Review: The Mummy - Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Lights: 2008. Action. Rated PG-13 for action-adventure and violence. Running Time: 112 minutes.
Camera: Starring Brendan Fraser, Jet Li, Maria Bello, John Hannah, Michelle Yeoh, Isabella Leong, and Luke Ford. Written by Alfred Gough & Miles Millar. Directed by Rob Cohen.
Action: In a nutshell, and without giving too much away, the story begins in ancient China, where we learn about a powerful emperor named Han (Li), who desired immortality (don't they all?). Having conquered all of China, Han builds a Great Wall around the country. He contracts a witch named Zi Juan (Yeoh) to aid him in his quest for immortality, but betrays her. In return, she curses him for all eternity, turning he and his army into terracotta figures.
Flash forward to 1942. Rick (Fraser) and Evie O'Connell (Bello) are retired from the archaeology game. Rick has taken up fly fishing, while Evelyn promotes her first two novels regarding mummies and frustratedly works on a third. It is apparent that neither is really happy, however.
Meanwhile, their son, Alex (Ford), has left school (for the Nth time) to set up a dig in China, seeking the lost tomb of the Dragon Emperor. He and his professor find the tomb, which is both heavily trapped and guarded by a lin kuei. Alex only barely manages to defeat the guardian, a girl named Lin (Leong). He and his professor bring the findings to Shanghai, where the sarcophagus with Han's remains is to be opened with grand ceremony.
Back in England, the government contacts the O'Connells with an offer to deliver a jewel that was smuggled out of China back to Shanghai, explaining that it will go a long way in demonstrating diplomatic faith. As Evie's brother, Jonathon (Hannah), owns a club in Shanghai, they agree, unaware that their wayward and largely estranged son is there.
It is inevitable that the O'Connell family is reunited at Jonathon's club, Imhotep's. After a terse reunion, Alex invites his parents to see his find at the museum, but they are ambushed by a pair of Chinese Army officers who wish to see Emperor Han return. Apparently, the jewel that the O'Connell's were contracted to bring to Shanghai contains an elixir that can restore the Emperor to a semblance of life.
The O'Connells are captured and the Emperor partially restored before Lin and Alex can intervene. The Emperor is also a powerful sorcerer in his own right and has command over the five mythical elements (air, fire, water, metal, and wood). Given partial life, the Emperor breaks free and heads to find Shangri-La. Apparently, he can use the jewel to point they way if he can reach a certain location in Tibet. Fortunately, Lin knows the way and offers to lead the heroes.
From there, a global chase is on to try to prevent the Emperor from finding Shangri-La or, if he manages to do so, to prevent him from gaining full power and bringing his terracotta army back to life in order to conquer the entire world.
Overall, it's a good popcorn movie, but I don't think it is worth the price I paid ($7.50, plus $10 in snacks) to see it. I have a couple of issues with it, and we'll take them one at a time.
First, Brenden Fraser. I don't have a problem with Fraser's acting in general, but in this movie, he seems almost bored with the role, like he is going through the motions. He tries to portray the concerned father who wants to bond with his estranged son, but it just isn't convincing. He treats Alex as more a distant acquaintance than a son, even after they have reconciled. And there is absolutely no chemistry between him and Bello, as husband and wife.
Second is Maria Bello. Don't misunderstand me; she is a fine actress, but she is completely out-of-character for Evie. Gone is the bookish, bumbling Evie that we met in the first film, or even the sensual reincarnation of Princess Nefertiri from The Mummy Returns. Instead, she is a confident, self-reliant woman who has no chemistry with her on-screen husband and bears little resemblance (beyond her frame) to the Evie we know and love, as portrayed by Rachel Wiesz. Personally, I'd rather they have written Evie out of the film and replaced her with a different character designed for Bello.
I'm not happy with Luke Ford's performance, either. Shia LaBeouf's role in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was more convincing. Ford, like Fraser, almost seems bored to tears with the whole plot and is just reading his lines in order to cash a check. The interaction between him and both Fraser and Bello is strained and completely unbelievable.
The film tries very hard to be an action-comedy, but it falls flat. The comedy is shoehorned in at inappropriate moments, and the laughter feels forced. As an action film, it does a decent job, but it would have been better if they had worried less about trying to get a cheap laugh from the audience and concerned themselves more with character development.
So with all of this negativity, was there anything I did like about the film? Yes. I loved Michelle Yeoh's role! She is a wonderful actress and a beautiful lady, even in her forties! What's more, she kicks major butt in this movie! Simply awesome, and almost worth the price of admission by herself!
I am glad that they made good use of Chinese history and mythology. Even if there was no Emperor Han who built the Great Wall of China, and the Terracotta Army more correctly belonged to Shi Huang Di (First Emperor of China), I can forgive that because they were incorporated into the story in a believable fashion. Likewise, they named the Chinese elements correctly (fire, water, air, metal, and wood), rather than the more familiar Western earth, air, fire, and water, and that was a great touch! Even the idea of incorporating Shangri-La into the film was a stroke of creative genius!
Finally, the CGI work was quite good. There are moments when you just want to pause the film to admire the graphics. And, as a popcorn movie, it delivers what it promises in the way of action, if not great characters. Ultimately, I'd say save yourself some cash and catch a matinee or wait for DVD, but if you enjoy a good action film, this will suffice.
Parents: Ah, let them go. There's nothing here that is really disturbing; the language is mostly clean, the violence is largely non-graphic, and they'll enjoy the action scenes.
