THE MUMMY RETURNS

The mummy returns - media studies

1.      The mummy returns is a classic historic adventure film. It is the second movie of a 3 part series. The setting of the movie is in ancient Egypt which is a typical sign that it’s set a long time ago. A battle between the two armies show the battle of good against evil. The characters are seen to be confident and strong, especially the scorpion king Dwayne Johnson. He is well built and is wearing typical armour that warriors would wear in that time. The setting is vast and the number of soldiers fighting is large. When the two sides are fighting you see spectacular things like soldiers flipping out of the way of sharp and dangerous swords and this shows us it’s an action filled film.

Another way in which the extract fits the action and adventure genre is how after we see the scorpion king getting killed there is a huge time shift but it still shows ancient architecture and statues of Egyptian gods. The voice over describing what happened in historical terminology tells us that there is going to be some sort of quest or adventure to be had. We are proposed with a mystery which is the box with an ancient precious bracelet that has been locked under tombs for hundreds of years, so we expect the next section to be the discovery and adventure to unlock the tomb and find the bracelet. The quick fast scene changes signify the amount of action going on when the half dog half human animals are attacking the old Egyptian city, when Dwayne Johnson is set into flames it creates suspense as we want to find out what happens next and then the shot cuts to the bracelet falling from his wrist into the ground showing that this object is very important to the whole movie.

2.      Soundtrack

A voice over is used at the start of the film to describe what’s going on and provide a historic background and introduction that provides the audience with a brief understanding of what has happened already and what is happening now. This is effective because the voice used is powerful and manly which emulates the protagonist’s hero qualities of brave and courageous. Egyptian type warrior music is used during the fighting scene to intensify the tension and suspense and also it gets louder and builds up which makes the reader feel engrossed in the scene and also on the edge of their seats waiting to see what happens next.

Editing

The place and date are written at the bottom of the scene to inform the reader of where its set and the font used is an Egyptian hieroglyphic type of font in white writing, this is effective because it makes the reader feel as if it was set a very long time ago. The editing speeds up, and cross-cutting is used frequently to help to bring together the characters in an imminent fight-scene, and the fast editing builds-up to the action, heightening tension. The cross cuts then start to match the soundtrack to emphasize tension.

Mise-en scene

`The Scorpion King' and he is the only person who appears to be different. The people behind him are computer graphics, but you don't realise this because they are integrated into the film. The Scorpion King is the only person who has a scorpion bangle (which the camera focuses on a lot too) and a scorpion breastplate. He also has a different hairstyle and is much browner; he stands nearly twice as high as everyone else, which is why you notice him first. He has a whole range of differences. His armour also tells us he is powerful, important and a hero in the movie. The mise-en scene of the Egyptian landscape is very vast and beautiful. The huge buildings have gold architecture and they look very majestic and noble as if somebody very important lives there. The gold and black colours are used widely throughout the opening of the movie in the clothes, the armour, the jewels, the buildings and mostly everything. These colours represent wealth but also darkness with the black. 

Camera work

The camera work in the battle scenes are sharp and low angle (hero) shots place the scorpion king as a leader and a strong figure. This makes him appear larger and stronger and is very effective in telling the audience who the main hero is.

The Italian job questions- media studies

1.      The protagonists in the Italian job fit the stereotype to some extent. The group of good guys consists of a typical computer nerd who enjoys learning about technology and knows a lot about it. This is not so fitting to the male stereotype although most of the male leads are strong, confident, physically attractive and well built. The typical nerd talks in complicated language in which most of the other characters don’t understand and a normal person wouldn’t understand. This means that he bends the typical role of a hero. Mos Def’s character is well educated and enjoys learning about culture and architecture, at the start of the scene he is seen reading a book about architecture and art in Venice and when he is asked what he will do on the money he replies with ‘I will buy a house and fill it with first edition books’ whereas all the other guys laugh and have banter about how they will use their money to get girls. Donald Sutherland flouts the stereotype because he is an older, less attractive member of the group. But he is skilled, and this is shown where he breaks the safe open underwater, so he is a valuable member of the team. He is shown as a father figure to the team because he calls the other younger guys ‘kid’ and looks out for them during the heist. All the men work together as a team and each of them does a different job and they are all skilled in different ways, one is good at code breaking one is good at bombs and mixing up nuclear explosions, they all join forces and escape from the heist with loads of money.

2.      The two main nationalities are Italian and American. The Italians are shown as the enemy and the antagonists whereas the Americans that are in Venice are the heroes. When we are shown the Italians they are smoking and watching football in the top room of the building where the heist is taking place. They are shown as stupid, lazy, useless and foolish. The audience are encouraged to like the Americans and even though what they are doing is wrong and against the law, they are meant to support and want them to succeed, rather than wanting the Italians to catch them, this is because all the male Americans are very likeably and friendly and they all get on very well and the audience enjoys watching the jokes they have. The city is beautiful and there are many wide angle shots of Venice which make the heist seem more exciting if it was just in a concrete building in the middle of nowhere.