So to set the scene, thousands of years ago in Ancient Egypt, Thut (Joe Thomas) was racing around a stadium in a chariot. It's a brutal race with traps and spiked wheels. Through some clever maneuvering, Thut nearly scored a victory, that is, until his chariot disintegrates, sending him flying. Today, Lord Carnaby, a pompous archaeologist, searches for the tomb of Princess Nefer. But when he opens the sarcophagus, he finds it empty. Because for some of the mummies, death was not the end.
Needle drops have become an increasingly popular addition to cinema over the last year. The notion of taking a song that wasn't written for the movie, often one that already has a sense of notoriety, and injecting it into the proceedings has been used to enhance a physical sequence or perhaps distract viewers from what's going on. otherwise it would be a fairly common scenario. piece and fool them into thinking it's cutting edge.
Director: Juan Jesús GarcÃa Galocha
Writers: Jordi Gasull, Javier López Barreira
Stars: Ana Esther Alborg, Roser Aldabó Arnau, Óscar Barberán
Of all the movies we've seen adopt this practice, and of all the movies throughout 2023 that are likely to do so, none will match the creative decisions made on Mummies.
The film itself is a bizarre and fascinatingly horrific amalgamation of direct-to-video quality animation and narrative that invites its viewers into a potentially enchanting afterworld, but forgets to lay the groundwork in the process; I'm all for making it easier to expose, but at least one scene might have helped bring us up to speed on exactly what's going on in the Egyptian underworld the mummies want us to invest in.
What initially feels like ancient Egypt is quickly framed as the present, but in this underworld the residents live far from the technological advances of the outside world and, as we quickly found out, still practice the art of arranged marriages; We also learn that the Pharaoh (voiced by Sean Bean) controls the shadows of the night and day sky via a mechanical contraption, but, of course, let's not let anyone here use a cell phone.
The pharaoh's daughter, Nefer (Eleanor Tomlinson), wants more than what society expects of her (or not all?), and because screenwriters Jordi Gasull (Tad: The Explorer) and Javier Barreira (Tad the Lost Explorer and the Secret of King Midas) believes that a wacky adventure in which protégés Egyptians face the daily advances of the "real world" is enough of a narrative to fulfill a 90-minute recap, finds itself thrust into present-day London, with the Macguffin from an ancient ring. belonging to his family who falls into the clutches of an evil archaeologist, Lord Carnaby (Hugh Bonneville), reason enough for a change of scenery.
Of course, our young Nefer isn't alone, with Thut (Joe Thomas), a former cart driver, her younger brother, and their pet baby crocodile (why not?) along for the "adventure." I use quotes, because as much as the Mummies offer their share of chase sequences through the streets of London (the bottom line is Carnaby and the Mummies alternately chasing each other around the ring), there is a great deal of time devoted to Nefer's desire to become a pop star (without warning, we are subjected to a musical number of her expressing her desires no less than 10 minutes into the movie which until then alluded to very little musical) and how a ridiculous music producer can make that dream come true.
Despite not knowing what a music studio is, let alone a microphone or the recording process, Nefer's one-take ditty is a worldwide hit; However, it appears that Gasull and Barreira are also unaware of how song releases work, with Nefer's song climbing the charts dramatically in a way that suggests weeks of incline, but apparently happens within a day or two. It's bombastic sequences like that and when she interrupts a Broadway musical to sing on stage, thinking that what's happening is real and unscripted, that continues to add to the inexplicable structure of Mummies.
Needless to say, Nefer prefers the modern world, and since we all know that constant arguments with Thut are due to sexual tension rife, it leads the poor chaplain to lament returning to his world. He steps into the spectacular spire drop that is Nickelback. Yes. In 2023, Nickelback's "Far Away" will be used to highlight lost love. And honestly, I'm here for it. The use of the song perfectly sums up my feelings towards mummies. It's horribly bad, but, my word, it's absorbing in every decision it makes.
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