The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

Reviewed by: Ron Henriques - 08.01.08

Another 'Mummy' movie you ask? I know, but you have to admit it was inevitable.  Like the supernatural lead character, this is one franchise that refuses to stay dead. On top of that there's an upcoming straight-to-video sequel to the franchise's 2002 spin-off "The Scorpion King"; this time without 'The Rock.'  The first Mummy was intended to be an homage to the classic horror films that Universal built its name on.  The result was a mess, but an enjoyable one with a goofy quality and sense of fun that even the latest Indiana Jones film couldn't capture.

After the first two films (and the abysmal 'Van Helsing') Stephen Sommers chose to direct next years 'G.I. Joe' and let veteran director/producer Rob Cohen take the reigns.  With only series regulars Brendan Fraser and John Hannah returning, this latest venture fails in every way despite the fact that martial arts movie legend Jet Li plays the new villain.  As the 'Dragon Emperor' of the title, Li's story begins 3000 years ago when he supposedly conquered half the known world.  You can almost hear Genghis Khan spinning in his grave as we are led to believe that Li's unique quest for power nearly led to world domination.  On top of that they also want us to believe that he built China's Great Wall upon the graves of his enemies; their souls forced to eternally support the great monument.

The Dragon Emperor makes the mistake of pissing off a witch played by Li's greatest collaborator Michelle Yeoh, who he enlists to grant him the power of eternal life.  When he murders his faithful General (Russell Wong of TV's 'Vanishing Son') for falling in love with Yeoh, she curses him and his army to become stone statues for eternity.  Cue the non-impressive visual effects.

Centuries later, but over two decades after the events of the first Mummy feature, Brendan Fraser's adventurer Rick O'Connell is stuck living a boring existence in England.  He's happily married to Evie (who doesn't look like Rachel Weisz because she's now played by Maria Bello)who shares his yearning for another great adventure.  Not to worry because their dimwitted twenty-year old son Alex (Luke Ford), has secretly dropped out of school to lead an expedition to locate the Emperor's tomb.  In the space of twenty minutes, he manages to get his excavation team killed, trade punches with a ninja assassin and cause his parents to inadvertently release the Emperor from his slumber.

There's a group of bad Chinese soldiers led by legendary actor Anthony Wong, who feel the time has come for their great Emperor to be resurrected and restore balance to a corrupt world.  Using some silly elixir that looks like a bottle of mouthwash, they force the O'Connell's to bring the Emperor back to life. Unfortunately its not Jet Li, but a CGI stone version of him that looks pretty silly.  Not only are the f/x bad, but there is inconsistency to Li's goatee which keeps vanishing and reappearing in stone form.  To gain his full power and raise his army, the Emperor must journey to the legendary land of Shangri-La and bathe in its fountain of youth, hidden in the Himalayas.  What begins is another stupid journey where the O'Connells enlist a crackpot pilot to land them high in the mountains, join forces with that mysterious ninja who turns out to be Yeoh's immortal daughter (Isabella Leong) and raise another dead army to battle the Emperor's CGI force of thousands.

What's there not to like about the new Mummy?  Well for starters, the performances are just plain dumb.  John Hannah returns as Evie's wacky older brother and though he worked as comic relief before, even he seems extra tired.  Maria Bello steps into some very big and empty shoes left by Rachel Weisz and though she credibly appears as if she is from the early 1900's, she just doesn't fit into the adventure despite her flawless English accent.  She and the ever goofy Fraser have chemistry, but not like what he shared with Weisz.  The heat between them belongs in a more mature movie.  On top of that, its easy to buy that Ford is Bello's grown son, but not Fraser's who despite hitting forty still has boyish looks.  In fact Ford at times actually looks like he can be Fraser's dad.

I hope they are not grooming Ford for his own franchise, because he clearly has no charisma.  When he hits a Shanghai nightclub dressed in a white tux, I wanted Harrison Ford from the second Indiana Jones movie to appear, smack him in the head and ask "what the hell are you doing?"  Even the sparks between Ford and Leong are mediocre, because he continually makes a fool of himself while she runs circles around him with her professional acting style.

As for Jet Li, if you've come to see him, you will be definitely be disappointed.  Other than the brief opening prologue, he doesn't physically appear until the last fifteen minutes of the picture.  What we get is a CGI rendition of him that treks to Shangri-Li so that he may get a new suit of flesh.  It's also never explained how he has the ability to change into a three headed dragon or a giant furry monster that looks like Shrek, but I guess the filmmakers figured more CGI equals more money at the box-office. The opportunities for Li and Yeoh to have dramatic or exciting action scenes together are wasted.  All we get from this ageless beauty is a brief sword duel between her and her greatest co-star.

I don't know about you, but I've had it with movies that feature hundreds of thousands of CGI warriors going head to head.  Even when done well, it doesn't work without much of a story.  Supposedly Cohen came aboard this project after his Sinbad project with Keanu Reeves was cancelled when his last film 'Stealth' bombed.  It looks like he still hasn't learned his lesson.