MovieChat Forums > The Mummy (2017) Discussion > Universal turns off the Dark Universe

Universal turns off the Dark Universe


Looks like DU just flatlined
http://birthmoviesdeath.com/2017/11/08/universal-turns-out-the-lights-on-its-dark-universe

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I wonder how much blame Cruise will get, within the industry? Is he thought of as a franchise-killer now?


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Cruise looked REALLY BAD in this movie. The boyish charm is long-gone. He looked aged and blowsy, and doesn't have anything like the acting chops of, say, Anthony Hopkins, to make the aging work for him, or Clint Eastwood, or an actress like Helen Mirren or Dame Diana Rigg. It's funny: when he was having a donnybrook with Russell Crowe as Ed Hyde, he tried to make a fast move for a weapon, and Crowe/Hyde blocked his move and said something like, "You may be younger than I am, but I have more experience." Crowe was 52 years old when this was filmed. Cruise was 54.

The actress cast as the mummy was a big improvement over Arnold Vosloo in the Brendan Frasier versions. Nothing else was.

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They should have gone for a younger actor. The dialogue seems to suggest his character is meant to be younger than 54.

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Yeah, it did. He was too old to pull it off.

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Cruise is still routinely cast as late 30s early 40s characters. To be fair, he does look good for his age.

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Which is neither 30s nor early 40s. He may look good, but he doesn’t look right.

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Fuck off, Arnold Vosloo was superior. And to be honest, so was Brendan Fraser!

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Cruise was really miscast for this. Cruise is one of few actors that does not really play the character in a movie, he plays Tom Cruise-brand of characters. The same can be said to Stallone, Arnold, Jason Statham, Adam Sandler, etc.

Audience has expectations on his character to somewhat resemble "him." And along with his age, people automatically adjust the image. A character for Cruise should be written as an older version of his previous characters in other movies.

Like what happens in Mission:Impossible series. Also happens for Stallone in The Expendables, Escape Plan, Creed, etc. They are clearly Stallone movies, but older Stallone instead of young Stallone.

I bet this movie was not written with Cruise in mind originally.

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I bet you're right. Betcha they brought in Cruise because the DU movies made without big stars tanked, and they were desperate for something to work to keep the franchise going so they brought him in and let him mess with the script. And... tank city!

Which is too bad, it actually was a good idea for a franchise. But they forgot that in order for a franchise to work, you actually have to make the movies good!

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