Line #12 YMMV/TheMummyReturns


1	* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Did Anck-su-namun always value her own life over Imhotep's? Or has her resolve been weakened by the trauma of being killed and sent to the underworld twice in the last film? Or is Meelah's consciousness overpowering her in the moment, and her sense of self-preservation overcame Anuck-su-namun's memories?
2	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Music/AlanSilvestri's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p0zFIgjM9Q reworked score]] for ''The Mummy Returns'' arguably surpasses the original's score by Music/JerryGoldsmith.
3	* BaseBreakingCharacter: In contrast to how beloved she was in the first film, Evy's portrayal here is more divisive. She has matured considerably in the eight year TimeSkip, as well as becoming a mother, meaning that she's less of an {{Adorkable}} CuteClumsyGirl. Some are fine with it, feeling it was the natural evolution of the character, and like how she has become a full fledged ActionGirl. Others however feel she has changed too much from what originally made her special, leaning more into the WomenAreWiser trope, and there being less emphasis on her smarts than before.
4	* BrokenBase: Some people criticize Mathayus' depiction as bloodthirsty while some fans prefer this version instead.
5	* CatharsisFactor: Even after all the horrible things he has done, [[spoiler:Imhotep's actual death end's up far too pitiful to be satisfying. Anck-su-namun on the other hand, after she murdered the Pharaoh (not that he was entirely innocent) right in front of his daughter, murdered Evy in front of her entire family, and left Imhotep to die even after all he did for her, her death via being EatenAlive by Scarabs might hit the spot (especially considering that [[KarmicDeath it is the same way Imhotep died the first time for trying to help her all those years ago]]).]]
6	* CompleteMonster: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname The Scorpion King]], the [[IdenticalGrandson wicked descendant]] of the [[Film/TheScorpionKing heroic Mathayus]], led an army to [[TakeOverTheWorld conquer the world]]. Upon defeat, he vowed himself to the dark god Anubis and was gifted with Anubis's mighty army with which he used to brutally exterminate countless innocent lives and entire cities that lay before him. Claimed by Anubis, he awakens many centuries later, intending to use his army to [[OmnicidalManiac eradicate all who live]].
7	* ContestedSequel: While it didn't get as well-received as the first film, it was still met with positive enough reactions. Fans aren't likely to call FanonDiscontinuity on it as they are for the third film. It seems to hang on what you preferred about the first film; the second drops a lot of the characterization in favor of plot twists and action spectacles.
8	* CriticalDissonance: Rotten Tomatoes has the critics score at 47% while the audience score is 63%.
9	* CryForTheDevil: By the end of the film [[spoiler:you can't help but feel sorry for Imhotep as he throws himself into the pit.]]
10	* EvilIsCool: Anubis has an entire BadassArmy of jackal-men. Those guys are ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_H8GVFQv9s&feature=related sweet]]''! Also Lock-Nah, by far Imhotep's most charismatic and competent follower across his two movies.
11	* FanFicFuel: In the TimeSkip between first and second movie, Evy and Rick have now become famed explorers and adventurers with a huge mansion and collection of treasures. Leaves a lot of room for imagining what they got up to in all those years.
12	* FanonDiscontinuity: Most fans prefer to ignore the third film and pretend the trilogy ends here.
13	* HarsherInHindsight:
14	** TheReveal that Evy is actually Nefertiri reincarnated, with a flashback of Rachel Weisz playing her in Ancient Egypt seems sadly prophetic of the controversy surrounding ''Film/ExodusGodsAndKings'' and ''Film/GodsOfEgypt'' regarding white actors playing Egyptian characters. While it's justified here (we can assume Nefertiri [[MST3KMantra didn't really look like Evy and using Rachel Weisz is more convenient to tell the audience it's her past life]]) it's arguably more notable that this film did at least cast actual Middle-Eastern actors in the roles (save for Dwayne Johnson and Patricia Velasquez, who were at least brown-skinned).
15	** Evy bringing her son, Alex, on an expedition in Egypt at the beginning of the movie became this when Evy's actress, Creator/RachelWeisz, refused to return for the third film, ''Film/TheMummyTombOfTheDragonEmperor'', due to not wanting to travel to China after having just giving birth.
