'The Mummy" begins with one main premise: Tom Cruise still has it. It ends with a promise: Tom Cruise will always have it. Assuming you're on board with those statements, you'll have a blast.
On its own, however, "The Mummy" is pretty weird. It's like a high-speed blender that mixes equal parts action flick, zombie thrills and archaeological lore in the hope that the result will be a delicious blockbuster smoothie. Unfortunately, this doesn't quite happen. In his eagerness to cram everything into the mix, director Alex Kurtzman ("Transformers") loses his grip on some key plot lines, leaving the audience spinning in a dizzy whirl of "Huh?"
To be fair, Kurtzman had a lot on his plate. "The Mummy" kicks off Universal Pictures' so-called Dark Universe, which has the studio reviving its iconic monster movie franchises and presenting them in new guises. That means "The Mummy" had double duty as a megahit that could stand on its own and the first salvo in a Halloween-themed line of movies in the style of the "X-Men" and "Justice League" franchises. The pressure to open on a high note must have been tough, but luckily Kurtzman had a secret weapon: Tom Cruise — flashing that charming grin and assuring him of box-office bank.