The Mummy (2017) Blu-ray Review

2.5 Stars Disappointing action-horror hybrid

This 2017 version of The Mummy is loud and gauche but only fitfully entertaining with a jumbled narrative that doesn’t serve very well as the initial effort in Universal’s new Dark Universe franchise.

The Mummy (2017)
Released: 09 Jun 2017
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 110 min
Director: Alex Kurtzman
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Cast: Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe, Annabelle Wallis, Sofia Boutella
Writer(s): David Koepp (screenplay), Christopher McQuarrie (screenplay), Dylan Kussman (screenplay), Jon Spaihts (screen story by), Alex Kurtzman (screen story by), Jenny Lumet (screen story by)
Plot: An ancient princess is awakened from her crypt beneath the desert, bringing with her malevolence grown over millennia, and terrors that defy human comprehension.
IMDB rating: 5.6
MetaScore: 34

Disc Information
Studio: Universal
Distributed By: N/A
Video Resolution: 1080P/AVC
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Audio: Dolby Atmos, Spanish 5.1 DTS, French 5.1 DTS
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
Rating: PG-13
Run Time: 1 Hr. 50 Min.
Package Includes: Blu-ray, DVD, Digital Copy
Case Type: keep case in a slipcover
Disc Type: BD50 (dual layer)
Region: All
Release Date: 09/12/2017
MSRP: $34.98

The Production: 2/5

Eighteen years ago, The Mummy franchise was rebooted with a very entertaining popcorn flick starring Brendan Fraser, and now in 2017, another variation on the story comes along in Alex Kurtzman’s The Mummy, a disappointing first effort in Universal’s new Dark Universe series, an attempt to bring back to life all of the extensive gallery of Universal horror icons. This new effort doesn’t really know what it wants to be, however: a Tom Cruise action picture, a supernatural horror thriller, or what it has turned out to be: a cinematic smorgasbord with some action, some thrills, some horror, some comedy, some romance, and all of the mishmash so unsatisfying as to be a waste of almost two hours.

Ahmanet (Sofia Boutella), an ancient Egyptian princess who murdered her father, the Pharaoh, and his infant son so that she could lay claim to the throne, is mummified and taken to Mesopotamia where she’s buried in a tomb meant to imprison her demonic spirit for all eternity. Several thousand years later, Nick Morton (Tom Cruise), a wisecracking, free-spirited U.S. Army corporal and part-time tomb raider, stumbles upon the princess’ buried mausoleum with his fellow raider Chris Vail (Jake Johnson) and inadvertently releases the mummy from her crypt whereupon she begins a series of assaults on living persons to draw their life’s energy from them to bring herself back to life and to turn them into zombies who will effectively do her bidding. Ahmanet sees in Nick the potential for him to become the earthly vessel for Set, the God of death, and she begins to possess him in order to get close enough to him to take away his earthly life and make him immortal by plunging into him the Dagger of Set. Naturally, Nick resists her attacks, aided by former lover Jenny Halsey (Annabelle Wallis) and by following the advice of Jenny’s employer Dr. Henry Jekyll (Russell Crowe).

A quick glance at the credits for the film’s narrative suggests why it’s such a nearly incomprehensible mess: three writers contributed to the story (Jon Spaihts, director Alex Kurtzman, and Jenny Lumet) and another three drew up the final screenplay (David Koepp, Christopher McQuarrie, Dylan Kussman) making for an overcooked stew that will impress you as you watch that the story is just being adjusted with new rules for the supernatural creatures neatly added as the film rolls along. With action moving from ancient Egypt to modern day Iraq to London, there are plenty of locations to display on the expansive screen, and the impressive sets fashioned for the film, from the Egyptian tombs to an underground London vault where excavated remains from the Crusades (of all things) figure directly into the storytelling. But nothing seems to fit together smoothly and evenly: the Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde scenes seem tacked on for no purpose other than to introduce Russell Crowe’s good doctor to the series, and the endless attacks on Nick by the determined Ahmanet (who also seems to have a ready supply of zombie corpses in London to do her bidding, too) get really tedious by the end. This is also another of those action films in which the human characters have indestructible bodies with both Nick and Jenny being flung about rooms crashing into walls, church pews, and stone stairs and being rained on by shards of shattered glass and never sustaining even a scratch, much less broken bones or a concussion. To his credit, director Alex Kurtzman stages two exciting sequences: an attack on Nick and Chris in Iraq and a novel zero-gravity sequence inside a falling airplane while Nick and Jenny struggle to find parachutes to get out in time.

