Alex Kurtzman's THE MUMMY

Movie review by Dennis D. McDonald

The 12-year-old in me loved this film. What's not to like? Nonstop action, fantastic sets, legions of undead, ancient Egyptian mythology, weird science, one of my favorite actors, even momentary flashes of female nudity!

Yet, despite being a gorgeous film to look at, The Mummy's whole is less than the sum of the parts.

I attribute this primarily to the director's lack of experience with projects of this complexity. Granted, we've come to expect the anti-Cruise legions to emerge every film he makes, and it's unrealistic not to ascribe some of the less than stellar boxoffice performance of this film to Cruise. But I was hoping for another Jack Reacher, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, or Edge of Tomorrow. Those are examples of how everything clicks into place. Unfortunately, few action films are able to perform at their level consistently, even when Cruise is involved.

Review by Dennis D. McDonald