Audiences of a certain generation have a burning and intense appreciation for 1999’s The Mummy that can be known to border on obsession, and while some people might not understand, those that do completely and totally get it.
It may not be a cinematic masterpiece, but the old-fashioned pulp adventure is one of the most timelessly entertaining and unabashedly enjoyable blockbusters of the modern era. Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz generate chemistry so strong it should almost be declared illegal, with the actor’s Rick O’Connell providing almost everything you’d hope to find in an action hero.
He’s handsome, rugged, charming, charismatic, but also relatable and very much capable of being hurt from a physical and emotional perspective, while Weisz’s Evie is unquestionably the most badass librarian in the history of film.
Plenty of similarly-themed movies have tried to replicate the magic, with Jungle Cruise failing to do so last summer, but The Lost City will be hoping to fare much better with critics. It’s well on the way, though, having debuted to a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes, while Daniel Radcliffe named The Mummy as a personal favorite and point of comparison in an interview with The New York Times.
“Romancing the Stone is obviously a big point of comparison, and also the first Mummy movie with Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz. That’s one of my favorite films, and this does feel like a classic adventure film where you’re rooting for the characters and rooting for the relationship, but also it’s that slightly heightened world where even in deadly, perilous moments, people are still being quippy and funny with each other and it’s a delight.”
Fraser remains one of the internet’s most beloved actors, and The Mummy still finds itself being re-watched on an annual basis by its legions of supporters. Now that Radcliffe has outed himself as a member of the fan club, Stephen Sommers’ fantastical romp could be getting dusted off and fired up once again in the very near future.
