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

Now, I Really Missed Rachel Weisz In This One!

[3xHCCH · 5/10 · 31 July 2008]

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.

Curse of the trilogy

[Fever · 4/10 · 2 August 2008]

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.

It's dreadful

[0U · 20 February 2020]

Nice idea for a story, but it didn't have a mummy in it. Rachel Weicz's replacement just isn't up to the task, the script is horrible, and the film just has nowhere near the good vibe as the original two films did.

This Mummy should have stayed in his crypt.

[kimgrear · 2/10 · 1 July 2008]

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.

Ignore the reviews, make up your own mind

[rbsjrx · 7/10 · 9 August 2008]

I almost didn't see this in the theater due to all the bad reviews. What changed my mind was Roger Ebert giving it a rare positive review. Since I agree with Ebert more than most critics, I decided to go see it.

I have to say that none of the reviews or comments I've read tell the whole picture, IMHO. Neither Ebert's praise nor other critics' pans are entirely appropriate. Lets' start with the basics... "The Mummy" was a modern retelling of a 30's "B" monster movie with up to date FX. It wasn't great drama, but it was a rousing thrill ride that capably did its job of entertaining you if you weren't too picky about plot, etc. The two sequels have continued this tradition. I'd rate this as inferior to the original but slightly superior to "The Mummy Returns".

Much has been made about the casting of Maria Bello in the role originated by Rachel Weisz. While I'm not a Rachel Weisz fanboy, she is a very capable actress and I just don't believe Ms. Bello was up to the role. There is simply no chemistry between Bello and Brendan Fraser. There are basically only two legitimate reasons to make a sequel: 1) either there are loose ends to tie up, or 2) people really like the characters and want to see more of them. Each film in the Mummy franchise ties up its own loose ends, so the producers are risking commercial suicide to change the characters in any significant way. If they couldn't get Rachel Weisz, they should have been much more careful in recasting the role. There's very little physical resemblance between the two actresses, and Ms. Bello simply doesn't seem to have the acting chops to carry it off. That unfortunate casting choice casts a pall over the whole enterprise - but not enough to sink it.

Some have criticized the film because they don't believe that Brendan Fraser looks old enough to have a son Luke Ford's age. That's arguable (all of the holdover cast is starting to show their age - especially John Hannah) but, again, it's not a deal-breaker.

OTOH, the secondary roles are excellent. Michelle Yeoh and Isabella Leong are excellent while Jet Li gives another great performance as the evil emperor. Luke Ford is somewhat bland, though, and doesn't appear to be a good candidate to carry the franchise into the future.

The CGI FX are generally excellent but nothing we haven't seen in the first two films. The exception to this are the yetis! With only a few minutes of screen time, they pretty much steal every scene they're in. Where the FX do seem lacking is in imagination, scale, and scope when compared to the previous two films. Perhaps that's because more of the action in the previous films took place in dark, claustrophobic settings, while here many of them are in brightly lit sunlight. The battle scenes in particular suffer in the inevitable comparison to the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Was this film made principally to milk the franchise? Almost certainly, but then so was "The Mummy Returns". But that doesn't mean it fails on its own terms. It is entertaining and supplies much of the same appeal as its predecessors. If you can watch it on those terms and if Maria Bello's casting isn't too disappointing to you, then go see it - you may have a good time. I did.

Terrible...

[AJ_is_Awesomness · 1/10 · 20 July 2008]

A true honest review? Some true honest advice? Don't waste your time on this, its terrible.

I am a true fan of the original. I like the way it was weaved together with interesting characters, hammy dialogue and breath taking action sequences not to mention a beautiful location and some great plot devices. Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weiz lit up the screen with his charisma and her likability factor. They made a good screen presence and carried the story along until its fantastic action packed finale. I also like the way the producers mixed up the scenes, to spoon out not only violent and eerie scenes involving the main villain himself but to water it down to family standards with John Hannah's comical brother. It was a film of epic proportions. A fun story, likable characters and good use of live action and cgi, for the most part. Then about 2 years later Universal ran out of idea's and so decided to return to the bandwagon to churn out another cash cow sequel. 'The Mummy Returns' was released and whilst not as good as the original at least had the decency to be spectacular enough for the risibility. Fraser and Weiz returned (having made an offspring) and warbled, walloped and crashed through the bustling busy streets in a less than original screenplay but at least maintained their charm and kept the spark glowing from the first film. It was a likable sequel, and whilst no where near as good as its ancestor still managed to be entertaining.

