Although a great film, there are many moments of complete idiocy throughout The Mummy.
- The first scene itself, where Seti is killed after discovering Imhotep and Anck-su-namun's affair.
You'd Expect: The Pharaoh to move through the palace with at least two Medjai guarding him at all times, or at least have one in each room to keep it secure.
Instead: He confronts them alone, as (seen in Evy's flashback in the second film) the Medjai are all standing in formation at what appears to be the palace entrance, and only act when she calls out to them.
As A Result: Seti is brutally murdered, setting the film's events into motion. - Imhotep has just been caught by the Medjai in the sacrilegious act of trying to resurrect Anck-su-namun after having killed the Pharaoh. The Medjai decide to have Imhotep's priests mummified alive as punishment for helping Imhotep commit blasphemy.
You'd Expect: For the Medjai to either mummify Imhotep alive as well or just torture him to death as punishment for his crimes.
Instead: They subject him to the dreaded Hom Dai, which while torturing him for eternity, also ensures that if he returns, he will become an immortal, unkillable, living plague upon the world.
As A Result: It forces the Medjai to maintain a constant vigil over Hamunaptra for eternity to ensure Imhotep does not rise again, as this curse doesn't have an expiration date. 3,000 years later, they botch their task and he rises again. - Three factors keep Imhotep from rising from the dead. One, his coffin is locked and needs a special puzzle box that doubles as a key to open it. Two, Hamunaptra is extremely well hidden and the only map is kept within said key, which is inside Hamunaptra. Three, the Books of the Dead and Living are required to revive/kill Imhotep and said books are inside Hamunaptra, and also cannot be unlocked except by the aforementioned key.
You'd Expect: Both this key and the map would be immediately destroyed. The Medjai do not need them for any reason, and their existence serve as a continual threat to their plans.
Instead: They leave the key inside Hamunaptra, where it is eventually found and taken by Rick 3,000 years later.
As A Result: Long story short, Imhotep returns. - The Medjai watch a battle between the tribes and Rick's French Foreign Legion, who have found Hamunaptra. Several members of the Legion, Rick among them, survive the battle and are presently escaping into the desert.
You'd Expect: The Medjai would take the opportunity to simply mop up the survivors, ensuring the City of the Dead would stay hidden. The ones on the horses might escape, but seeing an army pop up and massacre witnesses would be a strong incentive to never come back.
Instead: They simply let the survivors leave, expecting them not to survive the desert without water. One could chalk it up to them not wanting to waste their own water to run down survivors, but you'd think they'd actually ration it for this kind of action.
As A Result: The two main survivors (Rick and Beni) not only survive the desert but also come back with more people to excavate the site, and that leads to the discovery of not just the Book of the Dead, but also Imhotep himself. - According to the Bembridge scholars, the golden Book of Amun Ra, otherwise known as the Book of the Living, is buried under the statue of Anubis at Hamunaptra.
You'd Expect: These supposed scholars to realize what a stupid conclusion this is. Anubis is one of the Egyptian deities of the dead, so it would be highly unlikely the Book of the Living would be buried under his statue. Furthermore, they base this conclusion on the text on a statue supposedly taken from Hamunaptra, so their claim of the book's location is subject to questioning.
Instead: No one bothers considering this, and they excavate the statue and uncover Imhotep's corpse and the Book of the Dead. Evelyn is able to discern the truth by casually examining the original text later on her own, which really comes off as the scholars being lazy/incompetent. - After Mr Burns' death, Dr Bey reveals that Imhotep will fear cats until he fully regenerates...and to do that he must drain the life from Burns' friends Mr Henderson and Daniels.
You'd Expect: Given such an easily exploitable weakness, everyone would carry cats at all times, or at least keep the hotel cat in the room with them when Henderson, Daniels and Evy are left behind at the fort. You would also expect Rick and Jonathan to not leave two of the three men Imhotep needs to drain, and the woman he needs to sacrifice, all in the same place.
Instead: They don't use any cats and do leave the trio at the fort, meaning Henderson and Daniels are easily killed by Imhotep in rapid succession. - Dr. Chamberlain, the Egyptologist hired by the Americans, is one of the people Imhotep is hunting for and he knows it.
You'd Expect: Him to stay in the fort since it's safer there.
Instead: He tries to make a break for it and take the Book of the Dead and one of the canopic jars with him.
As A Result: Not only is he sucked dry, but he also gives Imhotep what he needs to complete his ritual. - Rick breaks into the sacrificial chamber at Hamunaptra to save Evelyn while Imhotep is trying to retrieve the book of Amun Ra from Jonathan, who is on the other side of the room.
You'd Expect: Imhotep to step in and dispatch Rick quickly and then retrieve the Book of Amun Ra since Jonathan can't open it without the key.
Instead: Imhotep orders his priests to attack Rick while he watches.
As A Result: Rick smacks around Imhotep's priests with ease because they're fragile, 3,000-year-old corpses with none of Imhotep's powers. - Jonathan has just finished the inscription on the Book of Amun Ra and commanded the four remaining mummified soldiers to kill Anck-su-namun.
You'd Expect: Imhotep to use his powers to dispatch the guards and then retrieve the Book.
Instead: He runs towards Jonathan to physically retrieve the Book, in order to reverse the spell.
As A Result: He's not fast enough and the guards hack Anck-su-namun to pieces. - Beni has just looted the treasure chamber at Hamunaptra and has a sack full of Egyptian gold worth a fortune which he has placed on an abandoned camel outside the city.
You'd Expect: Beni to take the chance to walk away from Hamunaptra after managing to get a bag full of gold objects out of the hidden treasure room.
Instead: Unfortunately, because of his insatiable greed he goes back for more.
As A Result: This ends up costing him his life as he unintentionally sets off the lever which brings Hamunaptra crashing down and he's left to be devoured by hordes of scarabs. For massive irony, his enemies end up riding off with his looted gold and are left financially secure for life.
