SOME of my colleagues expressed the fear that all the best bits of this movie would be contained in the trailer. I can assure them and you that that is not at all the case.

My preconceptions on this one were unfounded. I expected a special-effects laden horror movie. It was that, but so much more besides. My best analogy would be to describe it as a cross between Night of the Living Dead, Raiders of the Lost Ark and George of the Jungle.

It is not essentially a comedy, but drew a lot of loud laughs from an audience that was totally engrossed. It is very tongue-in-cheek with a constant supply of sight gags, innuendo and an obligatory moron or two.

The essence of the movie is adventure in much the same vein as Raiders. The heroine is a bumbling librarian with a penchant for old books. Very old books. Her brother is an upper-class English twit with a penchant for alcohol, while the hero is a suave American gentleman adventurer destined to save the world (as all Americans seem destined to do).

As for the frighteners, well they come as thick and fast as the gags.

It's very confusing for a simple soul like me, laughing my head off one second and jumping out of my skin with fright the next.

But in the heel of the hunt it is the special effects that make the movie. They are very good, as you would expect from Industrial Light and Magic (Lucas' company). And although they are everywhere, all the time, they don't seem to over power or dominate the rest of the show. The actors work well with the elements that weren't even there at time of filming. In fact I only spotted one very brief instance where an actor didn't look the mummy straight in the eyes when he was supposed to.

The plot is very straightforward. Every man and his dog would like to find the lost city of Haminaptra, the City of the Dead, where legend says all the richest Pharaohs of ancient Egypt were buried with their wealth.