When "The Mummy" opened in 1999, it was a smash hit with moviegoers but not with critics, who took issue with the film's over-reliance on cornball humor, gaping plot holes and digital special effects.

Now, two years later, the movie looks somewhat better than it did on initial viewing and is remembered a bit more fondly, thanks to so many worse things that have come in its wake. And the direct beneficiary of that good will, is the film's equally effects-heavy sequel, "The Mummy Returns."

As you can probably guess, this action-adventure is not a whole lot different than its predecessor — the filmmakers weren't dumb enough to change their successful formula too drastically. But it is a little more frenetic and action-packed.

Needless to say, fans of the first film will likely eat it up, while those who weren't as enamored will probably remain unconvinced.

"The Mummy Returns" picks up the action eight years later. Adventurer Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser) and Egyptologist Evelyn "Evie" Carnahan are now married — and they have a son, Alex (newcomer Freddie Both).

However, that doesn't stop them from getting into trouble, which happens when Evie starts having nightmares about her past life. She becomes obsessed with finding the artifacts of "The Scorpion King," an Egyptian warrior rumored to be able to bring about the Apocalypse.

Meanwhile, sinister forces are threatening to resurrect their nemesis, the evil 3,000-year-old mummy Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo), who wishes to seize the Scorpion King's powers.

So it becomes a race against time, as the O'Connells try to stop Imhotep from seizing absolute power and recover Alex, who has been kidnapped.

While the film is obviously endeavoring to be a long-lost cousin to the "Indiana Jones" movies, writer/director Stephen Sommers is certainly no Steven Spielberg. For one thing, he again leans on CGI effects to make up for the thinness of the material, while his idea of action is gratuitous use of slo-mo.

So, it's fortunate that he has a cast that seems to be having fun, especially Fraser, who really "sells" the corny dialogue. And his chemistry with co-star Weisz is at least a little more believable than it was the first time around.

Speaking of Weisz, her role is much more physically demanding this time, and her flashback duel with returning character Anck-Su-Namun (Patricia Velasquez) is one of the film's highlights (even if it does seem to borrow from "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon").

As for the much-touted big-screen debut of WWF wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, his woefully amateurish performance is thankfully brief (his character appears in a five-minute prelude, and then in CGI form after that).

"The Mummy Returns" is rated PG-13 for wall-to-wall action and violence (combat and gunplay), scattered profanity, brief partial female nudity (Anck-Su-Namun's rather revealing outfit) and a brief, mildly vulgar toilet gag. Running time: 130 minutes.

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E-mail: jeff@desnews.com