Many years ago, in Ancient Egypt, the Scorpion King led a menacing army, but when he sold his soul to Anubis, he was erased from history. Now he is only a myth...or is he? Rick and Evelyn O'Connell is still discovering new artifacts, along with their 8 year old son Alex. They discover the Bracelet of Anubis. But someone else is after the bracelet. High Priest Imhotep has been brought back from the dead once again and wants the bracelet, to control the Scorpian King's army. That's not the only problem. Imhotep now has Alex and with the bracelet attached to him, doesn't have long to live.
The Mummy films were without a doubt my favourite, Despite CGI appearing quite tacky and clearly obvious it was computer generated, the whole storyline and the characters made it seem all the more interesting to watch. The fight scenes were always my favourite, I presume it was the adrenaline of hoping the good guys would win.
I realised today how bad the Graphics made appear compared to modern films, but I remember I used to be terrified at watching these Mummy films purely because the graphics of the mummy changing used to creap me out!! , looking back on it, I can see how much computerized graphics have changed and they are far better than what they used to be, but seeing how much it has changed, and the lack of practical effects used makes it seem less realistic.
The Mummy Returns
Brendan Fraser also known as Richard "Rick" O'Connell, is an adventurous explorer who has fought against mummies and other creatures. Rick has been in wars, in prison, and most of all... in hell! Rick has a child named Alex O'Connell and is married to sweet yet fiery wife Evelyn O'Connell. Rick is a very daring person. If anyone messes with his friends or family, he tranforms from a funny daredevil to a kickass beast. Rick has been out of action for 7 years, but he is set to return not to Egypt but to China to face a Chinese dragon Emperor Qin Shi Huang.
The Scorpion King, Played by Dwayne Johnson( The Rock ) . In 3067 BC, the Scorpion King leads his army on a campaign to conquer the world. Seven years later, the Scorpion King and his army are defeated and exiled to the desert of Ahm Shere. His men die of heat exhaustion, leaving only the Scorpion King. Vowing to give Anubis his soul for the power to defeat his enemies, an oasis is created to hide the Scorpion King's pyramid and give him a legion of humanoid jackal warriors to seek revenge. The Army of Anubis sweeps across Egypt, destroying everything in its path, but once their task is finished Anubis claims the Scorpion King's soul and his army.
I decided to choose this movie in particular, because there are a few scenes that show a huge army of Anubis warrior gods in battle, and in relation to the Eqyptian culture, I can see how these gods are interpreted within film.
The mummy itself - showing his transformation stage has also given me some great research pointers on how practical effects cannot simply show the changes in one person to another without the usage of CGI ( computer generated imagery ) .
Behind the scenes footage of how they created the visual effects of the Anubis Warriors.
Arnold Vosloo who plays Imhotep in the Mummy.
In the distant mists of antiquity, priest Imhotep committed two horrible blasphemies. First, he dared to love the Princess Anck-es-en-Amen, forbidden to one of his station. Second, he stole the Scroll of Life and attempted to use it to resurrect his love. A powerful magician and influential member of ancient Egyptian society, his crimes were too serious to be ignored. He was sentenced to be buried along with his love, and there he lies for thousands of years, until resurrected himself, by foolish modern archaeologists in the twentieth century. Imhotep is motivated by a desire to reunite with his lost love, and uses all of his magical knowledge to attempt to bring the woman he believes is her reincarnated spirit under his power. A sympathetic monster of the classic tradition, his story has been remade several times, and the original 1932 film inspired a series of sequels in which the articulate and magically adept Imhotep was replaced by the mute, lumbering Kharis.
A short Footage of the Anubis God from the movie. The CGI adds to the effect of the character and also creates that overexaggerated body frame of the God that cannot simply be done by practical effects.
Rachel Weisz plays the role of Nefertiri in the Mummy. Nefertiri was left motherless as a young woman and was confronted with the truth that her father was to marry Anck-Su-Namun, a choice by the Pharaoh that angered Nefertiri as Anuck-Su-Namun was a mere concubine. Anck-Su-Namun did nothing to remedy Nefertiri's perception of her, as she carried on her own haughty demeanour, as Nefertiri's superior and used to bully her at all given chances.
A clip from the Anubis Army scene during the battle. This is probably my favorite part of the movie, purely because I love seeing creatures that are only known by myths and legends, it's great to see them created using CGI and also giving them character.
The mummy franchise has always interested me, including the use of CGI. despite it's poor CGI of it's time, it was becoming increasingly popular, and in today's industry, CGI is used a lot within action films, and films that require it's usage.
It was a good way to demonstrate the usage of CGI in this film, because the Anubis god was known to Eqypitan culture, a hybrid character that appeared to have a jackel's head and a human-like body. It was great to see the character in digital form, and of it's time, it appeared affective.