Lawrence.com

"The Mummy Returns" has non-stop action, one-dimensional characters, fantastic special effects and lame dialogue. In other words, it's a perfect summer movie.

Granted, it's still May, but it's never too early to have some good, mindless fun at the multiplex. Like its 1999 predecessor, this film stays true to the "more is more" philosophy that rules the box office this time of year. Which is great, as long as you like a little eye candy with your eye candy.

The sequel picks up eight years after "The Mummy" left off, with archeologist Rick (Brendan Fraser) and librarian Evelyn (Rachel Weisz) now married and living comfortably in England. They still feel the call of ancient Egypt, however, and with their young son Alex (Freddie Boath) in tow, Rick and Evelyn resume digging around in tombs and temples, once again unleashing deadly mystical forces (don't these people ever learn?).

This time, they not only witness the resurrection of Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo), who terrorized them in the first movie, they also get mixed up in an attempt to find the pyramid of the Scorpion King (played, briefly, by wrestler The Rock), whose army of fearsome Anubis warriors could help bring about Imhotep's final conquest. Ultimately, the fate of the world lies with Alex, who is kidnapped by the mummy's minions and endeavors to annoy his captors to death while looking for a means of escape.

Writer-director Stephen Sommers (who also helmed the first film) has constructed a fairly convoluted plot involving curses, destiny and reincarnation, but he explains things well enough to avoid confusion without slowing down the action. And there's action aplenty, from the Scorpion King's siege of ancient Thebes to a wild London chase scene involving four reanimated corpses and a double-decker bus.

Sommers knows he has to outdo his previous effort as well as compete with all the other FX-driven movies out there, and he succeeds on both counts. Virtually every scene in "The Mummy Returns" is more exciting than the last, and it's clear that the various artists and technicians involved let their imaginations run wild.

If only as much effort had been put into the script. No one expects brilliant prose in a movie like this, but there has to be something better than "I hate mummies" and the old "it's quiet; too quiet" routine rattling around in Sommers' brain. In fact, most of the non-expository dialogue sounds like it was thrown in at the last minute because he suddenly remembered that his characters had to talk, not just run and fight. Considering the final result, not talking would have been a perfectly acceptable option.

The characters are still stereotypes, but at least they're familiar, likable stereotypes, which makes them worth rooting for even when you know everything they're going to do well in advance. The leads are appropriately heroic (if not always terribly bright), the kid is precocious without making you want to hurt him, and the villains sneer and glare with style. Fraser, Weisz and Vosloo fit right back into their old roles, as do fellow returnees John Hannah (as Evelyn's cowardly brother), Oded Fehr (as the mysterious Ardeth Bay) and Patricia Velasquez (as Imhotep's lover). The newcomers, including Boath and several random bad guys, do everything they need to do, although fans of The Rock will be disappointed in his extremely limited screen time (never fear, though; he's already shooting a Scorpion King spin-off movie).

Lazy writing and flat characters are hardly going to deter anyone from seeing "The Mummy Returns," and this is perfectly fine. There's a lot to be said for sitting back with that trusty bucket of popcorn and enjoying a couple hours of thought-free entertainment. It's what summer movies are for, after all. Anyone expecting more than that should probably go into hibernation until September.