous Novel Eruption Is Getting Turned Into A Movie, And I’m Jazzed About The Latest Updates On Its Progress

I Saw A Preview Of Zack Snyder's Twilight Of The Gods, And The Animated Netflix Series Looks Like A Rad, Beautiful Depiction Of Norse Mythology

Most Popular

• 2 Fans Want Lord Of The Rings’ Viggo Mortensen In The New Movie, And He Recently Took Up Aragorn’s Sword For Another Movie
• 3 Hacks Is One Of The Best Comedies On Television Right Now, But There Is One Way The Show Could Be Even Better
• 4 Sabrina Carpenter Puts Barry Keoghan In Handcuffs For Latest Music Video, And It's An Iconic Move For The Couple
• 5 Jurassic Park Author Michael Crichton’s Posthumous Novel Eruption Is Getting Turned Into A Movie, And I’m Jazzed About The Latest Updates On Its Progress

Advertisement

Supported by

Review: ‘The Mummy,’ With Tom Cruise, Deserves a Quick Burial

• Share full article

By A.O. Scott

• June 7, 2017

You’ve no doubt been told that if you can’t say something nice, you shouldn’t say anything at all. If I followed that rule, I’d be unemployed. But still. There’s no great joy in accentuating the negative. So I will say this in favor of “The Mummy”: It is 110 minutes long. That is about 20 minutes shorter than “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,” about which I had some unkind things to say a couple of weeks ago. Simple math will tell you how much better this movie is than that one. If you have no choice but to see it — a circumstance I have trouble imagining — you can start in on your drinking that much sooner.

“The Mummy” begins with a supposed Egyptian proverb to the effect that “we” never really die; “we” assume new forms and keep right on living. I’m not an Egyptologist, but it seems just as likely that those words were lifted from a movie-studio strategy memo. Universal, lacking a mighty superhero franchise, has gone into its intellectual-property files, which are full of venerable monsters, and created a commercial agglomeration it calls the Dark Universe . “The Mummy” is the first of a slew — a swarm? a pestilence? — of features reviving those old creatures, including the one from the Black Lagoon. We can also look forward to new visits from Frankenstein’s monster and his bride, the Wolf Man and the Invisible Man, among others.

It sounds like fun. The “Mummy” reboot from 1999 , directed by Stephen Sommers and starring Brendan Fraser, was kind of fun. Monster movies frequently are. This one, directed by Alex Kurtzman and starring Tom Cruise, is an unholy mess. Mr. Cruise plays Nick Morton, a jaunty military daredevil with a sideline in antiquities theft and a nutty sidekick (Jake Johnson). When a caper goes wrong, the two call in an airstrike on an Iraqi village — I guess that’s something people are doing for kicks nowadays — and a mysterious tomb is unearthed. Luckily, an archaeologist, Dr. Jenny Halsey (Annabelle Wallis), is on hand to explain what it’s all about and also to affirm Nick’s heterosexuality.

Long story short: An ancient evil has been unleashed upon the world. Its agent is a long-buried pharaoh’s daughter, Ahmanet (Sofia Boutella), who is covered with mysterious tattoos and convinced that Nick is her secret lover, or the god of death, or both. She gets inside his head, which is awkward both because he’s kind of sweet on Jenny and because it’s such an empty place. Ahmanet also has a retinue of zombielike minions at her disposal, who rampage through England on their way to a meeting with Russell Crowe.

Mr. Crowe plays another fixture in the Dark Universe, a label that strikes me as a bit of an exaggeration. Dim Universe would be more accurate, with respect both to the murky, ugly images and to the intellectual capacities of the script, written and conceived by a bunch of people who are capable of better. The old black-and-white Universal horror movies were a mixed bag, but they had some imagination. They could be creepy or campy, weird or lyrical. “The Mummy” gestures — or flails — in a number of directions but settles into the dreary 21st-century action-blockbuster template. There’s chasing and fighting, punctuated by bouts of breathless explaining and a few one-liners that an archaeologist of the future might tentatively decode as jokes.

There is a vague notion that Nick is struggling with dueling impulses toward good and evil, acting out his version of the Jekyll-Hyde predicament. A more interesting movie might have involved a similar struggle within Ahmanet, but a more interesting movie was not on anybody’s mind.