Tom Cruise is acting a role that he’s been playing for several decades, the frisky, devil-may-care adventurer with nary a change in spirit or demeanor from when he played these roles as a young man. His character seems to be about twenty years his junior, and while he’s certainly in great shape (he doesn’t let us forget it with a nude scene inside a morgue), it does seem a little off that everyone around him is so much younger. Annabelle Wallis is very attractive as his former love interest Jenny, but she doesn’t make much of a dramatic impression. Sofia Boutella certainly uses her dancer’s carriage and exotic looks to entice effectively as Ahmanet. Jake Johnson is the film’s comic relief as Nick’s eager but cowardly friend Chris, and he’s entertaining through various stages of deterioration in the movie (think Griffin Dunne’s character in An American Werewolf in London, obviously the source of inspiration for this narrative element). Russell Crowe plays around with two different accents as the afflicted Dr. Jekyll/Edward Hyde, and Courtney B. Vance as Colonel Greenway has a few precious moments calling Nick and Chris on the carpet for their nefarious double dealings in the Middle East.

Video: 5/5

3D Rating: NA

The film’s theatrical 2.40:1 aspect ratio is faithfully rendered in this 1080p transfer using the AVC codec. Sharpness is very good throughout, detailed enough to reveal some of the sometimes phony looking CG effects (though the movie bent over backwards to use as many real locations and make-up prosthetics as it could). Color is strong and deeply saturated though flesh tones appear natural when the characters are in natural light. Contrast has been applied expertly for a first-rate picture, and black levels are the deepest of deep. The movie has been divided into 20 chapters.

Audio: 5/5

The Dolby Atmos sound mix (decoded by my equipment to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 core) is bracingly solid and very effective (and kudos to Universal for providing Atmos even on a lowly Blu-ray instead of holding it exclusively for the UHD release). Dialogue has been masterfully recorded and mostly resides in the center channel though there are some occasional directional voices to give the mix some breadth. Brian Tyler’s music uses lots of deep bass to rumble your home theater seats while the orchestral music gets the full surround treatment. Atmospheric effects likewise are split in the fronts, rears, and all channels in between for a very immersive listening experience.

Special Features: 4.5/5

Audio Commentary: director Alex Kurtzman and actors Sofia Boutella, Annabelle Wallis, and Jake Johnson watch the film together (the actors for the first time) sharing their delight at what they’re seeing and sharing stories of the production. Sometimes too many are chattering away at the same time, but they generally let the director lead the conversation.

Deleted/Extended Scenes (4:52, HD): four scenes may be viewed together or separately.

Cruise & Kurtzman: A Conversation (21:15, HD): the star and his director have a mutual admiration society for each other’s talents while also extolling Cruise’s other cast mates who worked with him so tirelessly.

Rooted in Reality (6:52, HD): director Alex Kurtzman and star Tom Cruise discuss the importance of grounding the movie in 21st century locales even tied to its old movie lore and the use of the supernatural. Also commenting are producers Chris Morgan, Jeb Brody, and Sean Daniel, writer Jon Spaihts, art director John Hutman, and co-star Russell Crowe.

Life in Zero-G: Creating the Plane Crash (7:32, HD): behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the film’s most impressive single sequence with director Alex Kurtzman, producer Jeb Brody, and stars Tom Cruise and Annabelle Wallis commenting on the production.

Meet Ahmanet (7:39, HD): actress Sofia Boutella discusses her character, and her work is praised by director Alex Kurtzman and co-star Tom Cruise.

Cruise in Action (6:09, HD): famous for doing his own stunts, Tom Cruise discusses his love of action sequences with some behind-the-scenes shots of the star at work. He’s also praised by director Alex Kurtzman, producers Jeb Brody and Sean Daniel, and co-stars Annabelle Wallis, Jake Johnson, and Sofia Boutella.

Becoming Jekyll and Hyde (7:10, HD): Russell Crowe discusses his process of getting into the minds of the two personalities and is greatly praised by producers Jeb Brody and Sean Daniel, director Alex Kurtzman, production designer Dominic Watkins (who talks about Jekyll’s prison-like set), and co-stars Tom Cruise and Annabelle Wallis.

Choreographed Chaos (6:35, HD): cast and crew discuss filming on practical London locations including the Natural History Museum and on the city streets.  Production designer Dominic Watkins, director Alex Kurtzman, producer Jeb Brody, and stars Tom Cruise, Annabelle Wallis, and Sofia Boutella all comment.

