#The mummy returns movie cgi series#

It ends up as all spectacle to the extent that any intervening story between set-pieces has been trimmed to an absolute minimum. The Mummy Returns tries to outdo its predecessor by a factor of ten.

#The mummy returns movie cgi series#

The Mummy Returns is a textbook example of why it is such a good reason that most series should leave well enough alone the first time around. Such successes invariably require sequels. However, it was a huge success, earning more than $400 million worldwide. The Mummy was not a particularly good film, with the spectacle and adventure being undercut by a comedic excess that clearly demonstrated nobody was taking the film seriously. Next time: After вЂњSpinal TapвЂќ but long before вЂњPopstar,вЂќ Chris Rock tried to launch his career by skewering the music business.Stephen SommersвЂ™ lavish, big-budget remake of The Mummy (1999) gave the creaky old revived mummy genre an updating by feeding it through the adventure spectacle of the Indiana Jones films, while reconstructing the creature by way of the modern CGI effects. Each episodeвЂ™s film is drawn at random from a list of every number-one movie since 1982. вЂњThe Scorpion KingвЂќ is the subject of the latest episode of The Number One Movie in America, a look back at past box-office champions. ThatвЂ™s right: ItвЂ™s a prequel to a prequel to a sequel to a remake. The seriesвЂ™ fans - a group which may or may not actually exist - can hold out hope for more Scorpion-adjacent adventures.Д«y the way, one of those latter films, вЂњRise of a Warrior,вЂќ is actually a prequel to the theatrical вЂњScorpion King.вЂќ These may still be in production the most recent, вЂњBook of SoulsвЂќ was just released in 2018. Miraculously, though, it gave birth to four more direct-to-DVD вЂњScorpion KingвЂќ films. It was barely worth attention at the time itвЂ™s merely a training ground for Johnson, the cinematic dark match before he made it to the main event. More to the point of the matter, The Rock is not Dwayne Johnson yet he has his physical presence and little besides.ДЄdd in every era hallmark you can name (look for chugging post-grunge guitars insinuating themselves in the otherwise generic score) and an alarming number of problematic scenes (the less said of MathayusвЂ™ visit to the harem, the better), and вЂњThe Scorpion KingвЂќ is not worth revisiting. The effects are terrible, the comedy falls flat and the story is an utter mess. To be clear: вЂњThe Scorpion KingвЂќ is very bad. ThereвЂ™s even a knockoff of Short Round, as the filmmakers desperately grab at any stray page from IndyвЂ™s playbook they can find. ThereвЂ™s a menacing bad guy, Memnon (Steven Brand), his imprisoned oracle (Kelly Hu) and a foe-turned ally (Michael Clarke Duncan). The rambling plot follows Mathayus, not yet a monarch (Scorpion or otherwise), on a tedious and unfocused adventure. It is very, very unclear when and where the events of вЂњThe Scorpion KingвЂќ are occurring. While a sizable portion of the fans of the Indiana Jones lite formula employed by Fraser and company did follow The Rock into the past, itвЂ™s worth noting that вЂњThe Scorpion KingвЂќ has none of the Egyptian mythology that was a hallmark of the series. вЂњThe MummyвЂќ grossed $155 million even the forgotten third installment, 2008вЂ™s вЂњTomb of the Dragon Emperor,вЂќ pulled in $108 million. That is decidedly less than every entry in its big-brother franchise.

(April wasnвЂ™t summer yet back then.) It would be utterly obliterated in its third weekend by the debuting вЂњSpider-Man,вЂќ but hung around long enough to earn $91 million domestic. вЂњThe Scorpion KingвЂќ arrived just 11 months after вЂњThe Mummy Returns.вЂќ It was a mild hit, winning two weekends amid sleepy box-office. Universal decided to strike, fast-tracking a prequel to вЂњThe Mummy ReturnsвЂќ that would investigate the origins of the character. He wasnвЂ™t the reason вЂњMummy ReturnsвЂќ was a success - the character eventually morphs into a laughable CGI arachnid that looks like a Playstation 1 mini-boss - but the young Dwayne Johnson was a rising star. вЂњThe Mummy ReturnsвЂќ featured an up-and-coming star out of the then-WWF, simply billed on-screen as The Rock. Its sequel, 2001вЂ™s вЂњThe Mummy Returns,вЂќ was an even bigger hit it crossed the $200 million mark and finished 6th overall that year. вЂњThe Mummy,вЂќ 1999вЂ™s massive hit adventure with Brendan Fraser, was (barely) a remake of the classic Universal picture from the early days of horror. вЂњThe Scorpion KingвЂќ is a prequel to a sequel to a remake. The Number One Movie in America: The Scorpion King By Sean Collier July 24, 2020