First thing is first. Lets put it out there that this is the Tom Cruise Mummy from a few year ago. I’ve had this one on my list for a while. Mostly because I picked it up on blu ray as a blind buy a few years ago. I knew that it had not gotten terribly high marks but I remember the price point when I picked it up used was low enough for me to justify a blind buy. It wasn’t that I thought it was going to substantially subvert my expectations but my curiosity was great enough that I did not have an objections to the purchase. So it’s been on my “blind buy unwatched” list for a while now. It’s streaming on Peacock which is where my memory was jogged so I put it in the 31 days rotation and today was the day we decided to fire this one up.
I think my reasoning for picking this one was because I was hoping that it’s production value being so well funded by Universal that the chasm it created between itself and yesterday’s festering corpse of a film, “Stitches” would be so immeasurable that by comparison this movie would somehow redeem any inherent flaws simply because. I fired it up and we were underway. I knew Jake Johnson was in this movie but had focused so highly on the Tom Cruise factor that when I saw Johnson on screen i was pleasantly surprised. I had watched him on a podcast at one point where he talked about his role in this film. He had been cast in it and was initially excited about working with Tom Cruise but then when he got the script, he realized how stunt heavy the role would be and it terrified him and he tried to drop out. Cruise, himself, appealed to Johnson and convinced him to stay involved. Johnson is typically known for playing slacker type, unkempt sort of roles but this is actually a turnaround from his actual persona. He prides himself on significant dedication and work ethic when it comes to the roles he selects. So when he committed to this film, he was all in. Stunts and all. And though Johnson is not in this movie as much as I would have liked, he was definitely a great reason for the parts I enjoyed of this film.
What was good about this movie? The production value is good. It’s a studio film and they didn’t spare any expense which is nice. Having both Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe at the helm of this film gave significant impression that they had considerable hopes for a newly minted Monster-verse. This film was the first entry in this new expanding “Dark Universe” they had planned but unfortunately this film significantly underperformed at the box office and dashed a lot of those plans. Regardless of how this film played out to theater going audiences, the production value was not lacking in this outing. From the opening, the visuals of this film were impressive. Set in the desert, oddly enough, after the initial backstory exposition, it opens on Cruise and Johnson as military men with a penchant for lining their personal pockets while overseas. Cruise’s impetuous nature gets the duo in a hot spot and they find themselves in the midst of a firefight they won’t be winning. Needing rescue, Johnson calls in an air strike which reveals an underground cavern where our mummy lies. The action is really enjoyable at times throughout this movie. It’s pretty standard Cruise fare and I’m glad he lends his expertise to the level of how the action is executed.
The other thing I really wanted more of in this movie was Russell Crowe. That whole story line was underdeveloped. Crowe plays Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I was entirely unaware of the classic monster cross-over when I chose the film so this was a very pleasant surprise. Crowe brought a real sophistication to the story telling with a bit of an unsettled air to the film as well. They taunted his changing a couple of times and delivered on it in the end. The only problem is that it crowded the plot of this film. I would have enjoyed him as a character that they dangled in front of us and I could see how they felt like using him as a driver in the story was a good idea. The problem was that as a character he ended up being underdeveloped. Never getting a Hyde/Jekyll movie only further agitates things. Ultimately you end up with a not fully cooked Mummy movie and the idea of a further exploration of Crowe’s character somewhere down the road but neither come to fruition. I know this seems like a negative aspect of the film and in some ways I suppose it is a fault overall. But I count at least a part of it as a positive because if the performance was not as great as it was then it wouldn’t in turn have created such a crater in the midst of this film.
This bleeds directly into the negatives of the movie. It never really comes into it’s own as a movie. The Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weicz franchise from the last 90’s was a much better assembled film. They even had similar story lines as well as a very subtle nod to the Fraser series at one point in the movie that I really enjoyed. I don’t really mean to hang the whole thing on Sofia Boutella because it’s not entirely her fault, but honestly I cannot for the life of me figure out how she keeps popping up in movies. I’ve never seen her be interesting or dynamic or compelling. This film is no different. Her portrayal as titular Mummy is entirely meh. Some of the CGI elements of the character create an element of herky jerky horror moments when she’s in her undead phases. The problem is that because the story is so similar to what we’ve already had, uninteresting characters only make the movie suffer. I will put some of the blame on Cruise’s shoulders as well. I do actively credit him as one of the last great movie stars. That’s what he is. Having Tom Cruise in a movie is an automatic draw. His ability and dedication to the craft is unmatched. But he’s really unlikable here. I think that plays against his strengths. Making him a thief and an all around unsavory person hurts his likability and that hurts the movie in my estimation. He’s usually the hero. And while he does “save the day” in a number of ways, overall he’s not that superhero good guy that you want him to be and I think that’s a big part of why I didn’t love this movie. This movie is like a film equivalent of Cheesecake Factory. It’s big budget and has some big names in the mix. There’s plenty of good special effects and big action sequences. It tries to do a whole lot of things but in doing that, it does nothing really that well. It’s all just kind of there, partially done. There’s all the staples. And then some. All the elements are present but none of them stand out as being expertly utilized in telling a good story. I think if they had focused in on a few things, dialed back the Jekyll/Hyde so it was in the mix but not a distraction, and cast a more compelling character as the Mummy, the film would have come together more cohesively. In the end it was all just halfway done and none of it was put together well.
It was disappointing to watch a modern day Tom Cruise vehicle be just sort of ok. I wouldn’t say the movie was a bad movie. It just wasn’t up to it’s full potential and because of that, the movie ultimately suffered. Now this makes me a little bit of a hypocrite. This movie is already on my shelf but ultimately I think I’d give this movie a solid C. It’s worth a watch. I don’t think it’s unwatchable. There’s FAR worse movies than this one. And while the storytelling is bland, you can watch this movie from start to finish and be entertained. The action is good. The CGI is well done. There’s some decent scares in there even. They’re jump scares for sure. But I won’t fault them. I don’t think this movie was ever going to be a slow, spooky burn. So I probably won’t be busting this one back out any time soon. I can, obviously, because I own it. I don’t regret the purchase. I think I just wish the movie was better. I know there are still plans to move forward with a “Dark Universe” involving the Universal monsters. I don’t know how fast or how long it will take. I don’t know how they will weave a different mummy into it. I would still love to see a Jekyll and Hyde movie. I think they teased the character well enough in this movie that it’s got the legs to be a good story as long as it’s in the right, capable hands. But that’s how this one hit me. If you’ve got a hankering for something not so low budget with good production value then this one will do the trick. Just be patient with the story and adjust your expectations down a little bit and you could probably really enjoy yourself on this one. So until next time, I’ll catch you on the flip side.
