The Mummy arrives in cinemas tomorrow (June 9) to kickstart Universal's Dark Universe, but it's off to a dodgy start with most critics.
We were among the reboot's fans, saying that "it's not ground-breaking, but The Mummy is a breezy summer blockbuster that could be the start of an entertaining series".
"The movie has a popcorn sensibility that raises it above its shortcomings. It combines a sense of humour (channelling the Brendan Fraser films more than you might expect) with moments that are genuinely creepy and unsettling."
But it seems that we were in the minority.
"It's a strange mix all right, but it is at least lighter on its feet than the iconic Doctor's lumbering, bolt-necked revenant. Rattling along at a fair old clip — as most Cruise movies do these days — The Mummy 17 proves a hokey entertainment that should keep you sufficiently distracted for a couple of hours without unduly bothering your higher brain functions."
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"I'm not sure that this aimless, lukewarm, but occasionally rollicking take on The Mummy is how the studio dreamed that its Dark Universe would kick off. But it's just good enough to keep you curious about what comes next."
"What is surprising is that this film's action makes one slightly nostalgic for the 1999 incarnation, or at least prompts one to ask if it wasn't maybe more fun than we gave it credit for. So much of the action takes place in monotonous half-light; so little of it displays even the ambition to show audiences something new."
"A lot less fun than the stupid zappy Mummy movies of the '00s. It's not as if this one is all that smart, what with a plot that somehow squashes together the First Dynasty of Egypt, the Crusades, and the looting of Iraqi antiquities. Yet it does seem to be trying for something, and so, if you're a Cruise fan (as I very much am), you roll with it."
"All of this is to say that not only is The Mummy the worst movie that Tom Cruise has ever made, it's also obviously the worst movie that Tom Cruise has ever made – it stands out like a flat note on a grand piano. It's not that Cruise hasn't had misfires before, but The Mummy is the first of his films that doesn't feel like a Tom Cruise movie."
"While The Mummy has little of the deep heartache, sly wit or visual poetry that so distinguished the studio's '30s classics, it does deliver enough popcorn thrills to sate viewers who want their entertainment speedy and slick, without a cobweb in sight. To borrow from Frankenstein: it's alive."
Make up your own mind when The Mummy arrives in cinemas from tomorrow.
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Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
