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Of course, we are talking about the prototypical big-budget Hollywood popcorn flick, so whether or not The Mummy Returns is actually any good is another question. To be honest, when I saw the film this past spring I had never seen the original, so I went in with absolutely no expectations. I did not have high hopes, yet was thoroughly entertained (if a little confused). Having now gone back and watched the first film in preparation for this review, I have to say I can now see why many preferred the sequel to the original. The Mummy Returns moves at a faster clip, is less dour and dark, and each of the cast members is given his or her chance to shine. Director Stephen Sommers invests every frame with genuine enthusiasm, and even if one gets the distinct impression Sommers doesn't quite realize how conventional his film is, his energy is infectious.

A bit overstuffed, I don't think I could adequately explain the plot. Some mumbo jumbo about a Scorpion King (played with a strong screen presence by that dullard The Rock) being awakened by what's-his-name The Mummy and his would-be bride (the commanding Arnold Vosloo and this film's real find, Patricia Velasquez). Since this is a sequel designed to be both familiar and new, it doesn't take long for all our beleaguered heroes from the first film to be called back in action. Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz (now with little tyke in tow) all return, as does our comic relief John Hannah and a very stern and serious Oder Fehr, acting as if it mattered. Strung along the meager plot are plenty of resurrected undead, high-speed chases, a floating hot-air balloon, killer little pygmy mummies, and "bloodless" but gratuitous violence.

The Mummy Returns is not a masterpiece, and the effects are quite simply terrible. I've never been a big fan of CGI (how anyone can think they look photorealistic is beyond me), but I was surprised at how cheap this looked. More of an animated movie than live-action, the artifice is clearly obvious, making the required suspension of disbelief tough. But, hey, this is all about fun, so drop the pretensions and just have a good time. An improvement over the original for me, The Mummy Returns certainly makes a great rental, and fans of the original should love it.

Video: How Does The Disc Look?

Presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, this transfer boasts many striking aspect, though for me was not quite up to the standards most big-budget studio fare these days. Only a few months past its theatrical release date, the print is flawless as expected. However, as much of this film was produced in the digital realm, the transfer just looks "fake," with a digitized, un- film like appearance. Colors were too saturated for my taste, which dulls sharpness and lends the picture a fuzziness rare for most major releases. Shadow delineation was also wanting, with fine details hard to decipher. While black level is spot on, the contrast seems overpumped with some edge enhancement apparent. Given all the CGI in the film, this has a 'video look" and compression artifacts are frequent and distracting. (Perhaps going with a two disc set, one platter for the film and another for the extras, might have helped?) Overall, this is a perfectly fine transfer, just not as good as I would have expected.

Audio: How Does the Disc Sound?

Boasting an English 5.1 Dolby Digital surround track (though unlike the overseas release, no DTS track is provided) this is a very aggressive, exciting mix. Overall dynamics and fidelity are excellent. The sense of space among the front channels is top notch, with good balance between the music, effects and dialogue, even during the loudest scenes. Effects are well spread out among all five channels, and the score also benefits from aggressive use of the split surrounds. However, a higher bit rate for the Dolby track, or a separate DTS mix, might have improved the mix even more. Panning and surround effects are often easy to localize, with imaging less-than- transparent. But with kick-butt low end to give you the chills, this is a fun, very active mix that is sure to please.

Also included is a French 5.1 surround dub, along with English Captions accessible via subtitles. No true Closed Captioning is included.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

Well, I must admit, this is the most shameless special edition I have yet seen on DVD. This is one of those discs that looks really impressive on the back packaging, but don't look too close under the hood, because it's wafer thin. Essentially one long commercial, just about all the extras included are purely promotional, and offer little real depth or insight into the making of The Mummy Returns. All of the following video footage is presented in full frame and 2.0, with non-anamorphic widescreen film clips.

Let's go in reverse and start with the least attractive extras first. Before the main feature starts, we're subjected to an "exclusive sneak preview" of the upcoming Mummy spin-off The Scorpion King. Worse than The Rock's acting ability are the film's apparent production values - dimly lit, this looks like a bad USA cable movie. Thankfully, Universal allows you to skip through this and get on with the show, so have that remote handy. (Trust me, you'll need it.) More shilling of The Scorpion King follows, including An Exclusive Interview With The Rock, a five-minute "interview" (i.e., shameless promo) with some on-air personality from either Access Hollywood or Entertainment Tonight (sorry, I can never tell them apart) grilling Mr. Rock on the finer points of The Scorpion King and his acting chops. (Geesh, another sign of a pending apocalypse.) You DVD-ROM users can also Unlock The Secrets Of The Scorpion King right from the main special features menu, which will take you to an exclusive website with footage from the making of The Scorpion King. (Oh, goody, and see more on the disc's extensive ROM content below.)

