Mummy Returns, The

The surprise hit of 1999 has led inevitably to this sequel, with the hero and heroine (Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz) back in Egypt with their 8-year-old son (Freddie Boath), battling the resurrected Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo) and an ancient warrior called the Scorpion King (played by wrestler The Rock in flashback and a computer-generated ringer in present day). Director Stephen Sommers’ script provides flippant wisecracks and digital effects galore (all shiny, perfect and quite phony-looking), but Sommers doesn’t give his actors or his audience a chance to catch their breath. The exploits never let up for a nanosecond, with each scene more outlandish than the last. The result is action without exhilaration and jeopardy without real peril; it’s like watching someone else play a computer game.