It will be argued that this one was made not for the critics but for the fans. Which is no doubt true. Every con game is played with suckers in mind.

The Mummy Rated PG-13. There’s a naked Egyptian in there somewhere. Running time: 1 hour 50 minutes.

Explore More in TV and Movies

Not sure what to watch next we can help..

The director Pablo Berger broke down how he brought a New York street scene to life  in “Robot Dreams,” his Oscar-nominated animated film about the friendship between a dog and a robot.

Cleopatra Coleman’s versatility has allowed the actor to stay relatively anonymous, but that may change with “Clipped,”  her new docudrama about an N.B.A. scandal.

The documentary “Jim Henson Idea Man,” directed by Ron Howard, doesn’t ignore the Muppet mastermind’s faults, but the tribute has a lot to teach creators everywhere .

If you are overwhelmed by the endless options, don’t despair — we put together the best offerings   on Netflix , Max , Disney+ , Amazon Prime  and Hulu  to make choosing your next binge a little easier.

Sign up for our Watching newsletter  to get recommendations on the best films and TV shows to stream and watch, delivered to your inbox.

“He talked himself out of kissing me in front of 900 people”: Tom Cruise Refusing to Kiss Her in The Mummy Was Quite a Painful Experience for Annabelle Wallis

T om Cruise has been paired with many talented actresses in Hollywood, and one in particular felt heartbroken after the actor refused to lock lips with her on camera in 2017’s The Mummy . Annabelle Wallis, also known as Grace Burgess in BBC’s Peaky Blinders , costarred alongside Cruise as Jenny Halsey.

The actress has profusely talked about how she loved working with him despite many of his on-set demands. For her, it was a dream come true to be able to run beside one of the industry’s legendary action stars.

Tom Cruise Wiped Out Kissing Scene With Annabelle Wallis In The Mummy

During her interview with Conan on TBS , actress Annabelle Wallis confessed she was devastated after Tom Cruise decided not to kiss her on the set of The Mummy when it was written in the script.

It was a very sad day for Annabelle. Again, there was another amorous moment, a little kissing scene. And I got to set and was like, ‘This is an amazing moment.’ I would tell all my friends, my children, about this kissing scene with Tom Cruise .

She would arrive on the set and feel pumped for her intimate scene with Cruise only to be disappointed when the actor hesitated. Wallis said, “ He goes, ‘Yeah about that. [Director] Alex [Kurtzman], can we have a chat? I’m not feeling that. I’m not feeling the kissing scene.’ ”

Wallis’ dream to kiss Cruise immediately shattered the moment he wiped out that scene from the script. She exclaimed, “ He talked himself out of kissing me in front of 900 people. Can you imagine what I felt like? Not good .”

“We needed a guy who..had a sense of humor”: No, Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt Were Never Close to Stealing Brendan Fraser’s Role in The Mummy

The actress went on to explain that the actor was not really in the mood to smooch with his costar that day. The movie received disappointing reviews, but no one was more inconsolable than Wallis.

Cruise has a lot of creative control over his films, and this is proof that he can opt out of a scene that he doesn’t like to do.

Annabelle Wallis Was So Happy To Work With Tom Cruise

Despite her crushed dreams, Wallis felt over the moon working with Cruise. She even worked her way to make the actor approve of her running beside him. She shared in a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter that nobody runs with the actor on-screen.

I got to run on-screen with him, but he told me no at first. He said, ‘Nobody runs on-screen [with me],’ and I said, ‘But I’m a really good runner.’ So, I would time my treadmill so that he’d walk in and see me run .

She didn’t get the kiss she wanted, but she got the running scenes on the final cut, and for Wallis, that was much better than getting an Oscar . “ I was so happy that I got to run on-screen with Tom Cruise ,” she quipped.

“It was, like, better than an Oscar”: Tom Cruise Broke His 1 Weird Rule for The Mummy Co-Star and She’ll Be Forever Grateful for Years to Come

While The Mummy earned $409 million in global ticket sales against a budget of $125 million, it received negative reviews from fans and critics and a disappointing 15% score on Rotten Tomatoes .

The Mummy is available to watch on Prime Video.

