The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008) Reviews

• Sadly disappointing

  Smells_Like_Cheese2008-08-04

  I do have a question, what ever happened to the slow walking lame Egyptian mummies? I mean, as silly as they are, they're still entertaining. Now we have The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, I loved The Mummy, The Mummy Returns, it was watchable, but this one was just an excuse to make some quick cash. I was actually looking forward to seeing this movie, I got the opportunity to see it today, I was excited, but unfortunately, we now have Chinese mummies that can do anything that will fit into the CGI budget. Another disappointment was the recasting of Evelyn, I know Rachel Weisz turned this script down, but she was seriously needed, Maria Bella, who is a decent actress, actually made Evie a very flat character and not as enjoyable. Then not only that, but we have Brendan and Maria who do look incredibly good for their age, they have a 20 year old son in the movie? This story was a waste of time and money. The Emperor of China wanted to rule the entire world, but when a Chinese witch curses him and his army, he is put to sleep for thousands of years. Rick and Evie are now retired and have lost the spark in their relationship, but when they are asked to go to Shanghai to deliver a small little ball, they bump into their son who has discovered the Emperor. Rick and Evie are forced to wake the mummy by his followers. Now the whole family with Jonathan and the protector who was supposed to keep the emperor from rising, must destroy the Emperor or he will take over the entire world. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor has some OK moments, I loved the beginning story and the ending battle scene is held pretty strong, it's worth the look for that, but I would say this is more of a rental. It's just a sad disappointment, considering how much better it could have been. The one liners were too cheesy and we have three headed dragons, karate kicking abdominal snow men, why not just go all the way and have leprechauns with machine guns? That's how out of control the CGI effects are. Luke Ford makes Brandon Fraiser look like Marlon Brando with his acting and the love story between him and the protector girl was useless. Like I said, wait for the rental, not the worst movie of this year, but a huge let down for sure. 5/10

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• Now, I Really Missed Rachel Weisz In This One!

  3xHCCH2008-07-31

  I really like the Mummy series for its epic action, sense of humor and great special effects. I was very excited when I started seeing teasers for this sequel to be shown in July, mostly because it was quite unexpected. This movie has all the required elements of epic action, sense of humor and great special effects. Of course there is still the swashbuckling hero Rick O'Connell played in grand style by Brendan Fraser. He undoubtedly has this action-comedy genre sewn up right in his alley. John Hannah is still around playing his brother-in-law, Jonathan, in his old annoying manner. For the new stuff, the setting shift to China as the titular "Mummy" now refers to an ancient Chinese emperor who desired immortality, played by Jet Li (who really personified his anti-hero role with relish here). The emperor sought the help of a "witch" (played with much bravado by Michelle Yeoh), with whom he gets attracted to. However, the witch fell in love with his main general (played by Russell Wong, whom you'd wonder why he isn't getting more breaks in Hollywood). From hence starts the conflict and the resultant curse on which the movie stands. The requisite martial arts you would expect in a movie set in China are of course in full play. Very well choreographed, especially that thrilling sword fight between Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh. The exciting action sequences inside the booby-trapped lost tomb, the truck and chariot (!) chase in the streets of Shanghai and the final fight sequence with the "Mummy" are all executed very well as in the two previous installments. But then there are the drawbacks that for me pulls this one down to a five star rating. The quality of the spoken Mandarin is at times unintelligible. However, the major beef involves what for me are severely miscast actors. The actor who plays the now college-aged son of the O'Connells, Alex, looks too mature to be the son of Brendan Fraser. I just checked to see that the actor Luke Ford was born in 1981, but he looked older than that, so it was a bit of a stretch to believe that he is Brendan's son. Furthermore, he also does not act like a son, but more like Brendan's younger brother. But the worst and damaging mistake was the decision to cast Maria Bello in the beloved role of Evelyn O'Connell, which is wholly owned by the more beautiful and credible Rachel Weisz. I felt absolutely NO chemistry between Maria and Brendan. Her acting was also quite wretched when compared to Ms. Weisz, who was able to maintain her intellectuality, demureness and gentility on top of her topnotch fighting skills. Ms. Bello fails miserably in this regard to recapture the unique character of Evie we have loved before, in my opinion.

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• This Mummy should have stayed in his crypt.

  kimgrear2008-07-01

  I was able to catch this movie at a test screening in California while i was on vacation and its not much of a film. Its the same story as the previous ones and most of the stuff in the movie were taken from them as well. I love Brendan Fraser but he didn't look happy to be there and with how the story was set up, you can't blame him for looking miserable. He has no chemistry with Maria Bello, who was just awful (She's no Rachel Weisz, that's for damn sure.) and he has even less chemistry with his own son played by Luke Ford, who has the charisma and the charm of a brick, not to mention the fact that he looks just as old as both Fraser and Bello. Fraser has more chemistry with John Hannah, who is a welcome distraction from the lousiness of the film. The movie itself is just a flat headed mess of bad visual effects with no soul. Jet Li lacks the menacing presence of Arnold Vosloo from the previous films but that problem is more than less on the shoulders of the director, who was in my opinion more concern with the style of the film than any substance it could have had and because of that, Jet Li and most of the cast got the short end of the stick and it shows. They should have ended it with the second film but instead, we have a movie that manages to make even "The Scorpion King" look as good as Iron Man.

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• Failing in more ways than one...

  Derpologist2008-08-02

  This movie is painful to watch. The special effects are decent, but everything else is an absolute mess. The first half of the movie is a series of cringeworthy jokes and atrocious dialog. Once the action picks up, it doesn't get much better because of how campy and cheesy the action really is. There is a big final battle at the end, but even that's pretty disappointing. At one point, a Yeti throws a dude through another Yeti's arms, simulating a goal. This movie is bad... Really bad.

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• Curse of the trilogy

  Fever2008-08-02

  Like so many great movies that became dragged-out trilogies, the newest Mummy falls right in. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved the first movie. But like so many sequels, this story line becomes repetitive. The first rule of sequels is to keep the cast. Rachel and Brendan and an amazing chemistry, but Maria Bello was abysmal as the new Evelyn. Her fake British accent and melodramatic acting was inexcusable. The sets looked like they were built by 3rd graders, the effects were overwhelming, the scenes were disjointed and the cheesy one-liners got old fast. Sure, Brendan Fraser still looks hot in a tux, but he still looks 35 even though his son is in his young 20s. Overall, I was terribly disappointed. I wouldn't even bother seeing it in theaters...and please tell me this series is finally over.

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