The Mummy (2017)

Unsurprisingly, it seems that some people in Hollywood are desperate to figure out the recipe that made a connected universe like Marvel's so popular. DC are just now getting around to making universally acclaimed films in their respective universe, and there's talks of many others to come, such as a Fast and Furious universe, and even a James Bond universe (unfortunately). But the first to actually try something different with the shared universe thing is Universal with their Dark Universe franchise, starting with this year's The Mummy reboot (though some speculate it already started with 2013's Dracula Untold).

The first thing I said when I saw the trailers for the new Mummy was, "Who actually wanted this?" It's been only 18 years since the last Mummy franchise started, with the last film in that franchise being in 2008 (yes, it was shit, sue me). No one was clamoring for a re-do already, especially not this early in the game, and seeing that there are many who consider the 1999 Mummy a bit of a guilty pleasure, it'd be stacked up against a huge cult following. But, opposition be damned, they tried anyway, and...yeah, it didn't work out.

If you're scratching your head wondering, "Where could it have all gone wrong," you obviously weren't paying attention in the first place. This film is a humongous mess. My first major issue is that there's no real stakes to it. It's a real, "blink and you'll miss it," type film. Example: I was drawn away for a second and came back to find that the villain had killed a character, and I was confused. That was in the matter of a SECOND. It goes way too fast and doesn't even think to take a second to establish things, and I strongly dislike that.

If it does go through establishing one thing, however, it's that this is definitely a shared universe, which means exposition and sequel-baiting to the max. The scenes with Russel Crowe's Dr. Jekyll seem too much like exposition, like they were setting up this bigger world to the movie. They honestly felt like the hovercarrier scene in the first Avengers, but the reason why it works better in the Avengers is because that was the fifth film in that franchise. The characters had already been set up. In this, you have to take notes to even stay on track with what all is being put down.

But surely there must be some shed of light in this dark universe? Well, if I could pick any, it's Sofia Boutella as the titular mummy. She is surprisingly damned good in this, coming off the only other film I've seen her in, Kingsman, she's actually a pretty well versed actress, especially as a villain. She adds this extra sexiness to that mummy, with deep sultry tones in her voice and quick, seductive movements. You actually almost end up rooting for her in the end and nearly want to scream when Tom Cruise kills her. Speaking of Cruise, the rest of the cast is pretty subpar. I guess Tommy himself isn't that bad...but none of their characters are actually rather memorable.

I think that there was potential for them to do this right, but they missed the ball completely by thinking that these types of movies revolve exclusively around world-building, and it's just not the case. Marvel got to where they are today by progressively setting up this larger world movie-by-movie, and paid for it when they got it wrong (Iron Man 2, anyone?). I can't say that The Mummy is downright terrible, but it is a missed opportunity at best, and I'll give it a 4.3/10 and officially denounce the Dark Universe, "Dead in the water."