The Mummy is a good old-fashioned creepy suspense film. The action and adventure is entertaining and sometimes campy, if predictable.
Brendan Fraser is a very good, rugged lead. He's even good at the playing dumb thing. But, like a true jock, he excels at his strength, agility, weaponry and physicalness. Does he really NEED brains? C'mon.. he played Dudley Do-Right, for goodness' sake.
For brains, we have Rachel Weisz, who in her climactic moment, proclaims proudly, "I am a librarian!" Marian had nothing on this lady. She provides common sense, intelligence and a sense of balance. It's not her fault that she's the object of desire for a "juicy" mummy who's got an evil curse and stuff.
The plot is ok, but the story is really full of creepy crawlers and some hard-to-watch scenes. Once you accept this as an Indiana Jones type film, you can just turn your brain off and enjoy it.
Hale didn't like how it stereotyped groups (Arabs are smelly, Americans are dumb "cowboys," British are incompetent and proper). Oh, and be sure not to miss the brother of our female lead, who is a bumbling fool... a young Don Knotts in demeanor and actions.
All in all, this film is a solid 7 -- it accomplishes what it sets out to do: entertain and give you the creeps on a rollicking adventure. And unlike Phantom Menace, there was no place it dragged!