4 stars
Oh, the secrets you'll%u2026ahem%u2026unravel!
When you see "Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs," you'll not only explore the modern world of DNA research, but you'll also visit, through re-enactments, a lost land during the time of the Egyptian Pharaohs.
The giant-screen film follows Egyptologists Dr. Bob Brier and Dr. Zahi Hawass, as well as DNA researcher Angelique Corthals, who discovers DNA in the bones of a mummy.
The show begins with a sweep of the Egyptian desert, where we see the up-close the towering pyramids, obelisks, paintings and tombs as they stand today.
Mostly the movie focuses on Rameses II, who ruled Egypt from 1279-1212 B.C. He is considered to be the Pharaoh of the Biblical exodus.
We meet the young Rameses, who begins the construction of the great Abu Simbel. In one glorious CGI sequence, we see a fast time-lapse of how the structure most likely appeared when it first was built and how it looks now. (In fact, CGI is used effectively throughout the movie %u2013 in one sequence, it creates an impressive three-dimensional effect without the use of 3-D technology.)
We also see the face of Rameses' mummy, and learn a bit about how it was preserved.
The ancient Egyptians did not merely mummify their dead to keep the bodies. The afterlife was central to their religion. They believed that bodies should be preserved so the soul would have a place to reside after death.
In elaborate ceremonies, the bodies were prepared by priests. Funeral masks were placed on the mummies so that the soul could recognize its body after being reunited with it after death.
Definitely, this isn't for the littlest folks for several reasons. The remains of mummies are shown up close. Although they are far more fascinating than horrifying, the sight might not be appropriate for the littlest of eyes.
Also, although this is certainly entertaining, this is a movie that's meant to intrigue and inform. Truly, this is a well-wrought documentary %u2013 it's a serious film, well-suited to older children and adults who want to learn more about the mummies that lay just a few yards away in the Putnam Museum.
It's fascinating to see how and why mummies were prepared, and how they do, in a sense, live on as researchers reconstruct mummy DNA to get a better understanding of human genetics. The finale provides a fine conclusion, as terrific an ending as you'd want to see in any feature film.
This is a great movie to get wrapped up in.


Director: Keith Melton.
Screenwriter: Arabella Cecil.
Running time: 40 minutes.
Sponsor: Scott County Regional Authority.
Narrator: Christopher Lee.
Rated: Similar to a PG rating for scenes of mummified bodies.