The situation in the reality of the dark "Universal" is dramatic - of course, we suspected what was waiting for us, but we could not believe it would hit us so soon. And since one of my colleagues is a perfect monster / zombie / horror / you-name-it specialist, and very soon he published a book with detailed, intriguing information on a lot of macabre themes, so let's talk: three years ago it was announced that Alex Kurtzman and Chris Morgan would commit to return to life (literally!) the classic movie monsters known since the dawn of cinema - Frankenstein, Dracula, Wolf-Man, the Invisible Man, the Frankenstein Bride, and the Mummy. This new "horror" raid created by Universal Studios between the 20s and the 50s of the twentieth century is probably aimed at raising the rating of the company and attempting to (a different genre / type) competition on the comic universes, more serious with content and names of stars in the "battles" between big studios. Perhaps because it is most readily recognizable and / or because there was a relatively recent refresh of the memory of the audience in its address with the 1999-2001-2008 trilogy, the Mummy falls first in the focus.
There is no cinematographer, with or without genre preconceptions, who does not know that the first film devoted to the suddenly revived ancient Egyptian priest who comes in complete with the curse and horrified archaeologists was made in 1932 and the leading role was entrusted to the legendary Boris Karloff . There are four "variations" on the subject of "hand," "tomb," "spirit," and "curse" that occur between 1940 and 1944, and in part of them the Mummy is Lone Cheney-son. In 1955 a frankly comedic version appeared - "Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy". At the end of the 1950s, Hammer Film Productions, a British company, began its own horror series of four films dedicated to mummies, including the colossal Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. At the very end of the twentieth century, Steven Somers dug (again) Immotep and Arnold Voucle, Brendan Fraser and Rachel Wise did enough to make overtime and then spin-off on the Scorpion King. In fact, I have a clear memory that it was then - at the beginning of the new millennium - and that is exactly with Mummy I was impressed by the tendency to create direct, often self-centered extensions, which has already become a natural and obligatory practice. In 2017, with Alex Kurtzman's "Mummy" and Tom Cruise, Dark Universe was launched. This time, for diversity or taking into account the tendency to focus on female images in cinema, the ancient mummification masters left in a dark well, far from Egypt, buried under mercury, covered in a sarcophagus and wrapped in a very dangerous ... princess. The pharaoh's bit was so intense to the authority that he had committed a forbidden ritual, and then slaughtered his father and his newborn son. Caught, jailed and punished for millennia, she returns to life in today's reality, and the reason for this is a reckless treasurer, a treasurer and a blonde with bosses. A crash aircraft, traditional chases, sandstorms on the streets of London, persecution (and underwater) in the catacombs - nothing can terrify Tom Cruise's hero, apart from the kind of millennium mummy that sucks the livelihood of others.
The whole concept of a new look and presentation of emblematic, legendary monstrous figures from the history of cinema is great - it is unfortunate that it started with such a failure as the "The Mummy". Naive plot, ridiculous casting, lack of authoritative director and specific handwriting - how do you attract an audience for a prepared franchise with similar characteristics ?! I hope Bill Condon wipes out the shame of the Frankenstein Bride in 2019 ... Now, do your brain cell service - you can miss the meeting with the ancient Egyptian curses with a clear conscience, waiting for Dr. Jekyll to show off with his crazy alter ego (although there is currently no scheduled movie dedicated to this character). "The Mummy" is not recommended even for Tom Cruise's die-hard fans, and the $ 125 million budget of the film is like precious water pounded aimlessly into the sands of the desert ... Pity!