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Director Alex Kurtzman intended The Mummy to be a Tom Cruise movie that felt “different and interesting”

June 12, 2017 by Jordan Jones

The Mummy is officially in theaters, and is currently being mummified by critics (apologies for that). Many reviews have stated that the The Mummy is simply a series of mind-numbing action set-pieces strung together into a feature-length film.

Worst of all, reviews have stated that Tom Cruise actually seems bored in the movie. That’s right. Tom Cruise… the man who literally sprints through most of his movies… looks bored.

Now, there may actually be a reason for that. Talking to Business Insider, director Alex Kurtzman states that he hoped this movie would be a deconstruction of Tom Cruise movies. This is what the director had to say:

“We have over 30 years of knowing Tom Cruise is going to save the day, in order to make the movie unpredictable I loved the idea that suddenly his control over the situation would be taken away from him … That got me excited, it felt like it served two purposes in that it honored a key Mummy power but it also made a Tom Cruise movie feel different and interesting.”

Funny enough, the movie ended up being a pretty standard Tom Cruise film, albeit with a slightly bored Tom Cruise. Was Kurtzman was holding the actor back? Perhaps not the best idea, as the movie is currently sitting at a 17% Rotten rating on aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes. Let’s hope the next installment in the Dark Universe is better; the cast is simply too talented to waste.

Thought safely entombed in a tomb deep beneath the unforgiving desert, an ancient princess (Sofia Boutella of Kingsman: The Secret Service and Star Trek Beyond) whose destiny was unjustly taken from her is awakened in our current day, bringing with her malevolence grown over millennia and terrors that defy human comprehension. From the sweeping sands of the Middle East through hidden labyrinths under modern-day London, The Mummy brings a surprising intensity and balance of wonder and thrills in an imaginative new take that ushers in a new world of gods and monsters.

The Mummy is currently in theaters, with Alex Kurtzman directing a cast that includes Tom Cruise (Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation), Annabelle Wallis (Annabelle), Jake Johnson (New Girl), Courtney B. Vance (American Crime Story: The People v O.J. Simpson), Sofia Boutella (Kingsman: The Secret Service) and Russell Crowe (The Nice Guys).

… You can find Jordan on Twitter (@JordJJones), and Facebook.

Originally published June 12, 2017. Updated November 28, 2019.

Filed Under: Jordan Jones, Movies, News Tagged With: Alex Kurtzman, Dark Universe, The Mummy, Tom Cruise, Universal Monsters

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