So many iconic Tom Cruise movies one could choose. Why the 2017 flop ‘The Mummy’? Wouldn’t it have been better to just watch the Brendan Fraser version for the fifth time?
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But it has become 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 movies 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 surely, 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 mish-mash of all those things, switching from one to another without a lot of 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 times Russell Crowe comes on screen to explain the plot, so that’s all right.