The Mummy Returns

Brendan Fraser returns as the goofier, less square-jawed rendition of Indiana Jones. It's 1935, 10 years since the events of the original, and he's married that film's heroine (Rachel Weisz) and has a nine-year-old son (Freddie Boath). The action bounces from Egypt to London and back with old nemesis Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo) again rising from 3000 years of decay and seeking world domination. Along the way there's the jackal-headed army of Anubis, vicious monkey mummies, a sea of flesh-eating beetles, and World Wrestling star the Rock as the Scorpion King.

For all its FX, The Mummy Returns, like the original (which was also written and directed by Stephen Sommers), uses the narrative as a threadbare tether on which to dangle baubles of computer-generated titillation. The swashbuckling antics of Fraser as he skitters about trying to save his wife and son from peril lack emotion and ring hollow. The acting's pat and there's not enough of the Rock, but at least the cheeky John Hannah is on tap to serve up the comic relief as the spineless brother-in-law. At the Apple Valley, Flagship, Harbour Mall, Holiday, Hoyts Providence 16, Narragansett, Showcase, Swansea, and Tri-Boro cinemas.
-- Tom Meek