Swashbuckling Egyptian adventure. Brendan Fraser plays Rick O'Connell, an American who discovers Hamunaptra, the city of the dead. He is driven away by locals and arrested. Three years later, Englishman Jonathan (John Hannah) discovers an ancient artifact which he gives to his sister Evelyn (Rachel Weisz).

In turn, she trades the artifact for Rick's release from prison, and the trio sets off for Hamunaptra, hoping to arrive there before Beni (Kevin J. O'Connor), Rick's crooked former associate. However, Beni has already invoked a curse that frees Imhotep, a supernaturally-gifted mummy. He pursues the adventurers across the land, feeding upon the flesh of unfortunate explorers.

He aims to sacrifice Evelyn, hoping to resurrect another evil mummy... If you're expecting bandaged-wrapped corpses and a lurching Boris Karloff-type villain, then you've come to the wrong movie. But if outrageous effects, a hunky hero, and some hearty laughs are what you're looking for, the 1999 version of The Mummy is spectacularly good fun. Yes, the critics called it "hokey," "cheesy," and "pallid." Well, the critics are unjust. Granted, the plot tends to stray, the acting is a bit of a stretch, and the characters occasionally slip into cliche, but who cares?

When that action gets going, hold tight--those two hours just fly by. The premise of the movie isn't that far off from the original. Egyptologist and general mess Evelyn () discovers a map to the lost city of Hamunaptra, and so she hires rogue Rick O'Connell () to lead her there. Once there, Evelyn accidentally unlocks the tomb of Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo), a man who had been buried alive a couple of millennia ago with flesh-eating bugs as punishment for sleeping with the pharaoh's girlfriend.

The ancient mummy is revived, and he is determined to bring his old love back to life, which of course means much mayhem (including the unleashing of the 10 plagues) and human sacrifice. Despite the rather gory premise, this movie is fairly tame in terms of violence; most of the magic and surprise come from the special effects, which are glorious to watch, although Imhotep, before being fully reconstituted, is, as one explorer puts it, rather "juicy."

Keep in mind this film is as much comedy as it is an adventure--those looking for a straightforward horror pic will be disappointed. But for those who want good old-fashioned eye-candy kind of fun, The Mummy ranks as one of the choicest flicks of 1999. --Jenny Brown