J. De Rose 2009-01-02

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

I liked this, the third mummy. I like how they took it in a new direction. Lots of action and cool special effects.

LovestheAuroras 2008-12-29

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

This was not in the same class as the first two Mummy films. The story line was decent but the acting was poor. The chemistry was missing between the actors and it was very disappointing.

They need to find the first Evie and bring her back. She added much to the first two movies. She was an intelligent klutz in the first films, which added dimension to her character. This one doesn't fit with Fraser very well. The characters were not well developed and it just didn't do the film justice.

H. Bala 2008-12-24

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.5 stars.

Film critic Roger Ebert hails THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR as the best of this series, and I guess that's why we have opinions. I happen to think that this third entry, while somewhat entertaining, is not as good as the first two films, not even close. This series, obviously more inspired by the Indiana Jones franchise than the Boris Karloff stuff, has never had the resonance or the pure rush of high adventure which made the first three Indy Jones flicks so memorable. And yet TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR has echoes of what I liked about the first two Mummy films. It's a silly movie, but it knows it's silly and invites you to embrace its campiness. Me, I liked the ride, up to a point.

Catching up with the O'Connells: It's 1946, and Rick and Evelyn O'Connell have fallen into a dreaded state, that of staid domesticity. Their adventuring days well behind them, Rick now whiles his time in incompetent fly-fishing, while Evie's writing career has stalled on writer's block. Oh, and their romance has gone in the way of "meh..." So how can't they help but perk up when the British Foreign Office offers them a mission of couriering a sacred relic back to the Chinese people. So off they go.

Seems to me that this particular mummy menace can be blamed on Rick and Evie's rebellious 20-year-old son Alex. Boy's followed his mother's scholarly ways and has become an archaeologist. And, even if he doesn't do the actual resurrecting, it's Alex who in China unearths the 2000-year-old Emperor and his army of terra-cotta warriors. Alex may not get on well with his dad, but, still, when an ancient evil warlord returns to life and dreams again of conquest, it's nice that one's parents have experience with stopping that sort of thing.

There may not be any pyramids in this one, but there are still tombs and sarcophagi. Perhaps to reinvigorate this series, the venue and mythology shift from Egypt to China, and, so, we get dragons and wushu, Shangri-La and yetis in the frozen Himalayas (who evidently are down with American football). The film also offers the possible (but kinda sketchy) origin of the Great Wall of China. But you know what? I miss the mummy Imhotep and I miss Oded Fehr as the grim, face-tattooed warrior who guards against the mummy's awakening. And I really miss Rachel Weisz. The quite unexpected choice to fill in as Evie is American actress Maria Bello and she actually does a fair job. But, no, it's not the same. On the other hand, Brendan Fraser is back as Rick O'Connell, and he's still got that affable, big lug charm. John Hannah is the other returnee, as Evie's greedy but likable brother Jonathan. Jonathan is now a thriving nightclub owner in Shanghai, which is very good news for the plot. He's still the predominant comic foil, which is one more dead horse these filmmakers don't mind beating.

Another thing to tsk tsk about is that the movie doesn't take full advantage of the martial arts talents of Eastern icons Michelle Yeoh and Jet Li. Jet Li is particularly wasted, as his character is mostly camouflaged in CG effects. I'll yell it to the world, brother: Jet Li, being already a human highlight, does NOT need CG effects! At least, in THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM, Jet Li has a fantastic one-off with Jackie Chan. And it would've been nice if Yeoh's character, the immortal sorceress Zi Yuan, had been allowed a reunion moment with her dead General, but the film was too eager to get to the two undead armies engaging in the fighty fight already. It's also a bit ironic that TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR came out the same summer as the fourth Indiana Jones, of that franchise this Mummy series has strived to emulate (but never quite surpassed). And like THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL, there's an annoying youngster trying to upstage the old bull. Luke Ford plays Rick and Evie's son Alex with the appeal of someone clinically dead. This guy has zero chemistry with absolutely everyone and everything in this film. I guess it's a truimph of sorts that I don't find Alex as exasperating as Shia LeBeouf's Mutt (don't get me started on that vine swinging %$##).

