Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs

This feels like a history channel special. There were a few neat IMAX camera shots but not really enough to take advantage of the overly large screen.

There's some basic information about who the mummies most likely were, a view in on an experiment where some scientists make a modern mummy in order to try and figure out where to withdraw DNA from old mummies and some stuff on tomb robbers.

That's basically it. I'd advise seeing it if you're obsessed with mummies but otherwise there isn't too much you can get out of this movie.

This is a very enjoyable film and an experience which kids, in particular, will find captivating. It successfully gets across the sheer magnificence and sophistication of Ancient Egyptian society; the level of detail is extraordinary and the historical accuracy spot on - a feat which many films sadly fail to achieve. This is thoroughly worth watching, both intellectually and aesthetically. With the upswing of interest in all things Egyptian at the moment, the timing could not be more perfect. If you can get hold of the DVD, The Making of the Mummies, so much the better because it highlights what a feat it was to create this movie, with hundreds and hundreds of extras involved, incredibly harsh weather conditions in the desert and extremely complicated sets to create.

It's an IMAX forty minute short meant for the museum science theaters. Visually, it has some of the epic grand vistas with recreations. It examines the art of mummification and the Egyptian afterlife. I don't care about the modern day mummification scientific experiment. It's not visually interesting and the results could be explained easily. It doesn't actually need those scenes. I'm more intrigued with Egypt locations even if they're recreations. I wouldn't mind if this could show the mummification process in more detail although the medical TV show aspect may be off-putting for little kids in museums. It's a good science short. The IMAX could be used to greater effect.

Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs (2007)

*** (out of 4)

Christopher Lee narrates this documentary, which was originally shown in IMAX theaters. I had to watch it at home but I can imagine how great some of the images must have looked on such a large format. With that said, the story being told here was rather interesting as the documentary takes a look at ancient Egyptian history and the various import discoveries throughout the years. These discovers are of course traced back to tomb robbing, which was a major source of money back in the day. The main focus is on the biggest discovery, which led to various founders of Egypt being discovered.

The other focus of this documentary is on getting DNA from mummies in hopes that one day we can tell what people died of. For the most part I found this to be an entertaining documentary. I watched it with my six-year-old son who loves this subject and he was slightly entertained by it, although he wasn't overly interested in the DNA stuff. There are some nice images of various mummies that have been discovered over the years as well as some nice information of their discovery. Lee certainly does a very good job with the narration with that terrific voice of his.

Mummies: Secret of the Pharaohs is an exceptional Imax film. The cinematography is beautiful (Egypt in Imax, need I write more?!), the recreations convincing, and most importantly, the film is engrossing. Intertwining three separate but related stories, Mummies: SotP, explores the far and near past in a fresh fashion all the while keeping an eye on their payoff - these separate pasts' unexpected role in advancing our future (no revelations will be made here. It's worth it to see the film!)

Films should be entertaining, that is a given. When they are educational as well...well you just can't help but leave the theater thinking that your dollar went far further than you've come to expect, and that, in my book, is always a reason to recommend a film!