Mummies and Matrices
What happened to the heavy-handed Matrix sequel is something that happens often in Hollywood movies. A relatively unambitious film which happens to strike a chord of excellence whether in theme or execution gets big returns or reviews. The resulting sequel becomes infused with a bigger budget, more ambitious plans and storylines that often involve epic proportions, more eye candy and fan service, and tons of hype. Such is the need for sequels to go beyond the tiny borders established by the earlier film. Unfortunately though, the flavor and elements that made the first so great are lost in the next film.
Remember The Mummy? It was a relatively quiet and understated film that started off as a remake of the old monster title. However, it took the original premise and gave it a shot in the arm. Not so much a horror movie, it was part scary movie, part pulp-action, part period film, part comedy. It had thrills and chills, a wonderful cast of characters, great special effects, rivetting action and an original take on the mummy story. It remains to this day one of my favorite films.
However, then came the sequel. Bigger budget, bigger cast, bigger story... which translates to tons of CG that looks like CG, heavy-handed large-scale battles, an Egyptian catfight with Japanese sai (EH? Okay, I enjoyed the skimpy outfits but SAI? EH?), an over-abundance of villain characters, a hokey airship and... The ROCK! The Mummy Returns was loud, corny and pretty crappy compared to the original. Though most of the blame I think goes to the WWE, which apparently bought the whole kit and caboodle as a star vehicle for Dwayne Johnson. And I won't even mention the awful 'third' part of the Mummy Triad (not a trilogy), which is horrid beyond words (despite having Kelly Hu... who gratifyingly was able to leap from that into X2).
Sigh. I still regard The Matrix as one of my fave films, despite Reloaded. I really hope that Revolutions somehow redeems the trilogy. This November I hope it's not another Scorpion King. AAARRGHH... mentioned it...
What happened to the heavy-handed Matrix sequel is something that happens often in Hollywood movies. A relatively unambitious film which happens to strike a chord of excellence whether in theme or execution gets big returns or reviews. The resulting sequel becomes infused with a bigger budget, more ambitious plans and storylines that often involve epic proportions, more eye candy and fan service, and tons of hype. Such is the need for sequels to go beyond the tiny borders established by the earlier film. Unfortunately though, the flavor and elements that made the first so great are lost in the next film.
Remember The Mummy? It was a relatively quiet and understated film that started off as a remake of the old monster title. However, it took the original premise and gave it a shot in the arm. Not so much a horror movie, it was part scary movie, part pulp-action, part period film, part comedy. It had thrills and chills, a wonderful cast of characters, great special effects, rivetting action and an original take on the mummy story. It remains to this day one of my favorite films.
However, then came the sequel. Bigger budget, bigger cast, bigger story... which translates to tons of CG that looks like CG, heavy-handed large-scale battles, an Egyptian catfight with Japanese sai (EH? Okay, I enjoyed the skimpy outfits but SAI? EH?), an over-abundance of villain characters, a hokey airship and... The ROCK! The Mummy Returns was loud, corny and pretty crappy compared to the original. Though most of the blame I think goes to the WWE, which apparently bought the whole kit and caboodle as a star vehicle for Dwayne Johnson. And I won't even mention the awful 'third' part of the Mummy Triad (not a trilogy), which is horrid beyond words (despite having Kelly Hu... who gratifyingly was able to leap from that into X2).
Sigh. I still regard The Matrix as one of my fave films, despite Reloaded. I really hope that Revolutions somehow redeems the trilogy. This November I hope it's not another Scorpion King. AAARRGHH... mentioned it...
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