The first film to launch Universal’s ‘Dark Universe’ has been screened by critics, and the early word is that it’s not very good.
Well, saying it’s ‘not very good’ would probably be a compliment given these scathing reviews.
Here are a few of the notable ones (via Rotten Tomatoes):
Chicago Sun Times: Sometimes it takes a disaster of this magnitude to leave us hoping a studio will take a long hard look at the universe they’re about to expand.
Chicago Reader: How fitting that the makers of this action-adventure movie about tomb raiders plunder the Universal Pictures vault, from the 1932 and 1999 versions of The Mummy to An American Werewolf in London and the Abbott and Costello monster fests.
Akron Beacon Journal: Kurtzman and his crew are ambitious in that they try to introduce the audience to several monsters at once, but the effort falls short.
Daily Star: The film offers Walking Dead style fights and clunky comedy blatantly ripped off from An American Werewolf In London. If Universal hope to take on Wonder Woman and Iron Man at the box office, they’ll have to go back to the drawing board.
AV Club: Though occasionally enlivened by Cruise’s willingness to endure a nonstop gauntlet of humiliation, this is a modern blockbuster in many of the worst ways; it’s noisy but rarely exciting, heavy on whizzing and whirling special effects but light on wonder.
Rolling Stone: How meh is The Mummy? Let me count the ways. For all the digital desperation from overworked computers, this Tom Cruise reboot lands onscreen with a resounding thud. Epic fail.
The Verge: As an introduction, it’s functional. As a template for future films, it’s a warning that Dark Universe filmmakers are going to need to think about the stories they’re telling as much as the stories they’re planning.
Screen Rant: The Mummy tries a fresh spin on the classic monster with a gender-swapped villain and Dark Universe connections but winds up a stale action reboot.
Impulse Gamer: It’s tonally unsure of itself, the plot is littered with gaping story holes, and the general stupidity on display undercuts the pivotal efficiency required to make blockbuster movies of this kind hum and spin their wheels.
Variety: “The Mummy” is a literal-minded, bumptious monster mash of a movie. It keeps throwing things at you, and the more you learn about the ersatz intricacy of its “universe,” the less compelling it becomes.
So there you have it. There were a few positive reviews, but the film currently sits at 21% on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of writing this article.
Source: Rotten Tomatoes