The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor
Brendan Fraser is back as Rick O'Connell
Friday, 08, Aug 2008 12:00
Directed by Rob Cohen, out August 6th in cinemas, starring Brendan Fraser, Jet Li, Mario Bello, John Hannah and Michelle Yeoh, running time 112mins.
In a nutshell.
Non-stop thrills and chills.
What's it all about?
The Mummy franchise gets a new lease of life with Rob Cohen at the helm and shifting locales to post-WWII China, with adventurer Rick O'Connell and his family and allies battling to stop the superhuman Dragon Emperor.
Besides having a new director in the shape of action supremo Cohen there's new blood on the writing front with the Shanghai Noon team of Alfred Gough and Miles Millar really amping up the film's action sequences and emotional punch.
Who's in it?
Brendan Fraser reprises the role of hot-headed two-fisted hero Rick O'Connell and John Hannah is back as his chancer brother-in-law Jonathan Carnahan.
Maria Bello replaces Rachel Weisz as Rick's archaeologist wife Evelyn and Luke Ford plays Alex, the O'Connells' bolshy son who's just starting out on a career of adventuring.
Jet Li is the titular Dragon Emperor and Michelle Yeoh is sorceress Zi Yuan, whose destiny is entwined with the villain's.
As an example.
"I... really... hate... mummies!" - Rick O'Connell vents his spleen during the movie's climatic battle at the Great Wall of China.
Likelihood of a trip to the Oscars
Probably not, although the special effects do shine through as do the magnificent stunts during the film's nifty chase sequences.
What the others say
"Six years on - and hot on the heels of the Indiana Jones revival - The Mummy has been awakened once more. This time, however, having exhausted everyone's patience with Egypt, the team have taken a leaf out of Indy's book and relocated - to China. The mummy in question, being that of the first Emperor and played (in a perfect piece of casting) by kung-fu hero Jet Li. Cue all sorts of Oriental mysticism and computer-generated action as Brendan Fraser once more battles the undead, aided by John Hannah as the bumbling sidekick. The less said about the odd decision to give Fraser a teenage son this time, or to re-cast Rachel Weisz's character when she proved unavailable rather than simply write her out, the better. Nonetheless, this is a far more successful revival than most could have hoped for - especially coming as it does from the director who brought us such braindead actioners as The Fast and the Furious and xXx - and is arguably a far better sequel than The Mummy Returns. As the cliche goes, if you liked that, then you'll love this." - Pink News
"With middling CG effects and a distinct lack of fun, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor finds the series past its prime." - Rotten Tomatoes.com
So is it any good?
After the soul-crushing disappointment of The Dark Knight (Entertainment Editor - see the inthenews.co.uk review for a different view!) and the dull-as-ditchwater Incredible Hulk, summer 2008 finally comes to life with the third instalment of the Mummy.
It's the 1940s and Rick and Evelyn O'Connell have retired from tomb raiding and battling mummies and have settled into a life of domestic boredom in Oxfordshire. However, their son Alex is carrying on the family tradition and has uncovered the tomb of the ancient Dragon Emperor in China.
And that's where the fun begins as Alex and his parents along with Michelle Yeoh's sorceress and the beautiful Isabella Leong who plays Lin race from the bustling neon-lit streets of Shanghai to the fabled realm of Shangri-La nestling in the Himalayas before being plunged into an epic battle royale at the Great Wall of China as they struggle to thwart the Dragon Emperor.
The film whizzes along during the excellent fight scenes which have a nice vein of humour running through them courtesy of the effortless writing of Gough and Millar, and director Rob Cohen draws satisfying portrayals from Fraser and Yeoh.
However, the same cannot be said for the lacklustre performance given by Maria Bello who cannot put her own stamp on the character of Evelyn, and makes you long for Rachel Weisz's sexy, driven yet slightly dizzy rendition.
Jet Li rants and rages as the villain, and wallows in the panto-like role as he snarls at lackeys and lashes out with a myriad of superpowers stemming from his mastery over fire, water and earth.
Director Cohen, no stranger to the action genre, maintains the breakneck pacing and dizzying camerawork of his predecessor Stephen Sommers, who handles producer's duties this time out, but adds layers of emotion and a sense of anxiety that echoes the latest Indiana Jones movie's theme of the passing of time.
As with the other Mummy movies there's some lovely knockabout comedy and decent one-liners uttered by Fraser and John Hannah that add relish to moments of danger and spectacle.
The Chinese setting suitably refreshes the franchise while maintaining the series' retro stylings and sets up an enticing fourth instalment.
If there's a flaw to this lush slice of summer hokum it's the time it takes to get started, making you endure a forced vignette of the O'Connells living in a country house but slowly going out of their minds through a lack of high adventure.
Once this segment ends however the film cuts loose and like a good rollercoaster you never want the ride to end.
10/10
Lee Davis
"Brendan Fraser is so much fun to watch! He is an incredible guy with a lot of sense of humor. I felt very sorry for his injury but I but I read he is still doing his part like a pro and staying in good body shape due to work outs and diets at http://www.projectweightloss.com. This man is really amazing!" - Alex Baran
"Absolute rubbish. Terrible photography, terrible accents. Poor substitute for Rachel Weisz. Story is so slow in getting anywhere. Truly boring. The only good item was Brendan Fraser and there was not enough of him or his humour as a main character. Waste of time and money." - Pauline Burns