My Review of the Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

Written by Alfred Gough, and Miles Millar

Reprising their roles in this third installment of the widely popular trilogy is Brendan Fraser as Rick O'Connell, and John Hannah as Jonathan Carnahan. Unfortunately we've lost several key players in Rachel Weisz as Evelyn O'Connell and Oded Fehr as Ardeth Bay. But the replacement of Evelyn in Maria Bello (History of Violence) isn't as bad as some might make it out to be. Rick and Evelyn's full grown son, Alex is played by Luke Ford. Then you've got Jet Li as the Dragon Emperor himself, Emperor Han and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon's own Michelle Yeoh as Zi Juan.

In the wake of World War II, the O'Connells are now retired from the adventurous and death-defying life of old. Rick doesn't care for their new straight and narrow, stuffed-shirt, and uneventful lifestyle. Evelyn has written books about their previous adventures and she's now trying to find the motivation and subject matter for a third book. This becomes a perfect catalyst for the film to pick up speed, Rick to get the adventure he's been looking for and Evelyn to find the substance for a new book.

Alex O'Connell is trying to dig up the past in China. Many, many years ago, a tyrannical overlord, Emperor Han seized control of most of the country, burying his enemies under the Great Wall of China. Now, Alex wants to discover the Emperor's tomb. When he does, Alex finds himself in a great deal of danger. Not only are there booby traps, there's a ninja-like ancient witch, Chinese military and a few double-crossing friends in the way. Then his worst fear of all comes along; his parents, Rick and Evelyn.

Since Alex left school to pursue the dig for the Dragon Emperor, Rick and Evelyn are naturally very upset. From here on, Rick and Alex try to rebuild their father and son relationship in the midst of peril, thrills and chills. They bring along the comic relief from The Mummy and The Mummy Returns, Evelyn's brother, Jonathan and a young asian girl, Lin (Isabella Leong).

Will they stop the Dragon Emperor from becoming immortal and conquering the world? Will they get out of this jam alive? This movie is easily predictable, but it's still a fun ride nevertheless. Many skeptics and cynics out there will probably tell you that its a terrible film without any redeeming qualities. But I believe that's what they said about the first and second.

The dialogue isn't on the same level as the recent, Dark Knight film, but it is certainly entertaining. The direction gets a little too uneven during action sequences, but overall, I liked the way this Mummy looked. The acting from Fraser, Li and Hannah certainly live up to expectation. Luke Ford as Alex is the real surprise here. He holds himself like a true action hero without the help of comedy like Fraser. But then, Maria Bello as Evelyn gets some taking used to. This role was so perfect for Rachel Weisz, it's hard to see anyone else playing her. Once you've come to the understanding that Rachel is gone and she's not coming back, you can begin to evaluate Maria's performance a lot more purely. Somehow, the film allows you the time to think along these lines. She's good. Her chemistry with Fraser is a lot weaker than Weisz's. She doesn't have the wholesome '40s wife and mother knack down as well as Weisz. But she is ultimately believable in the role.

Final thoughts

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is worth seeing on the big screen. It's not going to challenge you like other summer blockbusters this year, but it has the goods to keep a smile on your face.