What parents should know before taking kids to see 'The Mummy'

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THE MOVIE THEATER — I went into the movie "The Mummy" starring Tom Cruise worried that Hollywood was about to destroy the 1999 Brendan Fraser masterpiece "The Mummy" with a cheap knockoff.

A few minutes into the movie that fear left me and I was able to sit back and let the movie rage full force.

Here is what parents should know before taking their kids:

Violence, blood and gore

This is an action movie and there is violence— lots of it. A fair amount of it is the kind that we have come to expect from movies like "Raiders of the Lost Ark" or coincidentally the original "The Mummy" starring Fraser. There are a lot of scenes with a likable hero getting into fist fights with henchmen or the undead. This is the type of violence where basically the bad guys "get what they deserve" and the hero saves the day.

Then there is the type of violence that is darker and more sinister. In this remake, we see the murder of an infant and his parents. Though this scene is not explicit in that we see the actual act, we do see the blood of the victims as it splashes into the villain's face while she kills them.

This particular scene is shown again later in the film. The trick the filmmakers use here to make this scene feel less disturbing is the fact that the blood is stylized and shown as a black liquid instead of bright red. Regardless, the impact of the scene is unsettling in its implications.

There are stabbings and several shootings most of which are not graphic but are unexpected and a little jarring.

Horror

This film had a fun time scaring the audience with a few jumpy parts and a spider scene that came right out of the Indiana Jones playbook. In addition to cheap scares, there is also a lot of time dedicated to the creation of convincing-looking undead creatures that torment Cruise throughout the film.

In a way, the creation scenes reminded me a little of the Ray Harryhausen monsters of the '50s and '60s, albeit with much more updated technology. In this version, CGI was used only to augment the heavier use of practical effects, giving it more believability. This is not to say that some of it wasn’t intense, but then again, isn’t that the idea in a film like this?

Language

With all that was going on in other parts of the movie, it’s safe to say the studio had to tone down the intensity of the language in order for the film to stay out of “R” rating territory. There were, however, plenty of the more general mid-tier swear words with no “F” words or sexually explicit language.

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Sexuality and Nudity

This version of the "The Mummy" spent 1 hour and 50 minutes wanting to but not quite showing nudity. While nothing explicit was shown, there was plenty to be seen as the mummy played by Sofia Boutella spent entire scenes either completely undressed or covered only by unraveling mummy wrap.

In the scenes where she is entirely nude, we see her from behind or the side usually with a strategically placed shadow covering her at the right time and in the right place. There are a few scenes where Cruise runs around without his shirt on because well, he’s 54 and works out, lest anyone should forget.

Conclusion

The PG-13 rating of this film is earned and made full use of to make "The Mummy" the action-packed adventure it wants to be. This movie is fun to watch and does not lack in excitement. However, with that said, please use this review as a guide to help you decide what is appropriate for you and your family.

For a full review of this film, see John Clyde’s article.


![John Clyde](http://img.ksl.com/slc/2608/260868/26086842\.jpg?filter=ksl/65x65)
About the Author: John Clyde \----------------------------

John has grown up around movies and annoys friends and family with his movie facts and knowledge. He also has a passion for sports and pretty much anything awesome, and it just so happens, that these are the three things he writes about. Contact him on Twitter at @johnnypclyde.

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