Okay, just rewatched it tonight. Who is with me that The Mummy with Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Oded Fehr, Arnold Vosloo and especially Kevin O’Connor may be a more perfect movie than Raiders of the Lost Ark. (Remember the meme that Raiders of the Lost Ark would end the same way without Indy at all? No way would the Mummy have ended the same way without every one of these actors.)

It’s horrors are more horrifying (tongues being cut off; eyes being cut out;, zombie egyptions crawling along the walls; and those scarabs crawling under the skin stlll creep me out), its mass action scenes more full of cool action (the opening French Legionaire battle with the on rushing Arabs at Hamunaptra is still one of the coolest. Rick goes through about 4-5 different weapons. He is ready for it all.). It’s comedy is more fun (the one shot of Evie knocking down all the library shelves around the entire room; Evie stepping over the unconscious body of her brother to talk with Rick in prison; Beni running through all the religious symbols and original languages to stop Imhotep, until he hits on the language of the slaves, who we all saw building the city of Hamunaptra in the opening sequences), its jump scares really work (parts of undead bodies arising from the ground to continue fighting) and the CGI still works well, even while the practical effects are tremendous.

Evie, IMHO, is a better heroine than Marion. She is smart, passionate and great under pressure, even if her knowledge is mostly book-learned. Ricky is both brave and goofy, with his own intelligence and charm. He never disrespects Evie, especially in the temple where her expertise is critical. Her brother may be greedy but he always does the right thing when it matters and can handle himself well in a fight

Hell, we even have sympathy at moments for Imhotep who only loved the wrong person too deeply. His expression when Anck-su-namun is killed at the end (by some of the best zombie soldiers ever) and his own soul is taken away is pretty heart-rending. And man, the way Imhotep eventually dies in a black pool surrounded by the heads of the dead…scary, creepy and sad. “Death is only the beginning.”

In fact, watch the climax of the movie, as the two Carnahan siblings try to figure out the proper incantation to win the day, even as Rick, smartly and humorously, keeps Imhotep occupied. So much better than the end of Raiders for action, comedy, creepiness, love, fear, horror, sadness and action.

The Army of The Undead (Final Fight Scene) | The Mummy (1999) | Family Flicks

Plus, it has one of my favorite moments, at the end, one that subverts the idea of the two leads falling in love. Sure they kiss at the end, but it is a tentative kind of smooch, where they are a little uncertain.Not the passionate one of lust so often used. But then they bump noses and both smile in joy. Its going to be okay. They love, not lust. More romantic than anything in Raiders. (And as the sequels show, Indy and Marion’s relationship was fraught and kinda miserable. But Rick and Evie’s never really falters. Marion takes care of their son by herself, creating a really obnoxious person. Rick and Evie raise their son together and, while he is a little too curious, is quite an amazing young man).

The Mummy (1999) - Ending

Beni’s death makes the movie, IMHO. Much worse than melting faces on people we really do not know. It is still one of the most terrifying ones for any character, much less one that we have kinda, sorta gotten to like because Rick kinda, sorta does. He was mainly just trying to protect himself but his basic greediness resulted in his horrifying death. The anticipation as the torch goes out is so much worse than the torch going out with the snakes in Raiders. Flesh-eating scarabs. What a concept.

And, finally, damn are there so many good looking major characters in the movie. Not just good-looking but are played by actors who know how to use that hotness for a purpose without being obvious. Sexy without being sexual. The chemistry between them all is what holds everything together. I would imagine that everyone cis, trans, queer on inbetween has a relationship to appreciate in the Mummy.