Nick Morton: In Search of a Soul (5:43, HD): Tom Cruise discusses what attracted him to the role of Nick with his work as Nick praised highly by producer Jeb Brody, director Alex Kurtzman, and co-star Annabelle Wallis.

Ahmanet Reborn (3:52, HD): an animated graphic on-screen featurette detailing the princess’ thoughts about her treatment and her goals once she is freed.

Promo Trailers (HD): Atomic Blonde, Despicable Me 3, Cult of Chucky.

 DVD/Digital Copy: code sheet and disc enclosed in the case.

Overall: 2.5/5

The Mummy is loud and gauche but only fitfully entertaining with a jumbled narrative that doesn’t serve very well as the initial effort in Universal’s new Dark Universe franchise. The video and audio quality of the Blu-ray is superlative, though, so those curious to see what disappointed so many will at least be able to experience it with reference quality materials.

Matt has been reviewing films and television professionally since 1974 and has been a member of Home Theater Forum’s reviewing staff since 2007, his reviews now numbering close to three thousand. During those years, he has also been a junior and senior high school English teacher earning numerous entries into Who’s Who Among America’s Educators and spent many years treading the community theater boards as an actor in everything from Agatha Christie mysteries to Stephen Sondheim musicals.

Post Disclaimer

Some of our content may contain marketing links, which means we will receive a commission for purchases made via those links. In our editorial content, these affiliate links appear automatically, and our editorial teams are not influenced by our affiliate partnerships. We work with several providers (currently Skimlinks and Amazon) to manage our affiliate relationships. You can find out more about their services by visiting their sites.

Share this post:

View thread (10 replies)

DP 70

Screenwriter
Joined
Oct 16, 2011
Messages
1,075
Real Name
Derek
When I saw this on release it was the first time ever I was going to walk out of a cinema because a film was so bad, but I stayed to the end just to check out the Dolby Atmos and as Matt says it was great.
 
Last edited:

shamshakthi

Auditioning
Joined
Sep 13, 2017
Messages
2
Real Name
shakthi
Matt Hough

The Mummy (2017) Blu-ray Review
mummytop2-1024x422.jpg



This 2017 version of The Mummy is loud and gauche but only fitfully entertaining with a jumbled narrative that doesn’t serve very well as the initial effort in Universal’s new Dark Universe franchise.

The Mummy (2017)
Released: 09 Jun 2017
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 110 min
Director: Alex Kurtzman
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Cast: Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe, Annabelle Wallis, Sofia Boutella
Writer(s): David Koepp (screenplay), Christopher McQuarrie (screenplay), Dylan Kussman (screenplay), Jon Spaihts (screen story by), Alex Kurtzman (screen story by), Jenny Lumet (screen story by)
Plot: An ancient princess is awakened from her crypt beneath the desert, bringing with her malevolence grown over millennia, and terrors that defy human comprehension.
IMDB rating: 5.6
MetaScore: 34

Disc Information
Studio: Universal
Distributed By: N/A
Video Resolution: 1080P/AVC
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Audio: Dolby Atmos, Spanish 5.1 DTS, French 5.1 DTS
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
Rating: PG-13
Run Time: 1 Hr. 50 Min.
Package Includes: Blu-ray, DVD, Digital Copy
Case Type: keep case in a slipcover
Disc Type: BD50 (dual layer)
Region: All
Release Date: 09/12/2017
MSRP: $34.98

The Production: 2/5

Eighteen years ago, The Mummy franchise was rebooted with a very entertaining popcorn flick starring Brendan Fraser, and now in 2017, another variation on the story comes along in Alex Kurtzman’s The Mummy, a disappointing first effort in Universal’s new Dark Universe series, an attempt to bring back to life all of the extensive gallery of Universal horror icons. This new effort doesn’t really know what it wants to be, however: a Tom Cruise action picture, a supernatural horror thriller, or what it has turned out to be: a cinematic smorgasbord with some action, some thrills, some horror, some comedy, some romance, and all of the mishmash so unsatisfying as to be a waste of almost two hours.