War of the Worlds' Dakota Fanning Reveals the Birthday Gift Tom Cruise Sends Her Every Year

Your changes have been saved

Email Is sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

War of the Worlds ' leading man, Tom Cruise, appears to have been in a giving mood with his co-stars since featuring in the acclaimed sci-fi action thriller. Co-star Dakota Fanning reveals the birthday gift Cruise continues to send her yearly.

Speaking on The Kelly Clarkson Show , Fanning confirmed Cruise has been sending her birthday gifts annually since War of the Worlds premiered in 2005. After initially gifting Fanning a phone for her 11th birthday, Cruise pivoted to giving the fellow actor shoes, knowing Fanning is a huge footwear lover. " He always sends me the same thing every year ,” Fanning said. “I loved shoes when I was little, and I started to be able to fit into really small adult shoes when I was on the War of the Worlds press tour, so I was really excited about them. So from that birthday on, he always sends me shoes .”

The Godfather Director Recalls Discovering Tom Cruise

Francis Ford Coppola shares the story behind discovering then-unknown actor Tom Cruise and the other stars of The Outsiders.

The now 30-year-old Fanning previously spoke about how Cruise continues to be generous to her and fellow War of the Worlds stars by sending birthday presents to them annually. Cruise first gifted Fanning a Motorola Razr, a popular phone at the time. “I didn’t have anyone to call, but I wanted a Razr so bad,” Fanning said. “I must have been talking about it a lot because that’s what he got me. It’s such a great memory.”

Steven Spielberg Directed War of the Worlds

Directed by Steven Spielberg , War of the Worlds was loosely based on H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds novel, with Cruise starring as Ray Ferrier, an American dockworker tasked with protecting his estranged children and reuniting them with their mother as extraterrestrials invade Earth and wipe out humanity with huge war machines. Fanning played Cruise's daughter Rachel in one of her biggest child acting roles, having previously starred opposite Denzel Washington in Man on Fire . The film became a critical and commercial hit, earning multiple Academy Award nominations and Fanning a Saturn Award.

Zack Snyder Reveals Who Tom Cruise Wanted to Play in Watchmen

Watchmen director Zack Snyder confirms the Tom Cruise casting rumors and reveals who the actor had his sights set on playing in the 2009 movie.

Fanning's most recent big-screen appearance was a reunion with Washington in The Equalizer 3 , portraying Emma Collins opposite Washington's vigilante lead character Robert McCall. She's also the lead actor in Ishana Shyamalan's new supernatural horror film, The Watchers , which opens in theaters on Jun. 7.

Meanwhile, Fanning has also been a regular in the Netflix neo-noir psychological thriller, Ripley , which premiered this past April. She stars in the series alongside Andrew Scott and Johnny Flynn, with Bokeem Woodbine and John Malkovich featuring in guest roles.

Fans can stream War of the Worlds via Paramount+.

Source: The Kelly Clarkson Show via Entertainment Weekly

War of The Worlds (2005)

Directed by Steven Spielberg, a sudden and terrifying alien invasion challenges a fractured family's bond as they navigate a world thrown into mayhem. The narrative centers on a father's resolve to keep his children safe while civilization collapses around them.

The News Of Tomorrow, Today

Subscribe to our newsletter!

Now you can get the top stories from Gizmodo delivered to your inbox. Enter your email below.

By subscribing you agree to our  Terms of Use  and  Privacy Policy.

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Fake Tom Cruise Movie About the Paris Olympics Tied to Russian Disinformation

The fake documentary is tied to two influence groups in Russia, dubbed Storm-1679 and Storm-1099 by Microsoft , and it’s easy to see how some people could be duped. The film comes in four 9-minute episodes, each starting with Netflix’s signature “ta-dum” sound effect and red-N animation.

“In this series you will discover the inner workings of the global sports industry,” the fake Tom Cruise says as dramatic music plays in the background. “In particular, I will shed some light on the venal executives of the International Olympic Committee, IOC, who are slowly and painfully destroying the Olympic sports that have existed for thousands of years.”

But there are plenty of signs that this movie is bullshit to anyone paying attention. For starters, Cruise’s voice is realistic but sometimes has a stilted delivery. The big giveaway, however, might be words used by the Russian campaign that wouldn’t be used by Americans. For example, the first episode includes a line from the fake Cruise narration where he talks about a “hockey match” rather than a hockey game. The word “match” is much more common in Russia for sports like soccer and any real fan of ice hockey in the U.S. would be calling it a game, not a match.

