If your franchise involves the dead rising from their graves, it behooves you to make a decent picture. Otherwise, the subject matter gives critics a lot of ammo when your movie sucks. Just checked out
Rotten Tomatoes assessment of THE MUMMY: CURSE OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR.
10% rotten, so far, with copious allusions to dead, rotting, stinking, crypt-raided franchises.
I think it's time to finally see THE DARK KNIGHT for the second time. There's nothing else out that really grabs my interest.
Oh, who am I kidding. I'll probably see MUMMY 3 anyway. Glutton for punishment, and the misguided notion that sitting through crap movies somehow makes me a better writer.