With The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor soon to be released in theaters, Universal has decided to revisit their Mummy franchise on home video with elaborate 2 disc deluxe editions of both the 1999 hit The Mummy and this, its 2001 followup The Mummy Returns.

I had the pleasure of reviewing the new edition of The Mummy last week and was quite impressed with both the movie itself and its plethora of extras. I'm happy to report that while The Mummy Returns isn't quite as spectacular in either department, it's only a step or two down. On its own terms, this latest DVD edition of The Mummy Returns is very entertaining and worthy of a double-dip if you already own an earlier DVD version.

More on the extras below. For now, let's discuss the movie itself.

The 1999 remake-in-name-only The Mummy introduced several cartoonish but likeable characters. The good guys were adventurer Rick O'Connell, librarian Evelyn Carnahan, her loser brother Jonathan Carnahan, and Ardeth Bay, a warrior out to protect ancient Egyptian remains or something to that effect. Collectively, they saved the world from the evil mummy Imhotep and his love Anck Su Namun.

Well, it's about 10 years later in The Mummy Returns and the gang's all back - with the same basic dynamic between the characters carried right over. The good guys are basically the O'Connell clan now - with Rick and Evelyn married and an annoying son now in tow. Anck Su Namun is reincarnated and reunited with her lover Imhotep. They're both still evil and want to rule the world together. Ardeth Bay is still around - leading armies of nondescript soldiers bearing swords and swashbuckling at any chance he gets.

Everything seems to have been one-upped for this sequel - which is both its strength and its weakness. There's lots of armies clashing and CGI mummies and ancient warriors running amuck, but while the action is more elaborate than the original, it's also often familiar and repetitive. Developments in the characters meant to strengthen them also seem counter to the original. Suddenly, for instance, Rick O'Connell has a large tattoo on his lower arm that denotes he's a warrior of God, or some nonsense like that. Evelyn O'Connell has transformed from a timid librarian to a Charlie's Angels-styled warrior. Oh yes, and apparently she's now Nefertiri reincarnated too. Both character developments don't mesh well with the original film.

What does still work is the comedy. Brendan Fraser in the role of Rick is the madcap heart of this franchise. Several action sequences, especially one involving a double-decker bus, are amusing and serve as a vehicle (no pun intended) for Fraser's form of physical comedy. A new menace in the form of pygmy mummies is surprisingly effective as dark comic relief. Jonathan Carnahan, played well by John Hannah, has some clever retorts and also gets a chance to show some heroics (which help to explain why Rick and Evelyn continue to bring the alcoholic womanizer along on their adventures).

Patricia Velasquez is much more prominent in this movie as Anck Su Namun than in the first film, and her alluring yet evil presence overshadows Arnold Vosloo's Imhotep. Her performance is definitely a standout as well.

Overall, at 130 minutes, The Mummy Returns seems a little too long, but there's enough comic mayhem and CG-created creatures to keep the audience entertained. It's a fun popcorn sequel.

The DVD

Video:

Universal claims on the back art for The Mummy Returns that this deluxe edition has been "digitally restored for optimum picture quality." And they aren't kidding. This film looks fantastic - with great detail and brilliant color. The 2.35:1 widescreen image is anamorphic.

Sound:

The movie on disc one has three audio language tracks: English, Spanish, and French. Each is Dolby Digital 5.1. This is an effective presentation, with battle scenes surrounding the viewer nicely. The score in The Mummy Returns isn't as intrusive as it was in the film's predecessor. Overall, this is a great sounding film!

Subtitles are available in Spanish and French. There's also an English language subtitle option for the deaf and hard of hearing.

Extras:

This 2-Disc deluxe edition of The Mummy Returns has, as you might imagine, quite a lot of extras.

Disc one has a feature commentary track with director / writer Stephen Sommers, and executive producer / editor Bob Ducsay. It's a lively commentary with entertaining insight into the making of the film and a lot of amusing asides.

The first disc also has an Outtakes featurette that runs 6:07 and sports a bunch of on-camera goofs scored to generic-sounding guitar rock music. One clever aspect of this featurette is its opening - which is the same as the opening to the film itself replete with the Universal logo. It cleverly tries to fool the viewer into thinking the movie itself is playing.

The bulk of the bonus features rest in disc two. Note that some of these features also appear on the deluxe edition of the 1999 version of The Mummy, released on the same day as this edition of The Mummy Returns. This includes The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor Sneak Peek. It's a very short three minutes and basically is composed of the principal filmmakers talking about how great the movie's going to be intercut with snippets of behind the scenes footage. At least it was in anamorphic widescreen.

An Army to Rule the World Part 2 is a sequel of sorts to a featurette on the deluxe edition of The Mummy. It has visual effects supervisor John Berton, director / writer Stephen Sommers, producer Jim Jacks, visual effects art director Alex Laurant, and actor Arnold Vosloo discussing the making of the movie as scenes from the movie are played. It's interesting, but at a scant 6:00, it's hardly in-depth.

Unraveling the Legacy of the Mummy briefly reviews the history of Universal horror films in the early 1930s before segueing back to the new version of Mummy. This featurette runs 8 minutes and while okay, it doesn't offer much.

Visual and Special Effects Formation covers several key visual effects in the movie. The Mummy has a similar featurette, and as in that case, this featurette is interesting to watch here and even has a submenu that allows the viewer to skip to a particular section of the featurette. This runs 16:11 if the Play All option is selected.

An Exclusive Conversation with the Rock has a brief interview with Dwayne Johnson, a.k.a. The Rock, clearly recorded around the time The Mummy Returns was released. It's a curiosity that, with a run time of 3:43, doesn't overstay its welcome.

Spotlight on Location runs 20:02 and features sound bytes from various talent involved in The Mummy Returns wrapped up {ahem, pun unintended} in a promotional fluff piece.

A Storyboard to Screen Comparison does exactly what the title states it does: playing scenes from the film with their corresponding storyboards. It runs 7:49 and has a submenu that allows the viewer to skip to a particular scene.

Egyptology 201 is another sequel to a featurette on The Mummy's deluxe edition. Here, textual information is provided on mummification, King Tut, and other subjects.

The requisite theatrical trailer to The Mummy Returns is also included.

A Mummy Returns-themed music video from rock band Live for a song called "Forever May Not Be Long Enough" is here as well. It's an all right song, but not one of the band's best.

Rounding out the extras on disc two is a digital copy of the movie. The merit in the recent fad of having digital copies included with DVDs has been debated quite a bit here in the DVD Talk forums and elsewhere. I'm not going to chime in on it, but the extra is here should you need it. Just a note: It's a Windows Media digital file at 1.6 Mbps, and the liner notes state the file is not compatible with Apple Itunes / Ipod, Sony PSP, nor Microsoft Zune.

Finally, depending upon how far down the time stream you are from me, it should be noted that the cardboard slipcover of this DVD has a sticker attached proclaiming that a free movie ticket to The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is included inside. Valued up to $7.50, the ticket is actually a Hollywood Movie Money code usable on their site to produce a certificate that will then need to be printed. This certificate expires on 24 August 2008.

Final Thoughts:

Bloated with a little too much CGI spectacle and action silliness, The Mummy Returns nonetheless serves as an entertainingly diverting sequel to the 1999 hit The Mummy. Universal provides a lot of extras in this new 2 disc deluxe edition timed to coincide with the theatrical release of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Highly recommended.

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