Published on May 17, 2001
Memo to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, on seeing his film still
underneath the CD tray for
The Mummy Returns: Dude, where are you supposed to keep your
wallet in that costume?
Okay, that’s a cheap way to start a review, I admit. But when
you take a serious action/horror movie like this, add in
serious-sounding music from Alan Silvestri and realize that you’re
looking at the latest franchise in motion pictures, something has
to give in the light-hearted department.
Fact is,
The Mummy Returns is a serious soundtrack – in fact, it may
be too serious at times, leaving the listener who hasn’t included
themselves in the throng who have seen this movie (ahem, cough
cough) a bit lost at times.
At the start, one has to wonder why Silvestri became involved
with the music at this point. No disrespect is meant towards
Silvestri (who has easily proven himself to be one of the most
respected composers of film music), but wouldn’t the logical choice
have been to stick with Jerry Goldsmith, who crafted the music for
The Mummy? I would have been concerned that switching
composers would break the continuity of the music between the two
films. Then again, maybe that’s what the powers that be wanted in
the first place.
There are a few examples of working in the Middle Eastern flavor
of the setting into the music (“Imhotep Unearthed” being the one
that springs to mind), but more often than not,
The Mummy Returns takes on an almost
Indiana Jones approach to the music, rising and falling with
the action perceived by the listener. While this is a powerful tool
for raising and lowering one’s heart rate (as well as spurring on
one’s imagination), it draws attention away from the plot of the
movie, turning it into another action-adventure soundtrack.
This isn’t to say that selections like “Evy Kidnapped,” “The
Legend Of The Scorpion King” and “The Mummy Returns” are weak.
Indeed, these tracks have enough power to keep the listener
interested, even if one hasn’t seen the movie yet. But one area
which could have stood some improvement was in the final mixing.
Whoever was working the volume control knob should get a lesson in
equalization; there were times when the music was almost absent due
to the volume being so low.
The one nod to pop sensibility – the inclusion of a new track
from Live – doesn’t light the fuse like one would hope. “Forever
May Not Be Long Enough” doesn’t have the power or hooks that many
of Live’s best-known songs do. And while judging the upcoming
release from Live on this one track alone isn’t fair, it does lead
me to wonder if “Forever May Not Be Long Enough” is a sign of
things to come.
The Mummy Returns has enough adrenaline to keep your heart
racing at times, but could have used a little more of an Egyptian
theme running through its selections. Without that, you’re left
with merely the soundtrack to an action-adventure movie – albeit
not a bad soundtrack.