If you take out the SFX then it would not be hard to believe that this film was made in the 1940s. This is a recommendation to my mind. Don’t get me wrong; I like sex and ultra-violence just as much as the next person but it gets to be a bit much sometimes. I nearly didn’t go to see this film because it was only rated 12 but actually there was plenty to satisfy me. This was like a 40s film because it was fun, had great character acting, a corny script and did not take itself too seriously.

Even so there are plenty of things wrong with this film that you need to know about. It gets off to a bad start by using a voiceover. Even whilst you are being impressed by the onscreen visuals you are also thinking what a lazy and unsatisfactory way this is to set up the back story. It could have been done better. Secondly it could have benefited from a little more editing. It doesn’t quite need the automatic 30 minutes taking out as recommended in the Lizard’s Rules of Film Making but it probably does need 15 minutes taken out. Thirdly, and most disturbingly, it is alarmingly racist at times.

The Lizard is definitely not a PC fan but some things ought to be challenged. The idea that certain groups should never be portrayed in a negative light is just plain barmy (e.g. gays, blacks, gods of various cultures). We all know that Brits make good villains and that there is certain logic in picking terrorist groups with names like "Islamic Jihad" or "IRA Splinter Group". It doesn’t mean all Muslims and Irish people are terrorists but that we recognise there are extremists groups amongst them just by being familiar with world news. It’s useful shorthand and no intelligent person is going to believe Lesbians have a tendency to become murderers on the strength of having seen "Basic Instinct" nor that Jeremy Irons is really an International Terrorist, Psychopath and child molester. BUT, in the Mummy 2 major characters are portrayed as lazy, feckless, smelly and downright bad and they both just happen to be Arabs. Unfortunately this gives a rather unpleasant colonialist view of Egypt (see, I said it was like a 40s film). This aspect of the film really should have been rethought.

Otherwise The Mummy is an excellent jaunt which will carry you along for the ride and have you leaving the cinema with a smile on your face. I particularly like the fact that the cast is not well known and are younger than the average for a film of this type. Harrison Ford is too old to do this kind of thing as well as younger actors. Clint Eastwood and Sean Connery are definitely too old for this kind of thing and Bruce Willis must be on the borderline here. I don’t have anything against older actors, far from it, but action is best done by a younger cast. I can’t help mentioning what everyone else has said about this film – its closest relative is undoubtedly Indiana Jones. Personally I think it is better, smarter and funnier than I Jones but not everyone will agree with me. Brendan Fraser is very effective, Rachel Weisz is a good heroine and looks more like a 40s star rather than one of those stick-insect no-brainers who might have been cast in this part. Arnold Vosloo as the Mummy has a riveting screen presence and I hope we get to see more of him soon.

The SFX have to get a mention because they are a big part of the film. Some effects were actually a bit patchy (e.g. backdrops for the plagues) but the film gets away with this because of its general B movie ambience. Elsewhere the effects are excellent and I particularly liked the flesh eating beetles even though they eat flesh very very slowly or strip flesh to the bone in seconds depending on what is convenient to the plot at the time. This film does exactly what film has always done – used the best FX available within the budget. If these effects had been available in 1940 or 1910, they would have been used. Technology has always been a very important part of film making and gripes about modern films being over-reliant on FX overlook the history of the cinema. That’s not to say FX cannot be overdone, they can. This film uses them effectively. Very effectively.

It’s great fun. It is definitely not a horror film but an adventure film with some horror tinges. Actors and FX well blended. Not the best film ever made or anywhere near it. Imagine you are going to see a 40s adventure film with modern effects and enjoy it.