16	* HesJustHiding: Some fans like to think that Shafek (the {{Mook}} who is always dodging attacks as a RunningGag) survives being speared, as the last time he's on camera, his eyes are still open and his head seems to still be moving.
17	* HilariousInHindsight:
18	** [[spoiler: Evy being killed and resurrected]] is amusing when you take into account how many films after this would have Rachel Weisz as a [[spoiler: PosthumousCharacter]] - ''{{Film/Constantine}}'', ''Film/TheConstantGardener'' and ''Film/TheFountain''. And then ''Film/TheLovelyBones'', where her daughter fills that role.
19	** Evy also brings her son along on the expedition at the start. It turns out Rachel Weisz wouldn't feel the same way, as the reason she didn't come back for the third film was not wanting to travel after having just given birth.
20	** Joe Dixon, playing Jacques, is devoured by Imhotep, who killed Pharaoh Seti. In the stage version of ''WesternAnimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt'', Dixon played Seti himself.
21	* MoralEventHorizon: After literally going to hell for her, Anck-su-namun [[spoiler: [[DirtyCoward abandons Imhotep when he asks her to save him]]]]. She arguably crossed it twice earlier when she tricked the English men into opening the chest, thus making them easy prey for Imhotep, or when she cruelly [[spoiler: stabbed Evy to death right in front of her brother, husband and son]].
22	* {{Narm}}:
23	** The Scorpion King, due to SpecialEffectsFailure.
24	** When the Spear is slo-mo at the Scorpion King, he does a slo-mo '''"HUH???"''' It's super-Narmish.
25	** O'Connell stabs the Scorpion King. Cue [[LargeHam Imhotep]] from stage right with dramatic pose: "[[BigNo Niyaaaaaaah]]!" This could be a regular, non-narmy dramatic moment if not for arguably being a beat too late, and the fact that his front foot is visible as he stands offscreen to do the dramatic pose before yelling, making it look and feel like Arnold Vosloo missed his cue. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6m44BdRUVg&t=536s Here is that glorious moment, in case you're wondering.]]. The CG Scorpion King ''looks up from his impalement'' as if to say "WTF is wrong with you?"
26	** The establishing shot of London, with St. Paul's, Tower Bridge, and Parliament all seemingly crowded together on one block like the caption wouldn't be enough to let us know where we are.
27	** The curator being killed by the terrible CGI Scorpion King ends up being unintentionally hilarious. With one rip across the chest his limbs go flying everywhere like a cherry bomb went off inside an action figure.
28	** Anck-su-namun's [[spoiler:death is so abrupt and easy that it comes off as a little ridiculous. As she is running though the collapsing temple, the doorway she came to caves in, she turns around and suddenly she is as the edge of a pit filled to the top with both scarabs and scorpions and she trips in where she is attacked and eaten. Between her tripping into a pit that just happens to be there and [[SpecialEffectsFailure the questionable CGI]], it actually looks kinda silly]].
29	* NarmCharm:
30	** The sequence of Evy dueling Meela (and the flashback to their duel in the past). Yes it's a DesignatedGirlFight, yes it's partly for {{Fanservice}} and yes a tad ridiculous. But you can't deny it's a definite Awesome Moment for Evy.
31	** The above-mentioned BigNo by Imhotep during the climax also counts. It's so ridiculously-executed that it's hilarious.
32	** As goofy-looking as [[spoiler:Anck-su-namun's death looks, it's very poetic that, after she betrayed Imhotep, [[KarmicDeath she dies the exact same way he was put to death for helping her all the way back in ancient Egypt]]]].
33	* OneSceneWonder: The Scorpion King, before his transformation; Dwayne Johnson's badassery is on fine display.
34	* {{Padding}}: The desert fight between the Medjai and the Army of Anubis was there just to give the Medjai something to do (perhaps to make up for them not getting to fight Imhotep's mummy priests in the first film). Taking place at a completely different location from where the pyramid duel with the Scorpion King is occurring, it comes off feeling like a rather pointless fight as Anubis' army would have all disappeared anyway once the Scorpion King was killed during the pyramid duel. Thus, making it seem like the Medjai fought them and lost some of their men for no reason.
