Fraser’s dashing American soldier of fortune ventures to the ancient Egyptian city of the dead in this good-natured and entertainingly silly film

Twenty-five years ago, action-adventure maestro Stephen Sommers had a big summer hit on his hands; as writer and director he had revived the renowned Universal Studios scary-movie brand as a fun family film in the Indiana Jones style. Arnold Vosloo had the role that Boris Karloff played in the 1930s: Imhotep, the high priest bandaged up for death by mummification on account of his treachery in ancient Egypt and accidentally brought back from the undead thousands of years later by romantic adventurers and scamps of the 20th century’s Jazz Age, seeking excitement and enlightenment in Egypt.

But our heroes are scholar and librarian Evelyn Carnahan, played by Rachel Weisz, her madcap brother Jonathan (John Hannah), their roguish guide Gad Hassan (Omid Djalili) and, most importantly, dashing American soldier of fortune Rick O’Connell, played by the unbearably handsome young Brendan Fraser, who knows where the legendary city of the dead, Hamunaptra, is to be found. The movie became a trilogy with two more films, and was even revived with Tom Cruise in the American adventurer role.