So here we are folks. 2008 and yet again we are re-visiting a tired series. The next gruesome threesome to bring home to Hollywood is not only the worst of the Mummy films, but quite possibly the worst sequel of the year to date. Its so bad in fact that even Rachel Weiz turned it down, but its not surprising having listened to some of the laughably dire dialogue churned out here. I bet she took one look at the script and threw it in the trash can. The story goes something like this... Brendan Fraser (back as Rick O'Connell) his wife Maria Bello (yes they replaced her with someone with half as much talent) her brother John Hannah (what is he doing in this?)and their son Luke Ford (who has now aged by about 20 years) are somehow prancing around in their ordinary lives (in the Far East?) but suddenly the son awakens an evil Mummy Emperor (because hey thats what your bound to do in a movie like this) who wants to use his army of the undead to take over the world and get revenge on the sorceress who put him to sleep so many years ago. The only people who can stop him are the O'Connels who crash and bang through armies of stone beasts, supernatural winds and all sorts of other unoriginal menaces. Of course the showdown at the end will result in global domination or ultimate Savior. But by that time, you just wont care.

So.. why do I hate this one? when when one of the main stars from the original backs down and bails out and when the other looks bored throughout the whole darn thing you know you have a problem on your hands. And its sad because Brendan Fraser makes it blatantly obvious how unhappy he is reprising the role without Weiz by his side. He is never able to connect with Bello who tries to be chirpy but comes off looking rather ridiculous as the smart girl. And there we have another problem. Bello just cannot squeeze into Weiz's cleverly filled shoes. Its embarrassing to watch her warble on and you can really tell she felt uncomfortable trying to live up to the characters standards. The same can be said for Luke Ford, who makes a very unconvincing action hero-sidekick next to Fraser. Again they have no spark or connection what so ever. It feels like a cheap decision casting Ford because he never really brings any emotion, good or bad to the screen. The exception here is Jet Li, who whilst is not as menacing as Arnold Vosloo (the original mummy) still pulls off a good dark role. Its fresh seeing him portraying an evil character and it pays off when he is actually on screen. However his presence is short lived and at times feels like a guest appearance. And of course John Hannah who never disappoints and steals the show altogether with his one liners and witty charm. He almost makes this passable. Almost.

The movie deserves another good kick in, this time for its overly used CGI action sequences which feel cheap, tacky and unoriginal. Imagine a Roger Corman flick added into a Uwe Boll video game adaptation and your halfway there. The sets are nice to look at, but the CGI is really distracting and you can tell they did things all by computers. The character development is replaced with an endless array of pointless battle sequences. Pointless !

Its also really degrading seeing our much loved characters from the first movies spout lines of almost ridicule. Brendan Fraser cringes as he reads his lines (is he auditioning for the high school play?)and like I said Bello looks uncomfortable. Even Hannah looks bored and whilst trying to rescue this epic failure always looks like he wants to be doing better things. Like the ironing for example.

There is just so much to bash this movie about. Its an obvious cash in, but even fails at being entertaining. It doesn't live up to the first or even the second. It is boring, confusing and the characters are bland. The action is over the top and don't get me started on the screenplay. Its just an all round failure and should be buried in the Tomb of the title, never to be re-awakened.

Not as good as the previous two

[darlybrito · 6/10 · 19 November 2008]

I was very excited about the movie. I thought the first two mummy films were great and entertaining. Before watching The Mummy 3, I thought it looked bigger and better than the previous two. After walking out of the theater, I completely change my opinion. I was disappointed with the story, acting, and action. Yes, the action.