35	* TheProblemWithLicensedGames: The [=PS2=] video game is widely criticized for being simplistic with none of the actors involved. However, it gained some praise for featuring an alternate ending.
36	* SignatureScene:
37	** Over 20 years later, the CGI Scorpion King scene remains the most widely-discussed and well-remembered aspect of the entire movie, even among laypeople, in large part thanks to its reputation as one of the premier modern examples of SpecialEffectsFailure.
38	** A more positive example is the duel between Evy and Anuck-su-namun. Specifically the one that happens in the present [[spoiler: after Evy has been resurrected]].
39	* SpecialEffectsFailure: The film has several notable instances of this.
40	** Creator/DwayneJohnson's CGI form as the Scorpion King looks like something out of a video game cinematic. Interestingly, the ''scorpion'' parts of his body look very good; the human parts, not so much. Had they rigged Johnson up in a harness on the set and used CGI only for the scorpion parts, it may have worked out better.[[note]]According to the film's VFX supervisor, Dwayne Johnson was only able to be on set for three days due to his WWE commitments, so there wasn't enough time to get him into a harness or get the facial references that they wanted.[[/note]]
41	** When the armies of Anubis attack, many of the jackal soldiers in the background phase through the actors or die without having been attacked.
42	** There is a CGI waterfall with some terrible fluid effects that look like they came from a Nintendo 64 game; even worse when they try to make it speak.
43	** The CGI used on Imhotep's Mummy form is a failure of truly epic proportions. Due to the limits of technology (and ILM's resources being occupied with the production of ''Film/ThePhantomMenace''), the 1999 Mummy is part CGI and part guy-in-makeup, making him look much more realistic in both his movements and his interactions with the actors. But here, he is entirely CGI, marking a firm clash of SpecialEffectsFailure, with his lifeless eyes, jerky movements, dry and untextured body, and (there is no other way to put this) cheesy shit-eating grin. It doesn't help that the other cast members he interacts with apparently have no idea where he is meant to be at any one time, which draws unnecessary attention to the fact he isn't actually there.
44	** Many of the scenes involving the dirigible (particularly in the canyon scene) suffer from truly awful blue-screening, with the mismatched lighting making it ''painfully'' obvious that it was superimposed over the environments after the fact.
45	** While the CGI for the scarabs is mostly fine across the two movies, when [[spoiler:Anck-su-namun falls into a pit of them at the end of movie, her face surrounded by the bugs doesn't even look close to being real]].
46	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Some viewers were disappointed at how the Scorpion King ended up having a mostly scorpion body, which was kept a surprise for the audience as well as the characters. This meant that the Rock's physicality, as expected of a professional wrestler, is only really glimpsed in the opening ancient battle. He was relegated to showing it off more in his spin-off movie.
47	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot:
48	** You have Imhotep and the Scorpion King, two ancient, incredibly powerful supernatural beings who are set to battle one another for control of an army of Anubis' warriors, with the fate of the world in the balance... only for Imhotep to conveniently lose all his awesome powers moments before the fight. This is so Rick can be the one to defeat both Imhotep and the Scorpion King (since he's the hero of the movie) in what amounts to basically a fist fight with a now-powerless Imhotep and having a lucky thrust with a DeusExMachina spear, rather than seeing the Mummy with all his powers battle the Scorpion King in all their glory in an EvilVersusEvil conflict.
49	** Additionally, if both Rick and Imhotep are to fight the Scorpion King and each other, you'd expect a potential EnemyMine situation, or a MeleeATrois. Neither happens: the second the Scorpion King comes out the doors, Imhotep kneels and feigns loyalty to him to get him to attack Rick, and Imhotep then spends the rest of the scene watching them before making a failed effort to intervene and deal the killing blow at the very end.
50	* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: This movie once aired on Creator/CartoonNetwork. However, this film is rated PG-13 for intense moments including the Mummy killing people on the train, Anubis' rotting corpse design, and the Scorpion King ripping apart the Curator on-screen, and [[spoiler: Evy being stabbed to death and only being revived later]], with some people wondering why Creator/AdultSwim didn't air it.

Context YMMV / TheMummyReturns