Film Review: The Mummy Returns

IT WOULD seem that soon you would not need human beings to tell stories. All you need are computer-generated graphics to show events and characters and you can have an enraptured audience. Not very strange considering the fact just as in many other fields the computer does fill in many vacuums and create an entire line of thought - give the mind its full play of fantasties and possibilities, mythical or scientific, ancient or modern. You can create almost anything the mind can visualise - ghosts, monsters, half-human half-animal, clones, and yes even mummies - their creation, existence and their returns as it happens in ``The Mummy Returns'', a sequel to ``The Mummy.'' With a mixture of the fascination of the ancient and modern temerity to analyse and examine, Egypt and its pharaohs, pyramids and the accompaying curses, myths and stories, provide film-makers from Hollywood enough material. The more bizarre the characters and events the better for them. What else would they do with all their computer wizardry and imagination?

Throw in a bit of the reincarnation angle and two good looking artistes playing the lead you have a film that can be captivating by the sheer force of the speed with which things take place and the magnitude of the visuals and its impact on the large screen.

The saga of the mummies starts in a shadowy chamber in the British Museum when an ancient force of terror is about to be reborn and now in this sequel, the corpse of Imhotep is resurrected only to walk once more on earth to fulfill its quest of immortality. But as if this alone is not sufficient to strike terror yet another force is let loose, born out of the dark rituals of ancient Egyptian mysticism to clash and force Rick O' Connell (Brendan Frazer), Evelyn (Rachel Weisz) to save the world and also rescue their son, a pawn in the struggle. This quest takes them to Egypt and into the arms of the Scorpion King who has been frozen in time suspended between life and death for five millennia and ready to kill.

Above all this is the fabled desert oasis of Ahm Shere where the mythical gold pyramid exists. According to desert lore, no one who has seen it has ever returned - but then reaching that pyramid is the only way Rick can save his family. And this journey takes the viewer through landscapes ranging from the deserts with moth-eaten, canine-bodied warriors, to flesh eating maggot-like mummies in the dense jungles of the Nile.

Adrian Biddle as the director of photography gives audiences a virtual feast when it comes to the grandeur of the Nile and the pyramids the amazing quality of timelessness of these monuments of an ancient era stays in the mind - a magical, surreal world. The same goes for visual effects supervisor John Berton whose creatures and the clashes make wonderful viewing by themselves. Music by Alan Silvestri is only an aid to the proceedings as sound effects take over in most of the frames. Written and Directed by Stephen Sommers ``The Mummy Returns'' is one exciting flight to fantasy.

CHITRA MAHESH

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Section  : Entertainment
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