The Mummy (2017): Why Tom Cruise Couldn't Save the Dark Universe

Tom Cruise Couldn't Save It: The Mummy's Epic Fail and the Dark Universe's Demise

Tom Cruise's "The Mummy": Why Even a Megastar Couldn't Rescue This Disaster

2017's The Mummy reboot was supposed to be HUGE. It was meant to launch Universal's ambitious Dark Universe franchise, with a cast boasting A-listers like Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe, Annabelle Wallis, Jake Johnson, Courtney B. Vance, and Marwan Kenzari. On paper? Perfection! But, it bombed spectacularly, completely tanking any hope for its sequels! That was surprising given its impressive pedigree; showing those key lessons – throwing in famous names isn't enough; you still need a compelling story, awesome character development, solid production values, etc.! That massive budget combined with all those other incredibly famous actors still could not fully mask how underwhelming this was and many issues could have been immediately obvious for viewers in retrospect. That resulting failure effectively ended Universal's Dark Universe plan.

Let's be honest, this movie had major flaws from the start and you probably felt them when watching it! Now, we'll highlight why this movie absolutely imploded, effectively crushing all of those involved, resulting in immense consequences that directly led to the entire idea of a new Dark Universe never getting properly developed!

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8 Reasons Why Tom Cruise's "The Mummy" Totally Failed

8. Misleading Marketing: Those Mysterious Eyes

The marketing was aggressively confusing! Posters, trailers – everything featured Princess Ahmanet's eyes with extra pupils. This implied some mystical significance! That never gets paid off, making the viewers deeply dissatisfied because those details ended up never mattering, those hyped-up elements were all rendered completely worthless! And this incredibly terrible marketing decision wasn't merely some small oversight – that resulted from major issues behind the scenes involving Cruise who held massive influence over most production choices. The massive oversight meant he approved this misleading campaign and likely was responsible for those audience members' very low ratings – many entering with incredibly skewed ideas of what was even shown!

7. Wasting Tom Cruise: A Paper-Thin Role

Collage of Terminator 2, RRR, Beverly Hills Cop Axel F, Extraction, The Old Guard, and Gunpowder Milkshake Image

Tom Cruise is seriously talented, getting three Oscar nominations. This film totally wasted his skills. His character was exceptionally shallow and lacked any needed depth; he couldn't really shine as a result; creating that bland experience many found during its run! This made many others question the actual production decisions, which ended in severe disappointments; highlighting the critical failings from behind the scenes decisions which couldn't fully justify some earlier development choices! Those aspects involving Cruise's control and lack of understanding in what kind of movie is being made is what stands out and directly relates to what audiences felt overall.

6. Uninspired Characters: Microscopic Supporting Cast

Monster movies rely heavily on its cast! Awesome character development! Consider Jaws (that classic interplay between Martin Brody, Quint, and Matt Hooper) or Alien (Ellen Ripley's iconicity)! The actors playing these roles here are totally not the problem: those critically acclaimed individuals like Annabelle Wallis (playing Jenny) or Russell Crowe (Dr. Henry Jekyll) did their best; and despite this they simply failed to bring anything into these almost completely non-existent, poorly defined roles; they could do only so much to bring those poor characters into a situation which demanded way more detailed characterizations.

5. Unfavorable Comparisons to Classics: A Reboot Doomed From the Start

Reboots always have this big issue. They might never completely reach what already exists! The Mummy (1932) with Boris Karloff; those Brendan Fraser movies! Even Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy! This made those classic predecessors immensely difficult to live up to. Those existing high standards remained largely unmatched, and what was created here fails to reach the basic needs of fans who grew up loving those earlier movies! Other attempts during this Dark Universe franchise, like Dracula Untold (2014) or The Wolfman (2010), were failures, making any hope for future projects impossible.

4. Too Much Action: Sacrificing Story for Explosions

Action's important; but it can totally overwhelm everything else. The Mummy is pure, unadulterated action-nonstop! This failed terribly, completely diminishing any possibility for building actual suspense or fear! The intense overload, particularly during most key story events that desperately needed a calmer atmosphere failed in those very same places. Director Alex Kurtzman seemingly believed this; but it is extremely important for moviegoers to remember: not every film only needs non-stop action to deliver any cinematic excellence; even those actions only performed extremely well might lead to something lacking depth and those moments that would not typically come up within the various narratives and dialogue involved which need a more sophisticated direction and understanding of the audience themselves!

3. Misplaced Comedy: Tom Cruise's Tone-Deaf Jokes

Tom Cruise can be funny, but The Mummy's comedy’s really jarring. That dark tone clashes wildly against the overly jokey scenes from Cruise—a poor choice and failed humor attempt. It failed mostly because Cruise's comedic efforts stand out from this much darker direction from the rest of that cast. And since Cruise controlled most things—those comedy attempts show that it missed all the key points which are essential for successful blending of different cinematic tones; that attempt shows some kind of critical lack of attention towards his audiences that shows its poor attempt at trying to do so and a lack of understanding on the viewers' expectations.

2. Forced and Rushed Dark Universe: A Bad Beginning for a Potential Franchise

The whole Dark Universe was stuffed into this single movie— which was totally not a smart decision. They forced Russell Crowe's Dr. Jekyll in; it felt completely shoehorned! And revealing Eddie Hyde here too? That huge plot twist felt like a waste; it needed an immensely greater build-up. It was extremely pointless to do that: They could've had Dr. Jekyll (which mirrors those famous cameos in MCU movies!) during an after-credits scene that sets up expectations rather than completely giving this enormous amount of exposition which greatly lowered audience's reception towards it overall.

1. Not Scary Enough: A Mummy Without a Bite

The biggest issue? It’s NOT scary! While The Mummy doesn't need horror, being a major plot point for establishing a "Dark Universe" means that it needed something impressive to satisfy expectations! It should deliver the kinds of classic horror expectations for its target audience; a cinematic exploration into various mythical characters that deserve that kind of atmospheric tone. Instead, it lacks that needed level of genuine suspense; there are no scares! And that poor, unimpressive Ahmanet? Another massive failing! The total underwhelming aspects from this poor performance ended up destroying those future possibilities.

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Conclusion: The Dark Universe's Ghosts of Opportunities Missed

The Mummy's epic fail highlights the sheer fact that having those big names doesn’t automatically make something a success; these needs immense amounts of other critical considerations that include a cohesive storyline and superb creative direction for a satisfying ending. The missed opportunities could be quite extensive; those points could have been completely remedied with more thought out development decisions; instead those major decisions resulted in massive oversights. This resulting flop however didn’t destroy any hopes; more classic Universal Monsters are slated for future movies and there's an impending Dark Universe theme park attraction opening May 2025!