The Mummy Trilogy
By Brendan Willis

This six-disc deluxe DVD set includes the original 1999 film, The Mummy, which begat not one but the two sequels, 2001's The Mummy Returns and 2008's Asian themed addition, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. But Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson's spin-off, The Scorpion King, is unfortunately not included. For a campy, Indiana Jones-like action-adventure series The Mummy franchise has managed to carve out a place for itself in the monster movie pantheon. The first film, which we learn in the bonus feature "Unravelling the Legacy of the Mummy" is loosely based on the classic 1932 Boris Karloff horror film, introduces us to Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraiser) and Evelyn Carnahan (Rachel Weisz) as they raid the tomb of the High Priest Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo). The long dead Priest is, of course, resurrected and hell bent on destroying the Earth, leaving Rick, Evelyn and their band of fellow adventurers to stop the undead monster. Years later, in The Mummy Returns, Rick and Evelyn are excavating the secret tomb of the Scorpion King, along with their irritating son, Alex (Freddie Boath). Soon Imhotep is reawakened and back in their lives, this time attempting to steal the power of the recently resurrected Scorpion King. The O'Connells must once again fight the cursed rulers of ancient Egypt to save the world. The series' third instalment, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, dispenses with the Egyptian undead. This time the O'Connells (with Rachel Weisz replaced by Maria Bello and Alex O'Connell aged to his mid-20s, played by Luke Ford) have to contend with the mummy of an ancient Chinese Emperor (Jet Li) and his undead army of Terra-Cotta warriors. There is nothing particularly outstanding about the box set, despite the three-bonus discs filled with special features. The typical special effects, cast and crew interviews, and "making of" featurettes that nobody really cares about are made duller and more monotonous by their similarity on each film's bonus disc. While it's nice to have a matching set of DVDs for the trilogy there is nothing that makes this box worth buying for fans that already have any of the three films. The brief mentions of the original 1932 film and the occasional discussion of the history of ancient Egypt and China in the bonus features will make you wish the set included the original black-and-white feature and some historically relevant bonus material, or even the spin-off Scorpion King movies to complete the collection. As it stands, this collection will likely gather dust like an ancient Egyptian sarcophagus. (Universal)
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