The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
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Cast: Brendan Fraser, Jet Li, Maria Bello, John Hannah, Michelle Yeoh, Luke Ford, Isabella Leong.
Directed by Rob Cohen.
Story: More undead adventures.
Running Time: 1hr 52 minutes.
UK Certificate 12A. |
A new director, a new heroine (Maria Bello replaces Rachel Weisz) and a mummy without bandages - can
The Mummy series stand to be dug up for a third time? Well, it's not as if it had much to live up to.
Brendan Fraser reprises his amiable bumbling-but-tough hero from the first two Mummy movies, while wifey has mysteriously
morphed into Maria Bello without anyone noticing.
I've always enjoyed Maria Bello in the past. A History of Violence, The Cooler,
Assault on Precinct 13 - they've all been strong characters and highly watchable.
Here she's in a far flimsier role, a dark wig and a plummy English accent and something's gone badly wrong. Her accent's
actually pretty good, but it's one of those accents that stirs up all those anti-posh prejudices that the middle and
working classes try and suppress, and ruins the whole performance. I just wanted her to stop talking.
Meanwhile this season's Mummy favours the Chinese look, with Jet Li sporting an ancient crumbly ensemble topped with a
heavy coating of CGI. As in the previous episodes, the computer graphics are impressive and integral to the action, but
we're missing any real key memorable moments. We all remember Billy Zane's face in the sandstorm, and the icky scarab
beetles, but this feels more run-of-the-mill. Looking down director Rob Cohen's CV, we see the highlight is The Fast and
the Furious, which is a worry, followed by Dragonheart, Stealth and xXx. Hardly surprising
there's less substance than a crate of candy floss then. Fortunately there are a few killer lines in there - I won't ruin
them, but they do stand out for their quality. If only there were more.
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor suffers from the absence of Rachel Weisz, but in all other respects is able to
match the two previous maternal encounters. Mindless tosh, easy on the eye.
I enjoyed this film: 3/5
I think the average moviegoer will enjoy it: 3/5
Testosterone Satisfaction Rating: 4/5 - harmless fun.
To enjoy this film you should: detach the thinky bit in your head.
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor was released in the UK on 6th August 2008.
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