There are also times when the fake Cruise narration sounds like it’s reading strategy notes made by the people who concocted this piece of disinformation. Much of the documentary spends time trying to tear down the organizers of the Olympics as hopelessly corrupt, and AI-generated Cruise tries to tie it to one of the actor’s most famous roles in the 1990s.

“In Jerry Maguire, my character writes a 25-page-long firm mission statement about dishonesty in the sports management business. Jerry wanted justice for athletes, which makes him extremely relatable,” the narration says.

It’s hard to imagine a line like that making it into an authentic documentary.

The fake documentary also has some editing errors that stick out as particularly odd, like when the AI Cruise inexplicably repeats a line, the audio briefly cutting out for no discernible reason. The entire film is available on the messaging app Telegram, where Gizmodo watched it. We’ve uploaded a minute of the film below just to give a sense of how realistic the AI-generated narration sounds.

The fake documentary first surfaced in June 2023, according to Microsoft, but appears to be getting renewed attention as the Olympics get closer. The games start in Paris on July 26 and are scheduled to last through August 11.

As Microsoft points out in a report published Sunday , the Storm-1679 group has been trying to instill fear in people about attending the 2024 Olympics in France. Fake videos purporting to show warnings from the CIA claim the games are at risk of a major terrorist attack. And other videos made to look like they’re from reputable news outlets, like France24, “claimed that 24% of tickets for the games had been returned due to fears of terrorism.” That’s simply not true.

More recently, the disinformation agents have tried to stoke fear around the current war in Gaza, claiming there could be terrorism in France tied to the conflict.

“Storm-1679 has also sought to use the Israel-Hamas conflict to fabricate threats to the Games,” Microsoft wrote in the new report. “In November 2023, it posted images claiming to show graffiti in Paris threatening violence against Israeli citizens attending the Games. Microsoft assesses this graffiti was digitally generated and unlikely to exist at a physical location.”

That said, some of the information in the pseudo-documentary is actually true. For example, the film discusses the history of Wu Ching-kuo , the head of amateur boxing’s governing body Aiba, who was suspended for financial mismanagement claims. Other claims about Olympic officials are also true, according to the news sources available online. But that’s to be expected. The most successful propaganda mixes fact and fiction in an effort to make people unsure about what the truth might be.

All we know for certain is that Tom Cruise never narrated this movie. And if someone is trying to hijack the credibility of a major movie star to spread their message, you should always be skeptical of whatever they have to say—especially as bots help spread that media widely across social media platforms.

The Cheapest NBN 50 Plans

It’s the most popular NBN speed in Australia for a reason. Here are the cheapest plans available.

site categories

Harvey weinstein finally files la rape conviction appeal as nyc retrial looms in the fall, breaking news.

‘Bad Boys: Ride Or Die’ Directors Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah On Fourthquel’s Fast Track & Lessons Learned From ‘Batgirl’ – Crew Call Podcast

By Anthony D'Alessandro

Anthony D'Alessandro

Editorial Director/Box Office Editor

More Stories By Anthony

• Sony Owning Weekend As ‘Bad Boys: Ride Or Die’ Drives To $50M, ‘Garfield’ Pounces On 2nd Place – Friday Box Office Update
• Next Legendary Monsterverse Movie To Be Directed By Grant Sputore
• Paramount’s Shari Redstone Juggling Skydance, Other Suitors As Deal Saga Continues

Bad Boys: Ride or Die opens this Friday with an eye on $40M+.

Must Read Stories

Kristen stewart to play astronaut sally ride as amazon mgm nears limited series deal.

Bad Boys Back In Town: ‘Ride Or Die’ Driving To $50M In Opening Frame

‘king kong’ loomed large for franka potente: the film that lit my fuse, deadline’s legendary labor reporter gets final sendoff saturday.

Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy.

Read More About:

Deadline is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2024 Deadline Hollywood, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

• International
• Today’s Paper
• Join WhatsApp Channel
• Movie Reviews
• Tamil Cinema
• Telugu Cinema

The Mummy movie review: This Tom Cruise film takes a lesson from Bollywood

The mummy movie review: what we are left with is our hero kicking up a lot of sound and fury, and sand, of course, with the promise of much more of the same to come. not actively awful, but not a barrel of silly fun either..

