I Sometimes Have A Few Issues With Facial Expressions, Especially If There's No Words Being Said. In

I sometimes have a few issues with facial expressions, especially if there's no words being said. In that scene where Illya shocks Rudi for the first time he looks at Napoleon, but I can't tell if it's from Napoleon still having his hand on Rudi or from seeing how strong the electric was. Can you break down his expression for me, please?

I think it’s open to many interpretations, but I’ll try to break down his facial expressions as I see them.

First, I think I need to consider where Illya is at mentally. He’s just been “betrayed” by Gaby and his first priority is, not contacting his commanding officer and telling him the situation or trying to find the bomb, but finding Solo. Illya had been listening to the conversation between Gaby and her Uncle Rudi; he knows Uncle Rudi “needs to make a telephone call” and that’s likely to tell Victoria that Solo is CIA—Illya knows Solo is in trouble and needs to get to Solo before it’s too late (although from his perspective, it might already be too late, but he’s going to try to save Solo anyway—which I think says a lot. Perhaps he felt he owed Solo since Solo had been in a similar situation of not knowing if he was still alive after the boat incident but Solo went to save him from drowning anyway?)

Let’s assume that Solo is being held at the Vinciguerra shipping facility since that is most likely and the design of Rudi’s lab matches the design of that facility. This gives Illya some advantage because he’s already been there before and knows about the hidden button to get to the basement, however, the facility is heavily guarded.

Illya would have to find a way to sneak past, or probably fight off, all these guards to get to Solo. This is probably why, although Uncle Rudi and Illya were at the same location (Vinciguerra’s Manor) when Gaby exposed them, that Uncle Rudi got to Solo before Illya. So Illya has done all this work to find Solo although he has no way of knowing if Solo is dead or alive. Fortunately, Solo is still alive. Now here’s where it’s a bit confusing for me, does Illya know that Solo was being tortured by electrocution? I don’t see how he cannot given that there are no other physical signs of torture. Solo is sweating, blood is streaming from his nose, and there are tears along his cheeks. Illya is also a skilled tech with proficiency in computer programming languages FACT and COBOL, so he would be able to recognize how the chair is wired up. Yet, after he’s strapped Rudi’s right hand, when he comes to the front of the chair, he looks curiously at the contraption with a foot pedal.

Although, perhaps he’s merely looking for the on switch? Either way, he’s startled when Rudi is electrocuted.

Interesting thing, though, is that he checks Solo’s reaction, not Rudi’s. Is this realization of how badly Solo was tortured? Or surprise that it is an electrocution device? (Which I don’t think makes sense, again because of his specialities… but he was also surprised to see an aircraft carrier… while flying over the ocean… which is also confusing but I guess you can argue that he didn’t expect the British Navy to get involved? I digress.)

Illya’s expression does change from surprise to this expression:

He’s looking more intensely at Solo. Perhaps this expression is deep concern over Solo’s welfare. This realization of what this chair does, if you want to call it realization, is unsettling to him. Perhaps he’s realizing how close Solo would have been to dying if he hadn’t gotten to him in time. Or perhaps he was worried he’d injured Solo again because he hadn’t been paying attention to the fact that Solo was still touching the chair. In this angle, Solo is still touching the chair when Illya presses the pedal:

I think you can make a lot of arguments on what Illya’s reaction means, but either way, he’s not happy. Once he knows what this chair will do to Rudi, he’s quite keen to torture Rudi with it for information. The second time he presses the pedal it’s in response to Uncle Rudi being willing to testify against anyone, even his own niece. The third time, he’s taking his anger for Gaby betraying him (“It’s not the same”) out on Rudi simply for the sake of doing it, but the pedal doesn’t work that time, but he keeps jamming his foot on the pedal anyway until Solo tells him it has a glitch. Illya is clearly disgusted by what Rudi subjected Solo to and angry at Gaby for endangering Solo as well. Which is probably why he fights against believing Gaby didn’t betray them and learning that Gaby is a British spy working for Waverly (“You’re wrong. […] You’re wrong. I saw her betray us at Vinciguerra.”) It takes Waverly telling him that he told Gaby to betray them for Illya to accept what had happened and forgive her. He realized she had no choice in the matter, that she had to obey Waverly, even if it meant possibly getting her teammates killed.

A difficult situation that Illya probably knows all too well.

In the end, he would have done exactly the same thing in her position.

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what's so great about the mummy 1999?

are you ready for this?

it is the most wonderfully made, historically inaccurate, giddily fun, perfectly paced, goofy horror movie romance novel bullshit bonanza that has ever blessed the silver screen.

i mean it is just so beautifully full of every genre without being overwhelming.we’ve got: comedy, action, suspense, horror, romance, adventure, ancient aesthetics, and it’s a period piece. all perfectly balanced and blended into one movie.

and the characters are so LIT

we got our main babe, evelyn “motherfucking” carnahan, a super-klutz librarian, total history nerd, and certified badass/damsel in distress. she raises the dead on accident, because she cannot resist books, and has the guts to put that motherfucker back where he came from and literally saves the world.evie’s greatest hits:

“what is a place like me, doing in a girl like this?!”

*after totally destroying the library* “i’ve just made a bit of a mess in the library.”

“no harm ever came from reading a book.”

evelyn: *upon opening the tomb* “i’ve dreamt about this since i was a little girl.”rick: “you dream about dead guys?”

“oops.”

then we’ve got rick “brendan fraser” o’connell, your not-so-typical battle hardened gun slinger with a heart of gold. he seems filthy, rude, and a complete scoundrel at first, but then he turns into a literal puppy, with massive heart eyes, that worships the ground evie walks on.rick’s greatest hits:

*screams at mummy*

*screams at sand*

*screams at things that are illogical to scream at*

*screams*

next is our Comedic Relief Character™, jonathan carnahan, who also rises above his trope. he’s there for the laugh sure, but is never useless. he actively helps to move the plot along and isn’t just there. he also is the farthest thing from brainless and annoying.jonathan’s greatest hits:

evelyn: “have you no respect for the dead?”jonathan: “of course i do, but sometimes i’d rather like to join them.” same.

oh and that time he was like “IMHOTEP” and saved his own ass like that was so smooth, y’all know what i’m talking about right??

then there is ardeth BAE. he is the audience rolling his eyes because *sighs* white people. he’s tired of these motherfucking mummies in this motherfucking desert. literally prettier than everyone.(he has a much bigger role in the mummy returns, but is still so fab here)

and of course THE MUMMY. imhotep. actual emo. literally carved some poetry into the back of his sarcophagus when he was buried alive with flesh eating bugs, because he is that Extra™. just wants to bring his girlfriend back to life so he can make out with her without it being treason.

and all the side characters are also gr8.

now i wanna take a moment to talk about the romance. because it is so BEAUTIFUL. like usually in action movies it’s macho man undermines girl and they bone. not here. no time for that shit.

rick and evie have such a great relationship based on mutual respect and affection. they both cater to each other’s strengths and cover each other’s weaknesses. they are the literally definition of: “those two. in a fight, they’re lethal. around each other, they melt”

what else, i could literally talk about this movie all day.

the special effects have held up pretty well.the music score is GORGEOUS.the costumes are amazing.the makeup, especially for anck su namun, OH WOW.the george of the jungle era brendan fraser sign me the fuck up.rachel weisz.

so many good things.

it’s just great.

#i secretly rate every action movie from 0 to the mummy

it’s a beautiful mess of a movie that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and transcends time and posterity as the alpha mummy movie, and to those who disagree i beseech you: