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The story centers on Nick Morton (played with intense physical energy by Tom Cruise), a military operative and antiquities thief operating in conflict-torn zones of the Middle East. While conducting a raid in Iraq alongside his partner, Chris Vail (Jake Johnson), Nick accidentally uncovers an ancient underground tomb buried deep beneath a pool of liquid mercury. The tomb turns out to be a prison for Princess Ahmanet (Sofia Boutella), an ancient Egyptian heir who was punished and mummified alive for making a pact with Set, the god of darkness, in her pursuit of power.
When Ahmanet’s sarcophagus is unearthed and airlifted toward London on a military transport plane, the ancient curse is unleashed. The plane crashes following a mystical swarm of crows, killing everyone on board—except for Nick, who suddenly wakes up in a morgue completely uninjured. Nick quickly realizes that he has been "chosen" and cursed by Ahmanet to become the physical vessel for the God Set on Earth. Aided by archaeologist Jenny Halsey (Annabelle Wallis), Nick must race against time through London's underground tunnels to halt Ahmanet's resurrection ritual, while also dealing with a secret organization called "Prodigium," led by Dr. Henry Jekyll (Russell Crowe).
The film's success in delivering supernatural horror elements relies heavily on Sofia Boutella’s outstanding performance as Princess Ahmanet. Unlike Imhotep’s iteration in previous The Mummy adaptations, which tended to rely on long-distance spell manipulation, Boutella portrays Ahmanet with highly expressive, sensual, and yet lethal body language, utilizing her background as a professional dancer. Her double-pupil stare (two pupils in one eye) and the runic hieroglyphs carved across her skin successfully create a visual impression of an exotic, terrifying monster with a tragic and deep backstory.
The narrative of The Mummy (2017) attempts to introduce a fresh dynamic through Prodigium, an organization tasked with hunting and studying monsters worldwide. Russell Crowe’s presence as Dr. Jekyll—who can transform at any moment into the savage Mr. Hyde—provides an interesting mythological exposition. Unfortunately, this intervention by Prodigium proves to be a double-edged sword for the story structure. Instead of focusing entirely on the urgent threat of Ahmanet’s curse, the second half of the film spends too much runtime introducing the Dark Universe concept and teasing future monsters, causing the main narrative to feel distracted and stripping the horror of its focused tension.
In terms of aesthetics and entertainment, the film is recognized for delivering several spectacular and death-defying practical action sequences. One of the most memorable visual achievements is the plane crash zero-gravity sequence. This scene was recorded inside a specialized aircraft (the Vomit Comet) that performed steep, true parabolic dives in the sky, requiring 64 flights to capture organic tension without excessive reliance on CGI. Supported by Ben Seresin’s cinematography, which captures the contrast between the arid deserts of Iraq and the dark, gloomy atmosphere of an old London cathedral, the film delivers luxurious, blockbuster-scale production values.
The audio aspects are crafted by composer Brian Tyler, who puts together a grand, dark orchestral score rich with exotic Middle Eastern instrumentation. Tyler intelligently blends booming brass with mystical choirs to represent the awakening of Ahmanet’s power. The sound design for everything from the howling sandstorms tearing through downtown London, to crawling swarms of spiders and the groans of the resurrected undead, sounds incredibly deafening and frightening, adding an immersive layer of horror atmosphere to the theater experience.
However, this drastic genre clash provoked sharp criticism from purist audiences. Tom Cruise’s persona as an invincible action hero is deemed poorly suited for a monster horror film, where protagonists are traditionally expected to feel vulnerable and helpless. The humor injected through the ghost character of Chris Vail also frequently feels awkward, disrupting the claustrophobic atmosphere that had been established. A script touched by too many writers causes the film's final resolution to feel rushed, leaving behind numerous logic gaps just to pave the way for a sequel that was ultimately never produced.
Overall, if you are looking for a pure horror film faithful to classic Gothic roots, or an archaeological adventure mystery akin to the 1999 version, The Mummy (2017) will likely feel disappointing and overcrowded by corporate franchise ambitions. Conversely, if you can detach yourself from its cinematic universe expectations and enjoy it as a summer supernatural action movie packed with Tom Cruise's signature stunts, an excellent monster design by Sofia Boutella, and grand visual effects, this film remains a quite fun and visually pleasing popcorn watch.