The Mummy movie cast: Tom Cruise, Annabelle Wallis, Sofia Boutella, Russell Crowe, Jake Johnson The Mummy movie director: Alex Kurtzman

These are my top five takeaways from The Mummy reboot, fronted by the Cruise man, and a golden-eyed wraith who rises from the earth.

If you are a beautiful Egyptian princess buried alive, you are going to wake up scores of years later. Take it from us. And the first thing you will do is to look upon the face of a handsome stranger, and your hardened heart will melt. Sofia Boutella (not as striking as she was in her ‘Star Trek’ turn, but eye-catching still) plays the part of the New Mummy Rising with a permanent snarl-cum-wistfulness, tattoos running down her face. Because she is female, she has to be jealous of another woman who is vying for the attention of her man. Lesson: hell hath no fury like a mummy scorned.

Said handsome stranger played by Tom Cruise, a top gun in his mid-50s is the portrait of a star in search of a persona. What do you do, once you’ve done and dusted several mission impossible-s? Why, become a looking-for-a-main-chance-adventurer making eyes at a modern day archaeologist, and a mummy with a sexy bod whom he calls a ‘chick’. Did we say this was a sexist flick?

The impact of Bollywood is getting stronger, even if it shows up for a flash: the Egyptian princess walks on ancient sandy dunes just the way a series of Bolly beauties have whenever they are transported to a desert for a song-and-dance— acres of flowing robes streaming behind, metal bustiers to the fore, background music swelling. Who says schmaltzy Bollywood has no legs?

Taking that point further, who says you need a plot when you have such a svelte-looking mummy (once she cracks open her tomb), a blonde scientist, and a good-looking if weathered rogue larking about in Iraq and London, falling out of planes, and shooting people underground in London? Only problem, though, is that the moment all the frantic action stops, the film grinds to a halt.

You don’t even need a Russell Crowe to do his thing — swallow the screen — when you are a kick-starting a monster franchise (oh yeah, just wait for it). This must be the only film in which Crowe, after spouting some high-falutin’ rubbish about good and evil, just disappears into the scenery. What we are left with is our hero kicking up a lot of sound and fury, and sand, of course, with the promise of much more of the same to come. Not actively awful, but not a barrel of silly fun either.

By the pricking of my thumb, something evil this way comes. And goes, after a few thrills and spills, which includes, psst, a Cruise in the buff. Like, in the altogether. Fully.

Click for more updates and latest Hollywood News along with Bollywood and Entertainment updates . Also get latest news and top headlines from India and around the World at The Indian Express .

Birds that prosper better in cities than in the hinterland Subscriber Only

'Ande ka funda': A deep dive into the history and Subscriber Only

Teens organised art therapy workshop at soft launch of their Subscriber Only

Santosh Sivan on Aamir Khan's 'perfectionism', Shah Rukh Khan's drive

In the results of 2024 elections, rebirth of the ‘idea Subscriber Only

Gullak 4 is like a cool glass of Roohafza on

Threads of time: Decoding the history and legacy of Zardozi

Blackout is worse than terrible

Is 'quiet vacationing' the new normal?

Kartik Aaryan, known for his roles in Luv Ranjan's films, feels possessive about his team. Recently, the actor talked about not being cast in Luv's latest hit film Tu Jhoothi Main Makkar. Despite having a cameo, Kartik was informed about casting Ranbir Kapoor in the lead. He remains hopeful for future collaborations with Luv and is currently preparing for his upcoming film Chandu Champion.

More Entertainment

Best of Express

Jun 08: Latest News

• 01 Indonesia Open badminton: Lakshya Sen falters at the end against Anders Antonsen’s determination and delaying tactics to bow out in quarters
• 02 Medical aspirants, parents from Maharashtra seek state medical education minister’s intervention in NEET 2024
• 03 Sadashiv peth fire | ‘No fire safety measures, no system to alert students’: Hosteler slams negligence
• 04 30 monkeys found dead under mysterious circumstances in Chikkamagaluru
• 05 BBC election debate: Who is taking part and what to watch out for
• Elections 2024
• Political Pulse
• Entertainment
• Movie Review
• Newsletters
• Web Stories
• T20 World Cup
• Express Shorts
• Premium Stories
• Health & Wellness
• Brand Solutions