The Mummy

Sgt. Nick Morton (Tom Cruise) and his right hand man Chris Vail (Jake Johnson) are on assignment for the U.S. Military in Iraq, but, in truth, they use their position as ‘reconnaissance scouts’ to loot ancient treasures to sell on the black market. Hot on Nick’s heels is Jenny Halsey (Annabelle Wallis), a legitimate archaeologist who is furious at him for stealing the map that she hopes will lead her to an ancient tomb that has been mysteriously hidden throughout history.

As for why almost all records of this ancient Egyptian burial have been erased, one must go back thousands of years to find that there was once a princess named Ahmanet (Sofia Boutella) who in her lust for power jealously killed the rest of the royal family and courted the ‘god of death’ himself, Set. However, before her ritual to bring him into this world is complete, she is apprehended and ‘buried’ alive.

Denied death’s embrace, but unable to escape her sarcophagus, Ahmanet remains in her tomb until would be treasure hunters Nick and Vail, uncover it. Soon, Nick, Vail and Jenny are on board a military cargo plane with their prize, heading back to England. The plane will never make it.

Ahmanet, now free in London, is searching for the artifact she needs to usher in a new age of darkness. Together, Nick, Jenny, and the ‘historical’ society she works for, led by Dr. Henry (Russell Crowe) are the only thing that stands in the way of a now awakened mummy with the power to command the dead. Should she also succeed in raising the god of death herself, then what force on Earth can stop her?

“The Mummy” is an exciting, at times thrilling, monster movie that is heavy on the horror, light on humor, but with a script so uninspired as to almost be forgettable despite the action, which often does reach frenetic levels. Morally, the film has much to concern viewers.

Objectionable Content

Language: Moderate. The Lord’s name is taken in vain 5x (OMG 4x, G*d 1x) as well as several mentions of becoming a ‘living god’. Other language included; sh** (2x), a** (1), a**h*** (1), bit** (1), son-of-a-*** (2), bast**d (1), he** 9x(2-times preceded by ‘bloody’), dam* (3) and pi** (1). A lower foul language count than most PG-13 movies, this is still inappropriate for younger children. There is also crude sexual innuendo regarding the one-night stand that Nick and Jenny shared previous to the movie’s events, and this is brought up a second time, as well. There is frequent demonic chanting which, although undecipherable, still sounds ritualistic.

Violence: Heavy. Mostly bloodless, people are killed by bullets, explosions, crashes, drowning and, in one instance, stabbed and shot to death up close. People are supernaturally assaulted by spiders, rats, crows, a ‘living’ sand storm, while others have their lives gruesomely sucked out of them by the mummy who uses their life essence to regenerate her century’s old body.

Spiders are used to aid in her possession of people, and one does this by crawling into a man’s ear. Many corpses are seen, some only recently dead (i.e., plane crash), and the mummy uses her power to reanimate them to act as her undead army. Lifeless, but without fear, they launch themselves at her enemies, and even when Nick punches through their head or breaks them in half they continue attacking.

Ahmanet is shown cutting herself during a blood ritual and while killing her family with a knife (unseen) blood splatters her face upon each murder, one of whom is a baby. Ahmanet screams as she is first mummified and again later when, as the mummy, she is shot through by multiple barbed arrows and subsequently has mercury pumped into her body. Doctor Henry agonizingly jabs his hand with a large device regularly.

With demonic violence throughout, this film could be particularly harmful to a child’s psyche, and yet there are still more concerns worth noting.

Sex/Nudity: During the flashbacks to ancient Egypt, Princess Ahmanet is often in thin clingy clothes and during a ritual is fully naked in a side view, although this is seen from behind a thin curtain while later her full backside can be seen uncovered and nude. During the ritual to bring her god of death into our world, she is straddling a man about to sacrifice him with a dagger, but is stopped before she can finish. Nick is caught staring at Jenny’s bare belly as she is reaching for something, and later he is naked but obscured underneath a thick plastic, although he covers up quickly when some people arrive. The nudity/near nudity and sexual situations (not to mention the sexual barbing between Nick and Jenny), make this likewise poor material for teens.

Alcohol/drug use: Nick is seen in a bar drinking heavily after a plane crash, and, later, Dr. Henry is seen drinking hard liquor, while Nick joins him. Nick is shot with a tranquilizer dart, and Dr. Henry self-medicates frequently as cited earlier.

Lessons

A special effects laden film starring Tom Cruise about a resurrected Egyptian Princess bent on ruling the world is meant to entertain audiences and will not have many teachable moments. However, the fact that the film addresses subjects such as death, Satan, possession and sin provides topics worth discussing, should you see this film.

Death: Ahmanet has made a deal with the devil in exchange for her immortality. Later, she taunts Jenny with the claim that only she knows what comes “after this life,” leaving our unsaved heroine taken aback. The Word of God is clear on both the finality of death, what follows this life and what we truly need to be concerned about, and it is not death.

“And inasmuch as it is apportioned to men to die once, and after this, judgment…” —Hebrews 9:27

“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” —Matthew 10:28

Satan: Dr. Henry wants the power of Set, who he also refers to as Satan, to to fight evil. The enemies of Jesus foolishly thought along the same lines when they accused Him of colluding with the devil, but our savior Jesus easily rebuked their argument, as only the Son of God can.

“You say I am empowered by Satan. But if Satan is divided and fighting against himself, how can his kingdom survive?” —Luke 11:18

Demonic Possession: This happens several times in the movie and the ‘end game’ is the eventual incarnation of death in a human form, namely Nick’s. Possession has long existed (i.e., 1 Samuel 19:9-10; Matthew 9:32-33; Mark 5:1-20; Luke 22:3; etc.) but the children of God have nothing to fear.

“We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them.” —1 John 5:18 NIV

Sin: Although this is never mentioned in the movie, the Doctor prefers to just refer to ‘evil,’ he does wonder out loud, “If evil were a pathogen, then there must be a cure.” Evil does have a name, and, as the Apostle Paul teaches us, Jesus came to defeat it.

“For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.” —Romans 5:19

The increasing trend for horror films, such as this one, is to portray a false picture of a world that is without God and suggest that heroes may need to use evil means in order to combat evil. This should not come as a surprise, for even this was foretold.

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons…” —1 Timothy 4:1

Audiences, eagerly anticipating the first of Universal’s slew of upcoming monster films under the banner of “Dark Universe,” may have gotten what they asked for—that is, if they were expecting a simple horror film. While the action is intense and the effects are excellent, the film fails in several areas, not the least of which includes a non-existent romance (Nick and Jenny have no chemistry), a comparatively humorless story and a lackluster script. I cannot recommend “The Mummy”—an unimpressive movie marred by distasteful content and a spiritually dark focus that culminates in an especially blasphemous fashion.

• Violence: Very Heavy
• Profanity/Vulgarity: Moderate
• Sex/Nudity: Moderate to Heavy

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.