“The Mummy” from 1999 has many weaknesses. It wasn’t even
scary then and surely isn’t scary today (even though its effects have aged well
on the whole). But it also has one big strength (apart from being a
refreshingly honest B-movie): it matches the hero and the villain of its tale
immensely well.
You see, the hero of “The Mummy” isn’t Rick O’Connell, it’s
Evie Carnahan. Everything in the movie (apart from Imhotep’s origin story, of
course) only happens because of her. It’s her agency which drives the story
from beginning to end. Her brother Jonathan and Rick, who is both sidekick and
love interest to her, only help with making those plans come true.
Evie is the one who wants to prove herself worthy of the Bembridge
Scholars - who officially tell her she doesn’t have experience, but we all know
that old men’s club means ‘you have the wrong gender.’ So when Jonathan shows
her a small artefact he has acquired and she finds a map to the City of the
Dead in it, she takes the chance, barters for the release of the only man who
knows how to find it (Rick O’Connell, who is about to be executed), and leads
the small expedition force (combined of Evie, Rick, and Jonathan) to their
destination. She isn’t cowed by the attack on the ship or in the city itself
and when the overwhelming firepower of a second expedition, this one made up of
Americans, forces her to pull back, she devises a plan to literally undercut
the others and approach the area where she suspects the Book of the Dead to be
from below. She reads from the book and thus brings Imhotep back to life. And
she insists on putting everything in order again.
But this post is not about Evie (I might make one about her
one day, though). It’s about how well Imhotep was designed to work with Evie as
the hero. A hero can only be as good as the problem they’re facing. So, what
about him?
From the very first meeting between him and Rick (which is
seconds after his first meeting with Evie), it’s clear for the audience that
pure physical strength will not conquer the mummy. Rick can shoot him as often
as he wants - as an un-dead creature, Imhotep can’t be killed that way. He’s
also exceedingly powerful, as becomes clear later on. The curse put on him
before his burial makes Imhotep a force of nature, capable of controlling insects
and people alike, dishing out a plague, controlling wind, water, sand, and his
own shape. He can be scared away with a cat as long as he hasn’t completely
regenerated, but once his regeneration is complete, the kitten isn’t going to
be of any help.
This doesn’t just serve to make Imhotep a scary enemy, even
though it certainly makes him one. It also serves to make it clear that neither
the Americans with their firepower, nor Rick as a former legionary are a match
for this being. Even the secret group which has guarded his tomb for so long
are incapable of putting him back into it, once he has been released and
awoken. Pure power, as any of the male characters in the movie might wield it,
will do them no good and it’s shown several times. Imhotep is cunning, strong,
and basically invincible as long as he’s under that curse and in his un-dead
state.
Nobody on the other side can match Imhotep’s power (which is
as it should be - the villain should always have supreme power, that’s what we
call a healthy balance in story writing). But someone can match his cunning:
Evie. For Imhotep, she’s the way to bring his love Ankh-Su-Namun back to life,
because he needs a female body and Evie is the first female he lays eyes on
after he’s resurrected. He has focused completely on her, instead of choosing
another woman later. There would be enough of them in Cairo, just saying…
Evie doesn’t defeat Imhotep through brute force. That would
be unrealistic and illogical. She defeats him through knowledge, which is her
discipline as a librarian. She realizes that he can’t be defeated as long as he’s
un-dead - so she cites from the Book of Life and makes him mortal again,
enabling Rick to kill him. But who does the actual stabbing is actually a minor
question, because at this point, everyone fighting Imhotep could have done so,
especially before he has realized what actually happened to him.
What can we take away from this? Imhotep makes a perfect
villain for this story not only because he’s so powerful, but because his
powers make it impossible to defeat him merely through force. Since the hero of
the story is not a person with a lot of physical power, but someone with a
strong mind, this makes it clear why nobody else in this story can defeat the
villain. There is nobody other powerful enough.
Whenever you design your villain, you need to look at your
hero and figure out where that character’s strength and weaknesses lie.
Ideally, the villain can make use of the hero’s weaknesses, but the hero’s
strength will play into the villain’s weakness. Imhotep’s weakness is that he
is only that invulnerable while the curse is on him and he’s still un-dead.
Once he becomes mortal again, he can be killed, like every other being. His
strength is his immense power which allows him to threaten Evie several times
during the movie and, indeed, take control over her for a short time, even
though she delivers herself into his hands willingly.
There is no running away from Imhotep, because the curse
will in time destroy the whole world. There is no bartering with him - he
proves he’s not trustworthy. The only choices are to fight him or to die. For
Evie, there isn’t even a choice, her own morals force her to fight him, because
it was her fault he awoke. This means they are set up as opposites from the
beginning. Yet, Imhotep is given a compelling reason for not simply killing her
- he wants to use her to bring the love of his life back. He chooses Evie right
away and he can’t or won’t change his plans for her. So when he seems to win (because
he has Evie up next to the mummy of Ankh-Su-Namun and the ritual has started),
the final confrontation begins. It’s a high-stake fight, because it’s not just
about Evie’s life. If Imhotep isn’t stopped, the curse will destroy mankind,
even if Imhotep and the resurrected Ankh-Su-Namun should come out of it alive.
It’s not just about saving one person, it’s about stopping the end of the
world.
No matter
whether you start out with the villain or the hero of your story, you need to
make sure the other side will match them. Set two goals which oppose each
other, make it sure not both of them can reach their goal. And make it clear
early on why only the hero can fight the villain. This is the lesson from 1999s
“The Mummy.”
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