Rating: ***1/2 (out of five)
Camera: Starring Brendan Fraser, Jet Li, Maria Bello, John Hannah, Michelle Yeoh, Isabella Leong, and Luke Ford. Written by Alfred Gough & Miles Millar. Directed by Rob Cohen.
Action: In a nutshell, and without giving too much away, the story begins in ancient China, where we learn about a powerful emperor named Han (Li), who desired immortality (don't they all?). Having conquered all of China, Han builds a Great Wall around the country. He contracts a witch named Zi Juan (Yeoh) to aid him in his quest for immortality, but betrays her. In return, she curses him for all eternity, turning he and his army into terracotta figures.
Flash forward to 1942. Rick (Fraser) and Evie O'Connell (Bello) are retired from the archaeology game. Rick has taken up fly fishing, while Evelyn promotes her first two novels regarding mummies and frustratedly works on a third. It is apparent that neither is really happy, however.
Meanwhile, their son, Alex (Ford), has left school (for the Nth time) to set up a dig in China, seeking the lost tomb of the Dragon Emperor. He and his professor find the tomb, which is both heavily trapped and guarded by a lin kuei. Alex only barely manages to defeat the guardian, a girl named Lin (Leong). He and his professor bring the findings to Shanghai, where the sarcophagus with Han's remains is to be opened with grand ceremony.
Back in England, the government contacts the O'Connells with an offer to deliver a jewel that was smuggled out of China back to Shanghai, explaining that it will go a long way in demonstrating diplomatic faith. As Evie's brother, Jonathon (Hannah), owns a club in Shanghai, they agree, unaware that their wayward and largely estranged son is there.
It is inevitable that the O'Connell family is reunited at Jonathon's club, Imhotep's. After a terse reunion, Alex invites his parents to see his find at the museum, but they are ambushed by a pair of Chinese Army officers who wish to see Emperor Han return. Apparently, the jewel that the O'Connell's were contracted to bring to Shanghai contains an elixir that can restore the Emperor to a semblance of life.
The O'Connells are captured and the Emperor partially restored before Lin and Alex can intervene. The Emperor is also a powerful sorcerer in his own right and has command over the five mythical elements (air, fire, water, metal, and wood). Given partial life, the Emperor breaks free and heads to find Shangri-La. Apparently, he can use the jewel to point they way if he can reach a certain location in Tibet. Fortunately, Lin knows the way and offers to lead the heroes.
From there, a global chase is on to try to prevent the Emperor from finding Shangri-La or, if he manages to do so, to prevent him from gaining full power and bringing his terracotta army back to life in order to conquer the entire world.
Overall, it's a good popcorn movie, but I don't think it is worth the price I paid ($7.50, plus $10 in snacks) to see it. I have a couple of issues with it, and we'll take them one at a time.
First, Brenden Fraser. I don't have a problem with Fraser's acting in general, but in this movie, he seems almost bored with the role, like he is going through the motions. He tries to portray the concerned father who wants to bond with his estranged son, but it just isn't convincing. He treats Alex as more a distant acquaintance than a son, even after they have reconciled. And there is absolutely no chemistry between him and Bello, as husband and wife.
Second is Maria Bello. Don't misunderstand me; she is a fine actress, but she is completely out-of-character for Evie. Gone is the bookish, bumbling Evie that we met in the first film, or even the sensual reincarnation of Princess Nefertiri from The Mummy Returns. Instead, she is a confident, self-reliant woman who has no chemistry with her on-screen husband and bears little resemblance (beyond her frame) to the Evie we know and love, as portrayed by Rachel Wiesz. Personally, I'd rather they have written Evie out of the film and replaced her with a different character designed for Bello.
I'm not happy with Luke Ford's performance, either. Shia LaBeouf's role in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was more convincing. Ford, like Fraser, almost seems bored to tears with the whole plot and is just reading his lines in order to cash a check. The interaction between him and both Fraser and Bello is strained and completely unbelievable.
The film tries very hard to be an action-comedy, but it falls flat. The comedy is shoehorned in at inappropriate moments, and the laughter feels forced. As an action film, it does a decent job, but it would have been better if they had worried less about trying to get a cheap laugh from the audience and concerned themselves more with character development.
So with all of this negativity, was there anything I did like about the film? Yes. I loved Michelle Yeoh's role! She is a wonderful actress and a beautiful lady, even in her forties! What's more, she kicks major butt in this movie! Simply awesome, and almost worth the price of admission by herself!
I am glad that they made good use of Chinese history and mythology. Even if there was no Emperor Han who built the Great Wall of China, and the Terracotta Army more correctly belonged to Shi Huang Di (First Emperor of China), I can forgive that because they were incorporated into the story in a believable fashion. Likewise, they named the Chinese elements correctly (fire, water, air, metal, and wood), rather than the more familiar Western earth, air, fire, and water, and that was a great touch! Even the idea of incorporating Shangri-La into the film was a stroke of creative genius!
Finally, the CGI work was quite good. There are moments when you just want to pause the film to admire the graphics. And, as a popcorn movie, it delivers what it promises in the way of action, if not great characters. Ultimately, I'd say save yourself some cash and catch a matinee or wait for DVD, but if you enjoy a good action film, this will suffice.
Parents: Ah, let them go. There's nothing here that is really disturbing; the language is mostly clean, the violence is largely non-graphic, and they'll enjoy the action scenes.
Rating: ***1/2 (out of five)