Rick O'Connell (Bredan Fraser) is back to fight off a resurrected mummy named Emperor Han (Jet Li). Rick is joined by his son Alex (Luke Ford), wife Evelyn (Maria Bello) and Jonathan (John Hannah). They travel all the way to China and the frigid Himalayas in order to stop the mummy from conquering the world. But in order to complete his mission, Emperor Han awakes a massive 10,000 warriors (Terracota army) to finished the job once and for all. The O'Connells are up against an unstoppable army and an evil Emperor that will do anything to get the job done.

The story was very interesting, but the script was not. I thought they should had focus more on the mummy than Alex's life. I felt like Jet Li didn't have enough screen time or even just the mummy. Another thing that I felt a bit disappointed was the beginning of the movie. I liked how they were introducing Emperor Han and how everything started, but it felt like a documentary after a while.

I had mix reactions about the performance in the movie. I didn't have any problem with Fraser's performance. He fits his character and he was great in The Mummy and The Mummy Returns. Maria Bello was not as good as I thought she would be. She did okay, but the accent was kind of weird at times though.

The action and special effects was probably the best thing in the movie. The action sequences were very good, but I thought they could have been better though. I wanted to see longer battles. Like a longer version of Jet Li fighting Michelle Yeoh and Brendan Fraser at the end of the movie. I thought Jet Li should off had a big fight with Fraser. It was suppose to be an epic one-on-one fight, but it fell short. The special effects were good and believable. I didn't have no major problem with the effects what so ever.

The Mummy 3 was a fun movie to watch, but the film has it's flaws. If the the script was better, then I would have given the movie higher rating. While I'm not that interested for the next movie, I am curious to see how it turns out.

The worst of the series, and a big disappointment

[TheLittleSongbird · 3/10 · 3 September 2010]

I enjoyed the first two Mummy movies, they were pretty mindless but very likable. But this one was a big disappointment, and by far the worst of the series. Granted, the scenery and cinematography are very good, the music is good enough(no Jerry Goldsmith and Alan Silvestri though) and Jet Li does try hard in his role. But the direction is uninspired, the story is clichéd(as are the characters), the pacing is uneven, the CGI is superficial and distracting, the script is awful and with the exception of Li(the only actor who tries) the acting is dreadful. Maria Bello is alluring but forgets her acting skills, Brendan Fraser is disappointingly bland and John Hannah's Jonathan is rather tiresome. The comedy and adventure this time around seems rather tired too. Overall, a big disappointment. 3/10 Bethany Cox

They should have left this Mummy in the sarcophagus

[albert-wayne · 1/10 · 21 August 2008]

This is probably one of the worst films I've seen in my life, and I don't tend to toss around accusations like that lightly, but this third installment of The Mummy series initiated back in 1999 deserves such dishonor, cause it's such a bad example of film making, it borders on offensive.

I'm a guy with simple tastes, I'm not one of those people who think cinema begins and ends with Bergman and Goddard, I actually enjoyed the previous Mummy pictures, even the second one, which I know was cheesy as hell, but like film critic Michael Phillips said about cheesy movies, a movie sometimes is just "10.000 pounds of cheese on a cracker, but sometimes, I'm exactly in the mood for 10.000 pounds of cheese on a cracker." But The Mummy: Tomb of Dragon Emperor is, at best, feces on a cracker, the cracker being the amazing trailer of Quantum of Solace before the movie, probably the highlight of the experience.

I won't go into any details regarding the plot, cause, well, the plot is pretty much explained fully on the trailer. We pick up with the O'Connell's, retired and bored as well, just as I was while watching the movie. They get at again to stop the evil Mummy of the Emperor Han from taking over the world...how original, when will these Mummies just wanna lay back and enjoy the comforts of the modern age. I'd love to see a movie about an ancient Mummy , brought back from the dead, only to be flabbergasted by the technology of the present, and lay around drinking beer, watching TV, and getting fat with McDonald's. That would be more fun that all that this movie had to offer.

