The Mummy

So many iconic Tom Cruise movies one could choose from. Why the 2017 flop ‘The Mummy’? Wouldn’t it have been better to just watch the Brendan Fraser version for the fifth time?

But it has become so rare for Tom Cruise to star in a commercial failure. The man is a certified box office draw – he makes the great big movies America loves. Sadly, though, America did not love ‘The Mummy’. Not only did it lose a pile of money and receive – quite justifiably – critical derision, it single-handedly tanked Universal Pictures’ planned shared universe series rebooting classic movie monsters and teaming them up, Avengers-style. Though upon reflection, that seems like a bad idea, so perhaps we can’t lay all the blame at the mummy’s feet.

But indeed, at least, the film is a fun romp. Or, perhaps, a terrifying thrill ride? Or the sort of high-octane action movie for which Tom Cruise is so well known? Unfortunately, it’s a bit of a mish-mash of all those things, switching from one to another without rhyme or reason.

It does, however, feature a lot of Tom Cruise doing that thing where he runs with his knees up high – and a couple of times Russell Crowe comes on screen to explain the plot, so that’s all right.