Release: Oct 24, 2017
Film: The Mummy (1999)
Tagline: It's high swinging adventure, but does the Brendan Fraser hit hold up after all these years?
This review contains examples of:
- Actor Allusion: Two In-Universe cases:
- When the Medjai contemplate as to what to do with Rick (Brendan Fraser), who survived trespassing into Imhotep's grave, the Critic suggests banishing him to Monkeybone.
- He also compares Cap. Havlock to Chairmouse, only to realize that they're actually both portrayed by Bernard Fox.
- Adaptation Displacement: Malcolm and Tamara point out that everyone considers the 1999 version the original Mummy movie rather than the actual original 1932 movie starring Boris Karloff.
- B-Movie: The Critic's final summation of the film.
- Call-Back: Seeing Rick, Evie and co. traveling on camels, the Critic sarcastically censures the film for missing the chance to exploit the "comedic possibilities" of farting camels like Kangaroo Jack.
- The Cameo: The Angry Video Game Nerd appears at the end of the review, challenging the Critic to review the 2017 remake.
- Cursed with Awesome: The Critic notes that the Ancient Egyptians' curse on Imhotep wasn't very well thought out, given that if he ever escaped, he'd be an unstoppable force of evil.
- Deliberately Monochrome: The Fake-Out Opening based on The Mummy (1932), before Malcolm and Tamara burst in in color dressed as characters from the 1999 movie.
- Non-Action Big Bad: The Critic points out how Imhotep doesn't really do a lot in the film, instead having his minions do his dirty work for him quite often.
- The Oner: The Critic praises the movie for showing Evelyn knocking over stacks of bookcases in a domino effect in one continuous shot.
- Questionable Casting: The Critic's opinion on the casting of Brendan Fraser as Rick.
- Running Gag: Nearly any time Beni says something, it's immediately followed by a clip of Bartok in Anastasia, playing on the similarities in their voices.
- Self-Deprecation: For this episode's variant of Nostalgia-ween 2017's Treehouse of Horrors-inspired opening theme, among the gravestones is inscribed "The Time Nostalgia Critic Made Fun of Mako", alluding to his infamous gaffe from his review of TMNT, where he described Mako Iwamatsu as sounding like a heavy smoker (he was actually dying of throat cancer by the time he voiced Splinter).
- Sequel Hook: The Critic says that The Mummy (2017) will be reviewed the next week.
- Shout-Out:
- The opening sketch is a homage to the original 1932 version of The Mummy.
- The opening shots of ancient Egypt were so blatantly CGI the Critic thinks Moses and Ramses would fit in so well.
- Beni's voice reminds the Critic of Bartok, thus several clips of him speaking is immediately followed by those of Bartok.
- After the Critic accidentally makes an In-Universe Actor Allusion (see above), he remarks at the randomness of it all, followed by the logo of NBC's "The More You Know" PSAs.
- So Bad, It's Good: The Critic's final opinion on the film, and in his opinion intentionally so.
- Special Effect Failure: The Critic considers the film's effects to be cartoonish. In particular, when Gad has beetles burrow into his body, the Critic dubs into him lines that he's being "Photoshopped to death".
- Take That!:
- Upon seeing the CG of Anck-Su-Namun's spirit, the Critic has flashbacks of The Haunting (1999). He screams at the audience to remove everything in that film except those scenes featuring Catherine Zeta-Jones.
- Seeing Imhotep summon a massive sandstorm, the Critic realizes it is Anakin Skywalker's worst nightmare, while a clip of his infamous "I don't like sand" line plays.
- When Anck-Su-Namun is resurrected for the first time, the Critic dubs to her lines about how she dreamt of being attached to a giant bomb with Tom Cruise.
- At one point, the Critic snarks that Imhotep is glad that he's not "the butt-ugly CGI Rock in the shitty-ass sequel".