fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #6444 ]

[ SECRET POST #6444 ]

⌈ Secret Post #6444 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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01. https://i.imgur.com/rpspqpj.png

Reminded of this by someone posting about Jack Black's acting yesterday - the Jumanji reboot hit all those targets for me.

It's not at all an attempt to remake the old movie, which helped a lot.

Yes! I even liked the sequel, although it wasn't as good as the first one.

First one is def better in all aspects. Acting, writing, action. But that's usually the case with sequels.

Now I want to go watch it again lol

True. First one is amazing, second one is just decent and fun. But I still like it.

Deadpool and Wolverine hit all those targets for me.

Hahaha same! I’m off to the cinema in an hour to see it for the third time, this time in 3D. I bet the opening credits are amazing!

So, on the one hand, there's a bit of survivorship bias. There's never been a time where making movies as good as The Mummy '99 has been common - it's a real standout and it would be a real standout in any era.

With that caveat out of the way - I've never been quite sure why exactly the film works as well as it does. There are a few things you can point out - great cast from top to bottom, a writer-director who both had a passion for the material and had prior experience with effects-heavy major studio projects, and the fact that the effects process was looped in to the process from before shooting started, instead of being an afterthought that had to rush everything during post-production. Also it has a GREAT soundtrack.

But honestly I think mostly it was just... luck. There's no one secret to The Mummy that current studio projects are failing to replicate. It's just one of those projects where everything worked out exactly right. Sometimes the magic just happens. No explanation, no point in looking for one.

I think that is all true. But I also think that there is just a sense of fun with the Mummy that is very rare in movies today. Most things are dark and grim and darkness is seen as inherently better.

The one movie I can think of recently that comes close is the Dungeons and Dragons movie.

Edited 2024-08-28 00:35 (UTC)

Hm, I don't know, I think there are a lot of action movies that are trying to be bright and have a sense of fun. I think they have a different sense of humor (more sarcastic) than The Mummy did, which I personally don't like as much but it's not intrinsically a reason for the movies to be a failure - for instance I wouldn't call the MCU movies grim or depressing for the most part. I think a lot of it just doesn't hit as well.

It's a matter of not taking itself seriously. Even comedy movies are serious business these days. Studios have cut out all the middle area, where filmmakers can just have fun and create those classics that may not make all the money but are endlessly entertaining. We still get a few, but they usually have to fight to exist, like the first Deadpool movie.

I wish I loved The Mummy as much as many people seem to.

I also love that kind of fun action-adventure film, but it just didn't hit for me somehow. Not at the time and not on later re-watch.

I did enjoy the hell out of the Dungeons and Dragons movie. And, as mentioned above, the new Jumanji movie was surprisingly good. (Haven't seen the sequel yet.)

Honor Among Thieves was so fun. One of my favorite movies, honestly. Jumanji is great too.

Xenk!

Yes! I need to find more icons from that movie. THe ones I have were from when it first came out.

I loved the Jumanji movie (hated the original with RW) but couldn’t stand DND or The Mummy. I actually don’t know anyone my age or older who loved The Mummy, just a few friends back then who were kinda ok with it, fun movie, no need to watch again. So for that one I’ve always assumed the outpouring of love (which reads more as nostalgia than love to me) is from those who saw it as children or teens.

My 70 year old mother loves The Mummy, as do the middle-aged denizens of social media, so it might just be you and your friends who hate fun.

I’m on Facebook constantly and haven’t seen anyone middle aged share or comment on any of the memes that pop up literally daily in meme groups about how amazing/perfect The Mummy is. It’s all under 40s who do that in the groups and among my FB friends who range in age from 19 to 84.

(no subject)

(Anonymous) - 2024-08-28 02:34 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

(Anonymous) - 2024-08-28 05:33 (UTC) - Expand

Same. I don't really like The Mummy. It's... OK?
Also I don't find most of the characters in this movie hot... It's blasphemy according to everyone

I liked DND movie, it was good fun

Only going with movies after The Mummy in 1999:

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is not a good movie and the likeability of its characters is questionable, but I found it stupidly entertaining or entertainingly stupid, one or the other.

National Treasure is silly as hell, but it can suck you in.

The Librarian TV movies are pretty enjoyable.

Likeable characters do not exactly abound in Stardust, but even so I thought they were pretty fun.

Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008) hits some of the same beats for me, plus it also has Brendan Fraser in it.

Jurassic World was good for what it was.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (as mentioned above) is good, The Next Level is alright.

Love and Monsters is a really good movie that should have gotten a lot more notice, but it was released in 2020.

The Lost City (2022) is pretty goddamn ridiculous, but it has a few good moments.

just wanna say aboput Jurassic World - I had made a mistake of rewatching Jurassic Park before watching JW, and the contrast of how more mindless JW seems put me off of it completely haha
like yea, CGI dinosaurs are cool ig, but all the characters are unlikable and that story... big oof
I didn't see JW2&3 to this day because of this

ayrt

I saw Fallen Kingdom and Dominion both and I wouldn't recommend them to anyone, so I don't think you are missing anything. The first Jurassic World doesn't have anything on Jurassic Park, it's true, but I kind of liked the mindlessness of it (and I liked the kids). It was just a big dinosaur popcorn movie and I did think it was better than The Lost World or JPIII, not that that was a high bar to clear.

ayrt

ye-p! even JPIII wasn't as bad in my mind as JW.
haha thank you for replying, I suspected the other two movies were also Not Good, but it's always nice to get a confirmation.

Not on the same level as The Mummy, but I thought Sahara was a terrific romp. Fun characters, lively action, great soundtrack. I have read a couple of Dirk Pitt books and thought they took themselves far too seriously, so I was tickled by Dirk as a cheery pothead. I should watch that one again soon. It just hit the spot for me.

Yes, Sahara is very fun!

It has Steve Zahn in it too. Love that guy.

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