The Mummy Rebirth

This does mean The Mummy Rebirth walks recycled ground. There are no surprises to be had, nor do the characters have much depth to them. Moreover, the movie is pure fun. Khu and Price use the fact that the audience already knows these tropes to stage a series of cool action setpieces. The plot merely serves as connective tissue for some exciting, well-paced action scenes. There is a lot of fun witnessing a giant monster attack people in the desert. The best sequence in the film for my money is when the mummy chases Daniella through a museum. There’s a long take after she walks offscreen as another figure emerges from the shadows that are inventive and intense. 

“There is a lot of fun witnessing a giant monster attack people in the desert…”

However, closer to the end of the movie, there is a fight scene that does not work. The mummy summons giant monsters to stop the heroes. They are, of course, CGI. And that CGI is abysmal, to say the least. The creatures are very blocky and have no weight to them, and are terribly integrated into the scenes. It is evident that the actors are reacting to things that are not there, which ruins the suspension of disbelief. It is a disenchanting way to leave the audience, but it does drown the whole movie. 

Carter, who does go by just the one name, handles the action well and his one-liners tend to land more often than not. Brittany Goodwin is equally as assured and they two play off each other well. As the mummy Wiede is fantastic, emoting believably through the make-up. He also uses his body language to full effect under the wraps, to eerily menacing effect. The rest of the cast veers from stiff to forgettable, but no one really embarrasses themselves at all.

The Mummy Rebirth is by large and far Justin Price and Khu’s best film to date. Their use of computer-generated special effects is lacking, even by low budget adventure film standards. Plus, the story and characters have been done better elsewhere. However, the action scenes are exciting, the mummy is creepy, and there is some frightening imagery on display throughout.