Wolff rating: EXCELLENT
Plot summary: Archaeologists and adventurers compete to find the legendary Egyptian treasure city, but it appears to be cursed.
Biased, pithy comments: This movie is derivative, obvious, contains clear moments of excess and bad acting, stars Brendan ``Encino Man'' Fraser, and has clearly seen ``Evil Dead'' and ``Raiders of the Lost Ark'' far too many times. However, I had a great time. No, really, a fantastic time. I laughed hard at the laugh lines, cringed at the scary stuff (well, some of it; some of it was silly), gasped at some of the less-obvious special effects, and wondered how in hell they'd get out of *this* mess. This movie does the pulp hero thing right---Fraser is always at the end of his rope and on the run; just as the smile of triumph reaches his face, the rug gets pulled out from under him and he has to scramble to catch up. Weisz is charming (even if her accent wanders all over England and into, say, Missouri), John Hannah is having a great time, and Arnold Vosloo is one scary dude. Definitely worth popping the popcorn and leaning back to enjoy an old-fashioned serial adventure with your brain securely in neutral.
Other Notes: So, among the several zillion historical inaccuracies, the Egyptians lacked the understanding of the arched roof, so many of the underground scenes which took place in vaulted-ceiling tombs were painfully bogus. Nearly all of ancient Egypts monuments were filled with sand and rock rubble; the great pyramid of Giza has just two small rooms that one can't even stand upright in, if I recall correctly.
How many times I have seen it: x2
Starring: Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo
Directed by: Stephen Sommers