The Mummy 1999 Vs The Mummy 2017: Which Is Better?

10. The Villain

The 1999 villain is Pharaoh's cursed High Priest Imhotep, played with delicious menace by the terrific Arnold Vosloo, so good in fact that he was asked to reprise his role for The Mummy Returns. Admittedly, Vosloo didn't really get to do all that much, as a lot of Imhotep's screen time was digitally-created, but he did well with what he had.

Here's an area where the new movie actually really succeeds: gender-swapping the titular antagonist was a nifty idea, and casting Sofia Boutella as the scary-sexy Princess Ahmanet was a smart move. Also, the new film makes her somewhat more sympathetic and complex compared to Imhotep, and for all the mistakes the movie makes, at least they get the baddie mostly right.

Winner: Neither are exactly great and both respective actors have to battle against some fairly wonky effects, but Boutella's villain is more interesting and ambiguous, so she just about clinches it.