Next up we have even more cheesy, jaw-droppingly obvious commercials for Universal attractions. The Mummy: Chamber Of Doom is a silly 4- minute promo for the ride of the same name at Universal Studios Hollywood. This is literally a camera crew walking around the Mummy maze, complete with embarrassed actors in monster makeup... pretty bad. A Special Message From Oder Fehr is actually a 1-minute commercial for The Kid's Cancer Connection foundation. (A nice tribute, though this isn't really a special feature.) The Playstation 2 Mummy Returns game demo is just that - a game demo. Once again, this just a commercial you can easily see on TV or the web.

Next we have more promotional materials, including Live's "Forever May Not Be Long Enough" music video, followed by the obligatory soundtrack promo. I really like Live, though how they ended up doing this remains a mystery. Not one of their best songs, the video is one of those classic 80's-esque "embarrassed band jams in front of cheesy movie set with film clips throw in" numbers. Priceless. Additional promo material includes the film's original theatrical trailer (play clip: low / med / high) in non-anamorphic widescreen, some brief production notes, filmographies, an ad for Universal's DVD Newsletter, and brief liner notes in a full-color foldout in the keepcase. (And don't forget The Mummy Returns Special Offer, yet another promo for Universal Studios' theme parks!)

Now, let's take a look at some features that are a bit (though not much) more substantial. Egyptology 201 is a series of text screens divided into five sections: "An In-depth Look At Mummification," ""The Most Famous Mummy: King Tut," "Animals Of Ancient Egypt," "Myths & Magic Of Ancient Egypt," and "The Scorpion King: Myth Or Reality?" Truth be told, these are brief but fairly interesting factoids, and kinda fun. Also providing a chuckle or two is a five- minute outtake reel, complete with a really bad score that adds to the (un?)intentional laugh quotient.

Next up are two rather lackluster featurettes. Spotlight On Location is just what we all fear - the 20-minute extended commercial shot during the making of the film. All the main participants contribute congratulatory onset interviews, including director Stephen Sommers and co-producer and editor Bob Ducsay, special effects artist John Berton, and actors Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, Oder Fehr, Arnold Vosloo, Patricia Velasquez, and, of course, The Rock. Even for a admittedly slick promo such as this, aside from some all-too-quick production footage, the relentless back patting grates and I learned next to nothing about the making of the film.

A bit better are the four Visual and Special Effects Formation vignettes. Highlighting four effects sequences - "Imhotep Returns," "Pygmy Mummies Attack," "Anubis Warriors Rising," and "Scorpion King Revealed" - each includes five subsections: "Conceptual Stage," "Animation Test," "Plate Photography," "Visual FX Elements," and "Final Feature Sequence." A bit confusing, visual effects supervisor Berton narrates, and each subsection illustrates a phase in creating the sequence, and added up these formations run a little under 20 minutes. Though fairly informative if you are interested in effects, it might have worked a bit better had they all just been strung together as one mini-documentary. Still, this is the best video-based feature on the disc.

Last but not least, perhaps the best extra is the screen-specific audio commentary with director Stephen Sommers and co-producer and editor Bob Ducsay. While fairly standard for a commentary, these two are enthusiastic about the film, though they both seem to have started to believe all the hype. With both Mummy movies now mega-hits, it can be easy to forget that neither of these movies are remotely memorable five minutes after you leave the theater. (Hey, this isn't Shakespeare!) Sommers and Ducsay are personable and lively, relating a good share of onset shenanigans, surmounting the production challenges and working with all the effects. Like so many commentaries for big movies these days, it is ironic that so much attention is paid to the effects but little on the story. Ah, well, this should still prove to be a good track for fans of the film and worth a listen.

DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC?

Rather surprising considering how lackluster the DVD-ROM content on most discs are these days, the ROM goodies included here are actually quite good. Pop the disc into your ROM drive and you'll be greeted by a rather snappy interface, complete with animations and nice graphics. Replicating the look and feel of the film's theatrical website closely, you can unlock five areas, all with different interactive games, production notes, cast filmographies, and screensavers. There is also a "hidden features" game, in which you have to crack the interface's code of hieroglyphics to unlock special content. I was able to find three different links to streaming video content, including a tour of the film's sets and, of course, exclusive Scorpion King footage. Rather fun, for once there is actually some ROM content here worth looking at.

Parting Thoughts