A Múmia

Há muito tempo que não tivemos uma confusão de filme A tão amarga e azeda. A partir da «entrevista com o espelho» na casa de banho feminina começa a estragar-se. Um filme de terror de aventura ambientado nos dias de hoje com Cruise a fazer piadas, simplesmente não podia resultar. A Universal, após anos extremamente bem sucedidos, apostou confiantemente em argumentistas de blockbusters provados, e eles pisaram totalmente fora de lugar. Não se pode criar uma nova fonte de dinheiro sem uma ideia de entusiasmo. O pior papel de Russell Crowe? (18/06/2017)

It is so, so conflicting, what a shame. For a while it's an adaptation of Uncharted with everything, for a while it is and adventurous silly action movie with an annoying sidekick à la modern Mummy, for a while it continues in the darkened mode of gothic horror, at times it would very much like to refer to the style of good old universal movies, it often uses to the contemporary blockbuster plague "CGI solves everything", in the style of all contemporary franchise movies that make the universe go round, future thing are more indicated and actually told and... And you probably already got the idea. On the other hand, it's well-paced, most of the action has a drive, and even though it would be nice to replace Cruise with someone like new Price/Lee, nothing bad can be said about him this time. We cannot say it is a modernization of a (let alone respectful) of a true classic movie from the Universal department not even remotely. But as a (so far purely on the paper) more advanced alternative of all comic book cinemas series it´s enough to get by. Especially if the movie would have been in the same mode throughout the footage, preferably in Uncharted mode with slightly horror stylization. (07/06/2017)

Actually, it's good. The Mummy has its flaws, but Tom Cruise's charisma, the fast pace and the effort to introduce a new world for two hours easily entertains. The opening is reminiscent of Indy or the “Uncharted” games, the horror interludes work surprisingly well, and at times The Mummy straddles the line between PG-13 and R-rated. You probably won't be downright scared, but saying it’s horror adventure is not an exaggeration. There's more or less always something going on, and once they stop trying for funny interludes, it really paces just as you'd expect and hope after the trailers. In the end, it's a bit of a bummer that while The Mummy is a proper adventure flick, it unfortunately doesn't offer any scenes that you'll be excitedly describing to your friends and sending them to the cinema. As the start of a potentially interesting cinematic universe, however, it works without the slightest problem, and I'll happily be there next time. (11/06/2017)

Totally unworthy of Tom Cruise's star power. Well, yeah, there's a shortage of good original writers in A-list Hollywood productions, or there's no interest in them, so they recycle and reboot to the point of madness to create new film universes. Marvel has theirs, DC Comics has theirs, and starting with this film, Universal has theirs, with the starkly original Dark Universe title that seeks to revive the iconic monsters of the 1930s and 40s horror franchises. But the first runner they sent was a lazy bum who would have lost a 100-meter race to a turtle. This is a fairly routine, formulaic, almost B-movie 100 minutes. Well, let's say that the first 40 minutes or so follow in the footsteps of a mediocre adventure flick with a protagonist and a cute female scientist by his side, with some nice location changes and Cruise talking for his life, culminating in an excellent airplane scene in weightlessness. But with the arrival of Dr. Jekyll (and Mr. Hyde – for the less astute), the film becomes regular crap, throwing in one B-movie cliché after another, with the set never leaving the doctor's office and the dull backdrop of the London catacombs, all drowned in darkness to make it easier to render the CGI. At the end, there is no door, but a gate open for the next sequel and I will definitely not be there anymore. I've always considered Cruise to be a 100% pro who chooses his roles carefully, but he stepped in some serious shit here. Yet he is the only good thing about the whole film, he plays with such commitment that it makes me wish I had as much verve as him at 55. But the positives end there and the overseas reviews really didn't lie this time. This is truly one of the worst films Cruise has left his signature on. (10/06/2017)

Alright, here’s the deal. At first, I thought Tom Cruise had lost it by jumping into a remake of the Brendan Fraser Mummy adventure from 20 years ago. But then I realized, nope—this isn’t a reboot of that trilogy. It’s actually a remake of the OG Mummy from nearly a century ago. So I adjusted my expectations and went in with the mindset of watching a classic dumb adventure where the plot makes little sense, but you’re entertained anyway. It’s kind of like a Lara Croft-style romp. The story’s ridiculous, but surprisingly, it’s well-shot, and the action sequences are top-tier. Tom Cruise and Jake Johnson are the comic relief, Russell Crowe’s character feels a bit unnecessary, but Sofia Boutella and Annabelle Wallis are absolute standouts. If nothing else, those two alone make it worth watching. (14/03/2021)