Ahmanet (Sofia Boutella), an ancient Egyptian princess who murdered her father, the Pharaoh, and his infant son so that she could lay claim to the throne, is mummified and taken to Mesopotamia where she’s buried in a tomb meant to imprison her demonic spirit for all eternity. Several thousand years later, Nick Morton (Tom Cruise), a wisecracking, free-spirited U.S. Army corporal and part-time tomb raider, stumbles upon the princess’ buried mausoleum with his fellow raider Chris Vail (Jake Johnson) and inadvertently releases the mummy from her crypt whereupon she begins a series of assaults on living persons to draw their life’s energy from them to bring herself back to life and to turn them into zombies who will effectively do her bidding. Ahmanet sees in Nick the potential for him to become the earthly vessel for Set, the God of death, and she begins to possess him in order to get close enough to him to take away his earthly life and make him immortal by plunging into him the Dagger of Set. Naturally, Nick resists her attacks, aided by former lover Jenny Halsey (Annabelle Wallis) and by following the advice of Jenny’s employer Dr. Henry Jekyll (Russell Crowe).

A quick glance at the credits for the film’s narrative suggests why it’s such a nearly incomprehensible mess: three writers contributed to the story (Jon Spaihts, director Alex Kurtzman, and Jenny Lumet) and another three drew up the final screenplay (David Koepp, Christopher McQuarrie, Dylan Kussman) making for an overcooked stew that will impress you as you watch that the story is just being adjusted with new rules for the supernatural creatures neatly added as the film rolls along. With action moving from ancient Egypt to modern day Iraq to London, there are plenty of locations to display on the expansive screen, and the impressive sets fashioned for the film, from the Egyptian tombs to an underground London vault where excavated remains from the Crusades (of all things) figure directly into the storytelling. But nothing seems to fit together smoothly and evenly: the Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde scenes seem tacked on for no purpose other than to introduce Russell Crowe’s good doctor to the series, and the endless attacks on Nick by the determined Ahmanet (who also seems to have a ready supply of zombie corpses in London to do her bidding, too) get really tedious by the end. This is also another of those action films in which the human characters have indestructible bodies with both Nick and Jenny being flung about rooms crashing into walls, church pews, and stone stairs and being rained on by shards of shattered glass and never sustaining even a scratch, much less broken bones or a concussion. To his credit, director Alex Kurtzman stages two exciting sequences: an attack on Nick and Chris in Iraq and a novel zero-gravity sequence inside a falling airplane while Nick and Jenny struggle to find parachutes to get out in time.

Tom Cruise is acting a role that he’s been playing for several decades, the frisky, devil-may-care adventurer with nary a change in spirit or demeanor from when he played these roles as a young man. His character seems to be about twenty years his junior, and while he’s certainly in great shape (he doesn’t let us forget it with a nude scene inside a morgue), it does seem a little off that everyone around him is so much younger. Annabelle Wallis is very attractive as his former love interest Jenny, but she doesn’t make much of a dramatic impression. Sofia Boutella certainly uses her dancer’s carriage and exotic looks to entice effectively as Ahmanet. Jake Johnson is the film’s comic relief as Nick’s eager but cowardly friend Chris, and he’s entertaining through various stages of deterioration in the movie (think Griffin Dunne’s character in An American Werewolf in London, obviously the source of inspiration for this narrative element). Russell Crowe plays around with two different accents as the afflicted Dr. Jekyll/Edward Hyde, and Courtney B. Vance as Colonel Greenway has a few precious moments calling Nick and Chris on the carpet for their nefarious double dealings in the Middle East.

Video: 5/5

3D Rating: NA

The film’s theatrical 2.40:1 aspect ratio is faithfully rendered in this 1080p transfer using the AVC codec. Sharpness is very good throughout, detailed enough to reveal some of the sometimes phony looking CG effects (though the movie bent over backwards to use as many real locations and make-up prosthetics as it could). Color is strong and deeply saturated though flesh tones appear natural when the characters are in natural light. Contrast has been applied expertly for a first-rate picture, and black levels are the deepest of deep. The movie has been divided into 20 chapters.

Audio: 5/5

The Dolby Atmos sound mix (decoded by my equipment to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 core) is bracingly solid and very effective (and kudos to Universal for providing Atmos even on a lowly Blu-ray instead of holding it exclusively for the UHD release). Dialogue has been masterfully recorded and mostly resides in the center channel though there are some occasional directional voices to give the mix some breadth. Brian Tyler’s music uses lots of deep bass to rumble your home theater seats while the orchestral music gets the full surround treatment. Atmospheric effects likewise are split in the fronts, rears, and all channels in between for a very immersive listening experience.

