The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
August 2, 2008 at 4:14 p.m.
Going into this movie, it's fairly easy to predict what it will involve; a mummy, his tomb and an emperor. However, while the film definitely lacks surprises, you might not have guessed after viewing the its title and trailer that the biggest surprise is the lack of an actual mummy in this film. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, follows the legend of Emperor Han, known better as the Dragon Emperor, who was placed under a curse that turned him into a terra cotta zombie instead of the mummified corpses seen in the last two installments of the film. Once again we follow those crazy O’Connells, Rick and Evelyn (Brendan Fraser and Maria Bello), as they fearlessly fight the undead (and un-mummified) and try to repair their stressed family ties in the meantime.
The duo is summoned out of early retirement to serve their government by returning a precious artifact to a Chinese museum. Unbeknownst to them, their son Alex (Luke Ford) has not only dropped out of college, but taken up the family business and discovered the long lost tomb of the great Emperor Han. Ironically, it's Alex’s find that is being exhibited in the museum his parents are delivering their artifact to, and the artifact is the only thing that can waken the emperor from his 2,000 year slumber. Needless to say, the emperor rises, and things get out of hand, fast.
Tomb of the Dragon Emperor has all the fun of the original Mummy film: high speed car chases, shootouts with decaying corpses and even Evelyn’s mindless brother Jonathan (John Hannah), but something is missing. Perhaps it’s a little bit of thought. Jonathan, once a favorite wise-cracking character, comes off as annoying and thoughtless, and the rest of the movie seems to have been written in one sitting, with the majority of the lines taking on a clichéd “here we go again” tone.
If you go in with relatively low expectations and an easy-to-please attitude, this film could provide a lovely way to spend a Tuesday afternoon.
VV
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