Lee Cronin’s The Mummy (English) Review {2.0/5} & Review Rating
Star Cast: Jack Reynor, Laia Costa, Natalie Grace
Director: Lee Cronin
Lee Cronin's The Mummy Movie Review Synopsis:
LEE CRONIN'S THE MUMMY is the story of a family in distress. Charlie Cannon (Jack Reynor) works as a news reporter in Cairo, Egypt, and lives there with his pregnant wife Larissa aka Lari (Laia Costa), daughter Katie (Emily Mitchell) and son Seb (Shylo Molina). Unknown to the family, Katie befriends a young girl named Layla in the neighbourhood. One day, Layla’s mother (Hayat Kamille) meets Katie and kidnaps her. The police try their best to trace the missing girl, but to no avail. Eight years later, Charlie and his family have shifted to Albuquerque, New Mexico. They now live with Lari’s mother (Verónica Falcón) and their daughter Maud (Billie Roy), who was born after Katie’s disappearance. Meanwhile, in Aswan, Egypt, a small aeroplane crashes, killing both passengers on board. A sarcophagus is found in the wreckage, and when the authorities open it, they discover that a person was kept inside. Shockingly, that person turns out to be Katie. Charlie and Lari immediately fly to Cairo to bring her back. They are informed that Katie’s psychological condition is deeply disturbed due to severe trauma, though they are assured that she should recover in a few weeks or months. Charlie and Lari return to Albuquerque with Katie, but soon, strange incidents begin to take place in their remote residence. What happens next forms the rest of the film.
Lee Cronin's The Mummy Movie Story Review:
Lee Cronin's story is fantastic and had the potential to be translated into a compelling film. However, Lee Cronin's screenplay is weak and dilutes the strength of the subject. The dialogues are fine.
Lee Cronin's direction is okay. To give credit where it's due, he helms the first 15 minutes of the film deftly. He also makes good use of the remote, arid landscape of Albuquerque. It adds a distinct touch. Moreover, the Egyptian angle also intrigues viewers, at least in the initial portions.
On the flipside, the execution leaves a lot to be desired. It is bewildering how the narrative suddenly leaps ahead by eight years without adequately explaining why the Cairo police were unable to trace Katie. After all, it was a high-profile case involving the disappearance of an American child, that too the daughter of a journalist. As the film progresses, more baffling moments crop up. Charlie and Lari place Katie in a wheelchair and drag it up the stairs to her bedroom, when any sensible person would have carried Katie and the wheelchair separately. It is a moment that clearly indicates that logic is going to take a massive backseat, and that is exactly what happens thereafter. Later, Charlie discovers a slimy, bloody substance beneath the carpet in Katie’s room, but shockingly, he chooses to ignore it and does not even mention it to his wife or mother-in-law. Lastly, the track involving Layla’s mother and what exactly she intended to achieve needed a far better explanation.
Lee Cronin's The Mummy Movie Review Performances:
Jack Reynor and Laia Costa get to play difficult parts, but they pull it off effortlessly. However, it is Natalie Grace (teenage Katie) who is the scene stealer. She expresses a lot through her expressions and hardly has any dialogue. Billie Roy comes next and leaves a huge mark. Emily Mitchell and Shylo Molina are fair. May Calamawy (Detective Zaki) lends able support. Verónica Falcón fails to impress and her role is embarrassing. Hayat Kamille is aptly cast. May Elghety (Layla Khalil) and Mark Mitchinson (Professor Bixler) are decent.
Lee Cronin's The Mummy movie music and other technical aspects:
Stephen McKeon's music is in sync with the film's mood. Dave Garbett's cinematography is stylish to enhance the horror effect. The VFX is top-class, though it could have been better in the sandstorm scene. Special mention should go to the prosthetics; it's too good. The action is too gory and disturbing. Bryan Shaw's editing is fine.
Lee Cronin's The Mummy Movie Review Conclusion:
On the whole, LEE CRONIN'S THE MUMMY is built on a promising premise but ultimately disappoints due to absurd plot developments, forced gore and underwhelming direction.