The Mummy returns (2001)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2001
	Director: Stephen Sommers (Odd Thomas, The Mummy, Van Helsing)
	Actors: Brendan Fraser (Encino Man, Journey to the Center of the Earth), Rachel Weisz (The Fountain), John Hannah (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Sliding Doors), Arnold Vosloo (G. I. Joe), Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (Pain & Gain, San Andreas)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Action, Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 27.12.2015, French dubbing, 24" TV
Synopsis: Adventurer Rick O'Connell (Fraser) is now married to Evelyn (Weisz) with child, when they unleash a new ghost from the distant Egyptian past: The Scorpion King (Johnson). Meanwhile, another team is trying to resurrect Imhotep (Vosloo).
Review: Sequel to The Mummy (1999) that was supposed to start a period of remakes of the classic Universal monsters movies (like 1932 The Mummy with Boris Karloff), The Mummy Returns re-uses the same successful team (Sommers, Fraser, Weisz, Vosloo, Hannah and Oded Fehr) with the addition of a kid to the main couple and introducing for the first time in a feature film the Wrestling Champion Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, projecting him on the Action Hero career path that we now know. It is a typical "bigger and louder" sequel exaggerating the characters' traits (coward and funny Hannah, heroic Fraser, forgetful Weisz, all-powerful Vosloo, protective Fehr) while adding new ones (the kid) and displaying more action (the fighting mummies, climax of the first movie, are now shown as hors d'oeuvre) and a more complex and less linear story. This was required to keep on entertaining the audience after the rather good surprise that was the first movie. So putting all of that together and if you are not looking for too deep a meaning, I could recommend The Mummy Returns for an evening of Entertainment. At least it is not kid-oriented like adventure movies of the following years, e.g. Voyage to the Center of the Earth (with Fraser) or Race to Witch Mountain (with the Rock), unsuccessfully leaning more towards The Goonies.
Rating: 5 /10