The Mummy (2017 film)
The Mummy is a 2017 American action-adventure film[4] directed by Alex Kurtzman and written by David Koepp, Christopher McQuarrie and Dylan Kussman, with a story by Kurtzman, Jon Spaihts and Jenny Lumet. It is a reboot of The Mummy franchise[5] and the first installment in Universal's planned Dark Universe franchise.[6][7][8] The film stars Tom Cruise as a US soldier who accidentally unearths the ancient tomb of an entrapped Egyptian princess (Sofia Boutella). Annabelle Wallis, Jake Johnson, Courtney B. Vance and Russell Crowe also star.
The Mummy
The poster features skyscrapers stuck in a blizzard, in the center. Upon which Tom Cruise appears, whose face is looking somewhere else. Behind him, face of Egyptian Princess appears, spread upon whole top-half portion. The princess has two irishses in each eye, which appears like she got four eyes. Above all these, in the center, title: THE MUMMY, appears.
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Alex Kurtzman
Produced by
Alex Kurtzman
Chris Morgan
Sean Daniel
Sarah Bradshaw
Screenplay by
David Koepp
Christopher McQuarrie
Dylan Kussman
Story by
Jon Spaihts
Alex Kurtzman
Jenny Lumet
Starring
Tom Cruise
Annabelle Wallis
Sofia Boutella
Jake Johnson
Courtney B. Vance
Russell Crowe
Music by
Brian Tyler
Cinematography
Ben Seresin
Edited by
Paul Hirsch
Gina Hirsch
Andrew Mondshein
Production
company
Dark Universe
Perfect World Pictures
K/O Paper Products
Sean Daniel Company
Distributed by
Universal Pictures
Release date
May 22, 2017 (State Theatre)
June 9, 2017 (United States)
Running time
110 minutes[1]
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$125–195 million[2][3]
Box office
$409.2 million[2]
The Mummy premiered at the State Theatre in Sydney, Australia on May 22, 2017, and was theatrically released in the United States on June 9, 2017, in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D.[9] The film received generally negative reviews from critics. Despite grossing $409 million worldwide, it was labeled a box office bomb given its high production and marketing costs, with projected losses of up to $95 million.[3]
Plot
Cast Edit
Director Alex Kurtzman with the film's main actors. Left to right: Sofia Boutella, Tom Cruise, Annabelle Wallis, Russell Crowe.
Tom Cruise as Nick Morton,[10] a U.S. Army sergeant who unintentionally unearths the tomb of Princess Ahmanet, unleashing an unspeakable evil. Nick becomes haunted, fused with, and possessed by Set after Ahmanet puts a curse on him.
Sofia Boutella as Ahmanet, the title character.[11][12] She is loosely based on Imhotep from the original Mummy films, as well as the ancient Egyptian goddess, Amunet. Once in line to be the queen of Ancient Egypt, Ahmanet murdered her father and his family in order to resurrect Set, an act for which she was cursed for all eternity and buried alive, until she is accidentally freed as the titular Mummy.
Annabelle Wallis as Jennifer "Jenny" Halsey, an archaeologist who has a past with Nick. She secretly works for the monster-hunting organization known as Prodigium.
Jake Johnson as Chris Vail,[a] Nick's friend and closest ally.
Courtney B. Vance as Colonel Greenway,[13] Nick and Chris's superior officer.
Russell Crowe as Dr. Henry Jekyll,[14][15] a brilliant scientist who leads Prodigium, an organization dedicated to locating, containing, and when necessary, destroying monsters. Due to a failed experiment intended to repress his evil side, he must regularly inject himself with a serum to prevent himself from transforming into his evil, monstrous, and psychotic alter-ego, Mr. Edward Hyde.
Additionally, Marwan Kenzari plays Malik,[16][17] Jekyll's chief of security and a member of Prodigium. Javier Botet plays Set,[18] the ancient Egyptian god of death, who aids Princess Ahmanet in her quest to rule Egypt. Set has a connection with Nick Morton, as the latter is intended to be the human vessel for his resurrection.
Production Edit
Universal Pictures first announced plans for a modern reboot of The Mummy franchise in 2012.[19][20] The project went through multiple directors, with Len Wiseman leaving the project in 2013,[21] and a second director, Andrés Muschietti, in 2014.[22][23]
Tom Cruise began talks about playing the lead in November 2015,[24] with Sofia Boutella beginning talks that December.[12] Kurtzman cast Boutella after seeing and being impressed by her largely mute performance in Kingsman: The Secret Service. Kurtzman noted that "if you look at her eyes, and this is what I got from watching Kingsman, there's a whole performance going on here. And in not saying anything but conveying that much to me, I thought oh my god, no matter how much prosthetics we put on her, no matter how much CG we put on her face, if I see this, she's going to convey something very emotional to me."[25] Other casting news was announced between March and May, with Russell Crowe joining during the latter month.[26][16][14][15][27][28][excessive citations] Shortly after the film opened, Variety reported that Cruise had excessive control over the film and firm control of nearly every aspect of production and post-production, including re-writing the script and editing to his specifications, telling Kurtzman how to direct on set, and enlarging his role while downplaying Boutella's. Universal contractually guaranteed Cruise control of most aspects of the project, from script approval to post-production decisions.[29]
Filming Edit
Principal photography on the film began on April 3, 2016, in Oxford, United Kingdom,[30][31] and also took place in Surrey.[32][better source needed] Filming on the movie wrapped on July 17, 2016, in London.[33] Production then moved to Namibia for two weeks, with principal photography on the film being completed on August 13, 2016.[34]
For the filming of the plane crash the production made use of The Vomit Comet and parabolic flight to simulate the illusion of weightlessness.[35] The crew did a total of 64 takes with many of the crew becoming sick to their stomachs.[36][37] Initially Kurtzman planned to shoot the scene entirely using wires and a rotating set, however Cruise's insistence changed his mind.[38]
Music Edit
Composer Brian Tyler started work on the music for the movie early, writing about a half hour of music before filming even began. Working on the film for a year and half, Tyler recorded with an 84-piece orchestra and 32-voice choir at London’s Abbey Road. He ultimately wrote and recorded over two hours of music, which, given the length of the film (107 minutes), resulted in a soundtrack album longer than the film itself.[39]
