Brendan Fraser Cemented His ‘90s Heartthrob Status in a Resurfacing Streaming Hit

You know the bumper sticker: “Honk if you’d rather be watching the 1999 cinematic masterpiece The Mummy starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz”? Well, now you can be watching the iconic piece of movie history when you join ranks with numerous other Hulu subscribers who are helping the title climb the streamer’s Top 15 chart. With a 62% critics’ approval rating and 75% audience approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, we’d certainly agree with the latter when it comes to the period drama that pits Fraser against an undead Egyptian priest bent on seeking vengeance and reuniting with his beloved in the afterlife.
Set just a few years following the uncovering of King Tutankhamun’s tomb, The Mummy transports audiences back to Cairo in 1926 when archaeologists were flocking to Egypt’s capital city in hopes of unearthing something magnificent. At the center of the tale is Fraser’s Rick O’Connell, a sort-of Indiana Jones-type character who loves to get the adrenaline pumping while out on the hunt for treasure. His latest journey takes him to Hamunaptra, the City of the Dead, where he’s guiding librarian and budding Egyptologist Evelyn Carnahan (Weisz) and her brother, Jonathan (John Hannah). Along the way, the trio inadvertently wake a villainous high priest (Arnold Vosloo) from his centuries-long slumber – a move that will put them on the journey of a lifetime as they try to hold onto their lives against the supernatural entity who plans on using Evelyn’s body as the vessel through which to bring back his beloved.
Universal Dug Up a Franchise

Just as Vosloo’s high priest Imhotep was unearthed by the trio of adventurers in The Mummy, Universal Pictures used the Stephen Sommers-helmed (Van Helsing) film as a way to reinvigorate the franchise. The title served as a remake of the classic 1932 film of the same name, and quickly became a financial hit for the studio, earning more than $417 million against its $80 million production budget. Two years later, audiences were invited to re-enter the world of Rick O’Connell and Evelyn, who are now happily married following the events of the first film. But, their marital bliss is soon shattered after Imhotep rises from the afterlife for a third chance, while another ancient being known as The Scorpion King (Dwayne Johnson) also enters the picture. The production was one of the first major roles nabbed by then-pro-wrestler, Johnson, and would eventually lead to a spin-off film of his own, 2002’s The Scorpion King. As for The Mummy, despite Weisz’s departure, the adventure roared on for a third film, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, that saw Fraser star opposite Jet Li.
Dig into some fictional historical fun and stream the movie that breathed new life into a franchise with The Mummy, now streaming on Hulu.

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The Mummy