Special Features: 4.5/5

Audio Commentary: director Alex Kurtzman and actors Sofia Boutella, Annabelle Wallis, and Jake Johnson watch the film together (the actors for the first time) sharing their delight at what they’re seeing and sharing stories of the production. Sometimes too many are chattering away at the same time, but they generally let the director lead the conversation.

Deleted/Extended Scenes (4:52, HD): four scenes may be viewed together or separately.

Cruise & Kurtzman: A Conversation (21:15, HD): the star and his director have a mutual admiration society for each other’s talents while also extolling Cruise’s other cast mates who worked with him so tirelessly.

Rooted in Reality (6:52, HD): director Alex Kurtzman and star Tom Cruise discuss the importance of grounding the movie in 21st century locales even tied to its old movie lore and the use of the supernatural. Also commenting are producers Chris Morgan, Jeb Brody, and Sean Daniel, writer Jon Spaihts, art director John Hutman, and co-star Russell Crowe.

Life in Zero-G: Creating the Plane Crash (7:32, HD): behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the film’s most impressive single sequence with director Alex Kurtzman, producer Jeb Brody, and stars Tom Cruise and Annabelle Wallis commenting on the production.

Meet Ahmanet (7:39, HD): actress Sofia Boutella discusses her character, and her work is praised by director Alex Kurtzman and co-star Tom Cruise.

Cruise in Action (6:09, HD): famous for doing his own stunts, Tom Cruise discusses his love of action sequences with some behind-the-scenes shots of the star at work. He’s also praised by director Alex Kurtzman, producers Jeb Brody and Sean Daniel, and co-stars Annabelle Wallis, Jake Johnson, and Sofia Boutella.

Becoming Jekyll and Hyde (7:10, HD): Russell Crowe discusses his process of getting into the minds of the two personalities and is greatly praised by producers Jeb Brody and Sean Daniel, director Alex Kurtzman, production designer Dominic Watkins (who talks about Jekyll’s prison-like set), and co-stars Tom Cruise and Annabelle Wallis.

Choreographed Chaos (6:35, HD): cast and crew discuss filming on practical London locations including the Natural History Museum and on the city streets.  Production designer Dominic Watkins, director Alex Kurtzman, producer Jeb Brody, and stars Tom Cruise, Annabelle Wallis, and Sofia Boutella all comment.

Nick Morton: In Search of a Soul (5:43, HD): Tom Cruise discusses what attracted him to the role of Nick with his work as Nick praised highly by producer Jeb Brody, director Alex Kurtzman, and co-star Annabelle Wallis.

Ahmanet Reborn (3:52, HD): an animated graphic on-screen featurette detailing the princess’ thoughts about her treatment and her goals once she is freed.

Promo Trailers (HD): Atomic Blonde, Despicable Me 3, Cult of Chucky.

 DVD/Digital Copy: code sheet and disc enclosed in the case.

Overall: 2.5/5

The Mummy is loud and gauche but only fitfully entertaining with a jumbled narrative that doesn’t serve very well as the initial effort in Universal’s new Dark Universe franchise. The video and audio quality of the Blu-ray is superlative, though, so those curious to see what disappointed so many will at least be able to experience it with reference quality materials.

 

Johnny Angell

Played With Dinosaurs Member
Senior HTF Member
Deceased Member
Joined
Dec 13, 1998
Messages
14,905
Location
Central Arkansas
Real Name
Johnny Angell
When I saw this on release it was the first time ever I was going to walk out of a cinema because a film was so bad, but I stayed to the end just to check out the Dolby Atmos and as Matt says it was great.
Good sound for a bad movie, still produces a bad movie.
 

Johnny Angell

Played With Dinosaurs Member
Senior HTF Member
Deceased Member
Joined
Dec 13, 1998
Messages
14,905
Location
Central Arkansas
Real Name
Johnny Angell
You comment on the indestructible humans. I've have noticed when the movie is good, that's just a nit or I don't care at all. When the movie sucks, as The Mummy does, it's a glaring mistake. Russel Crowe does not get the job done at all. Oh they spared no expense to hire him, and forgot to ask if he's right for the part and he ain't.
 

TJPC

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2016
Messages
4,818
Location
Hamilton Ontario
Real Name
Terry Carroll
I saw this movie in the theatre in 3D. I refuse to see it in this flat version and intend to order the proper 3D version from Amazon.uk. Why in the world they can have it available in Britain and not have it available in its country of origin, in the way it was intended, is a mystery to me. If companies are weezeing out of 3D, it makes no logical sense to do so in one country and not another.
 
Most Popular