This one simply lacks the scale, romance and panache (okay, campy panache) of the first two Mummy films. Coming out the same summer as IRON MAN, HELLBOY 2, DARK KNIGHT and, dammit, yes, even MAMMA MIA, TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR never really stood a chance. Factor in the stale storytelling, the lame dialogue, Rachel Weisz's absence, and the misuse of Jet Li and, well, you can see why Weisz chose not to dig up her role again. As for Brendan Fraser, he's a nice guy but I wouldn't be surprised if he's up for sequels to MONKEYBONE or BEDAZZLED.

N. Durham 2008-12-17

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

Was there a clamor somewhere for another Mummy flick? As if The Mummy Returns wasn't bad enough, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor makes for a mind-numbingly dull and endlessly un-entertaining flick that squashes what little promise there was brewing up during the making of the flick. Stephen Sommers, who wrote and directed the first two films, couldn't be bothered here since he was busy with G.I. Joe, so Rob Cohen (XXX, The Fast & The Furious, Stealth) gets the director's chair while Smallville creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar share script duties, and the film couldn't be any worse for it. An ancient Chinese emperor (Jet Li) gets unearthed, resurrected, and naturally begins some otherworldly chaos. It's up to adventurer Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser), his wife Evelyn (Maria Bello, replacing Rachel Weisz who wisely turned down reprising her role), and their son Alex (Luke Ford) to put a stop to him. The first thing you'll notice about this third Mummy film is that the acting is atrocious. Fraser is as good as he usually is, but overall he just seems tired here. Bello, who is usually good in everything else that she's in, is uncommonly bad with an even worse accent, while any action scenes that occur with Li are flat and disappointing. John Hannah also returns as Evelyn's bumbling brother Jonathan, but he is wasted here, as are Michelle Yeoh and Russell Wong. The CGI is decent at best, although there is plenty of overload to be found, to the point where scenes become incomprehensible. All in all, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor isn't only an unncecessary sequel, but it is so unbelievably bad that it is in no way, shape, or form worth your time at all.

Angelo R. Romano 2008-12-14

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

SAW THIS FILM AT THE CINEMA AND IT WAS A SAD DISSAPOINTMENT TO ME. FIRST :RACHEL WEISZ AS [EVIE'] IS ABSENT. INSTEAD HER PART WAS PLAYED BY MARIA BELLO WITH ALL THE LUSTER OF A CARDBOARD ENGLISH TART. SECONDLY BRENDON FRASER'S PERFORMANCE SEEMED FORCED AND UNINSPIRED. HE WAS AMUSINGLY CONVINCING AND LIKEABLE IN THE FIRST TWO FRANCHISED MUMMY FILMS, "THE MUMMY" AND "THE MUMMY RETURNS" ( BUT NOT HERE!)NEXT MICHELE YEOUH AND JET LI'S ON SCREEN PRESENCE WERE TOO MINIMAL TO HELP THE FILM MUCH.THE STORY LINE IS WEAK AND SOMEWHAT LAME, JUMPING AROUND WITH IRRITATING RANDOM AND POOR CONNECTIVITY. THE COMEDIC ONE LINERS DELIVERED IN THE MOVIE (MOSTLY BY BRENDAN FRASER)EARN PATHETIC GROANS INSTEAD OF LAUGHTER. THE FASCINATING ASPECTS OF ANCIENT CHINESE CULTURE AND HISTORY : WHICH COULD HAVE BEEN A DEFINITE PLUS TO THE MOVIE WERE SOLD SHORT. THE ONLY POSITIVE NOTES OF THIS FILM ARE THE ACTION SEQUENCES, FINE CINEMATOGRAPHY AND THE GOOD CGI SPECIAL EFFECTS. MY RECCOMMENDATION-SKIP THIS MOVIE OR (IF YOU ARE A DEVOTED MUMMY FRANCHISE FAN) BUY IT WHEN THE PRICE COMES WAY DOWN. THAT IS WHAT I INTEND TO DO!! romulanale2287