The Mummy (2017) * 1/2

Directed by:  Alex Kurtzman

Starring:  Tom Cruise, Sofia Boutella, Annabelle Wallis, Russell Crowe, Courtney B. Vance, Jake Johnson

Tom Cruise plays Nick Morton in The Mummy and he is virtually indistinguishable from Ethan Hunt or Jack Reacher.    These are men of action and some charm who find themselves hanging from high places or aircraft, but not much else.    Cruise can do these roles in his sleep, and to his credit, he invests considerable energy into them instead of phoning them in.    But, The Mummy may be his most forgettable movie to date.    It's a lifeless retelling of The Mummy story, with Sofia Boutella as the undead creature from ancient Egypt thrust into the modern world with the intent to destroy it.    Cue the chases.   Cue the CGI.   Cue the boredom.

Nick is a rogue military guy who goes AWOL with his loyal sidekick (Johnson) to find treasure.   Little did he know he would unleash the mummy and a plague on the world...with a possibility that Nick himself will become the mummy's cohort after she infects him with whatever made her the mummy in the first place.    It's a funny thing about that infection.   Other people who come in contact with the creature, like Nick's cohort, and they are immediately turned into the undead, while Nick teeters on the edge of becoming one, but somehow doesn't.    Why this occurs is not adequately explained, or maybe they explained it and I zoned out.   It wouldn't be the first time in this movie.

Soon, Dr. Henry Jekyll (Crowe) is brought in to explain to Nick what is happening and about the existence of a secret anti-mummy contingent whose objective is to stop dreaded powers from taking over the Earth.    Yes, this is the same Jekyll as in Jekyll and Hyde, which was to be part of the proposed Dark Universe which was ultimately shelved once The Mummy tanked at the box office.    A little sly humor, such as Nick pointing out that he has the same name as Robert Louis Stevenson's famed character, would not have been unwelcome.

The Mummy leaves room open for a sequel, but thankfully one is not in the works.    There isn't much that can be done to bring this stuff to life.    Yes, there is action and it is just that.   Action.  With no real reason for us to care about its outcome, and without that, what's the point?