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| The Mummy - 1999 |
Coming up next we have 1999's "The Mummy", a story about a very naughty ancient Egyptian high priest and his quest to resurrect the one he loves. He'll stop at nothing to attain world domination when he is awakened centuries after his death, and it's up to a small group of heroes to quell the threat of the mummy.
The film's cast includes Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo, Kevin J. O'Connor, Oded Fehr, Erick Avari, Bernard Fox, Omid Djalili, Aharon Ipale, and Patricia Velasquez.
Our story begins in Ancient Egypt, and we are quickly introduced to Imhotep, the High Priest of Pharaoh and keeper of the dead. He's a man of immense power.
Unfortunately for him, Imhotep falls in love with Pharaoh's mistress, Anck Su Namun. When they are discovered, they kill Pharaoh. Anck Su Namun kills herself so that Imhotep can take her body and resurrect her later.
Imhotep takes her body to Hamunaptra, the City of the Dead, and begins the rites that will resurrect her. However, before they can be completed, Medjai come and put a stop to the proceedings. They mummify all of Imhotep's priests alive.
Then they do the same to him, only much worse. He is effectively erased from history, and a curse is put upon him.
We flash forward many centuries, and meet up with brother/sister duo Jonathan and Evie Carnahan in Cairo at the Museum of Antiquities.
They have uncovered something they think is related to Hamunaptra. It turns out that Jonathan stole it from a man.
This man, an American named Rick O'Connell, is in a Cairo jail, and Evie saves his life in a bargain with the jailer.
On the day they are to depart, Rick tells Jonathan and Evie that where they are going is very dangerous.
And it seems they are not the only ones wanting to get to the City of the Dead. A group of Americans, led by Rick's old friend Beni, is along for the journey as well.
Once both groups arrive at Hamunaptra, they split off. Rick, Evie, and Jonathan discover (surprise, surprise) the tomb of Imhotep and are shocked/disgusted that he is "still juicy".
The group of Americans, meanwhile, discover Imhotep's Book of the Dead and the sacred canopic jars that house Anck Su Namun's vital organs.
Evie "borrows" the Book of the Dead and reads an incantation which causes Imhotep to rise from the dead, bringing with him the ten plagues of Egypt.
Not only plagues, but flesh-eating scarabs descend upon the groups, terrorizing them and sending them running in all directions.
Things go badly for Evie when Imhotep sees her and wants to use her to resurrect Anck Su Namun. Both groups hurry back to Cairo in an effort to think up a plan to stop this cursed mummy.
Imhotep follows them there, and he gains in strength as he picks them off one by one. (The ones who opened the box containing the Book of the Dead and the canopic jars are the ones he is seeking.)
The only weapon that seems to work against Imhotep is a cat. Cats are guardians of the underworld, and it is said that he will fear them until he is fully regenerated.
Rick and the gang use this method of frightening Imhotep more than once.
They have to team up with the Medjai, whose sworn sacred duty it is to stop Imhotep from being unleashed on the world.
Soon, however, Imhotep fully regenerates and becomes immortal. He drags Evie back to Hamunaptra to complete his quest of raising Anck Su Namun from the dead.
Rick and Jonathan follow close behind, and Imhotep uses some pretty frightening methods to shake them off his trail.
Once at Hamunaptra, Imhotep raises an army to serve him. However, Jonathan is able to command them with an incantation from the Book of the Living.
Evie reads a spell that strips Imhotep of his immortality, and Rick is able to defeat him. As Imhotep returns to mummy form he mutters, "Death is only the beginning."
Our heroes have to make a quick exit. Once Imhotep dies, the city of Hamunaptra implodes on itself.
Rick and Evie find a little romance, and Jonathan unknowingly carries out some treasure from the now destroyed city.
Cast rundown:
Brendan Fraser.................................Rick O'Connell
Rachel Weisz....................................Evelyn Carnahan
John Hannah....................................Jonathan Carnahan
Arnold Vosloo...................................Imhotep
Kevin J. O'Connor..............................Beni Gabor
Oded Fehr........................................Ardeth Bay
Erick Avari........................................Dr. Terrence Bey
Bernard Fox.....................................Winston Havlock
Omid Djalili......................................Warden Gad Hassan
Aharon Ipale.....................................Pharaoh Seti I
Patricia Velasquez..............................Anck Su Namun
And that's it for The Mummy. During the shoot for the scene where Evie saves Rick's life at the Cairo jail, Brendan Fraser nearly died. Rachel Weisz later said that he stopped breathing and had to be resuscitated. The day after this movie was released, Universal called director Stephen Somers and told him that they needed to make another "Mummy" film. "The Mummy Returns" came to theaters in 2001.