All of the actors were there for their paychecks, Brendan Fraser has never been more boring. John Hannah was also incredibly stupid, and the jokes they wrote for him were not funny at all, some are even distasteful. Luke Ford, playing Rick's son, not only looks like two minutes younger than him, but less charm than R2-D2, Michelle Yeoh is wasted, Jet Li doesn't have the Mummy gravitas that Arnold Voosloo had, and finally, Maria Bello; filling in for Rachel Weisz, who had the good common sense to stay away from this dregs, she is horrible, she looks so concern with her fake Posh accent, which she got wrong anyhow, so, at the end, we are left with nothing in the acting department.

Rob Cohen, man, is he getting worse and worse, when you though Stealth was really the lowest a director could get, he managed to enlighten us with an even lower level of mediocre work. He has never been an interesting director, and his campy style has butchered many movies that looked interesting, if only for entertaining purposes, like Dragonheart and Daylight, but you would expect at least, with all that money spend on these summer movies, to have something to show for. But no, no, no, everything looks poor, the action sequences are dull as hell. To prove my point, this will probably be the only movie where a sword fight with Michelle Yeoh and Jet Li lasts about 20 seconds, and it's all in slow motion. If a director cannot make a sword fight between those two modern icons of martial arts films, he should really think about retiring for good.

The story is stock, which is to be expected from a B movie of this sort, but like Raiders of the Lost Ark proved, even B movies can be Oscar Hopefuls, but there was no attempt at all with this one. The pacing of the story is terrible, the special effects are sub par, and at the end, you are left with a 2 hour yawn fest, to which you would fall to sleep within minutes, if it weren't for the loud noises coming from the speakers.

The movie is shameful, and not worth the price of the ticket, this movie is the reason why some theaters have money back policies, and had the theater I saw this had one, I would have asked not only for my money back, but for a year of free admissions, for having seen this awful mess.

Better than it gets credit for

[charlescurtis2003 · 8/10 · 2 August 2008]

No, this Mummy doesn't come even close to topping the first one, but I would argue that it is as good or possibly even better than the second one. Yes, there are several things we can quibble about (Brendan Fraser's son looking as old as he does, abominable snowmen from out of nowhere, and a very ho-hum love story) but this movie was not made for the Oscars, people. It was made so that we could check our brains at the door and have fun, and the movie does deliver on that count.

I really liked the idea of using the real-life terra cotta army as the basis for the story. Granted it's not historically accurate of course, but there is a lot of mystery associated with that tomb in China and I feel that if you want to make a $175 million summer popcorn flick with that as its basis, so be it.

Overall, good escapist nonsense.

Fun

[RCWjr · 7/10 · 2 August 2008]

My one-word summary pretty much says it all for me. Mummy 3 is, like the previous installments, a fun distraction from all the bad news that the front page of the newspaper reminds us of every day.

Frasier is back as Rick O'Connell. Leaner and meaner from the last time we saw the character in 2001, Frasier brings the same A-game to what is essentially B-movie fun. Much has been made of Maria Bello replacing Rachel Weisz as Evie. Yes, Maria is no Rachel, but still, she is more than up for the challenge.

Everyone involved seems to be having a lot of fun. It was great to have John Hannah back as Jonathan, he is always great to have around to lighten the atmosphere. Luke Ford is believable as Alex O'Connell. He has many of the same traits and physicality of Frasier's "Rick" that you believe this is what Rick and Evie's could would look like and act like.

The effects, like in the previous films, are good enough to tell the story, but will not win any academy awards. Many miss that point; these films are supposed to appear lower budget and have predictable stories. They are homages to the films that the Indy series is steeped in. There is nothing highbrow here, but there is plenty of entertainment for a much needed distraction.

Jet Li does a lot with saying very little. His Emporer is much like Imotep in that he spends a good portion of the film not in flesh form. He is given much more screen time than I thought he would. I did think there was a martial arts geek moment missed when the fight between Li and Yeoh was not longer. These are two of the greats and it would have been fun to see them go at it longer.

The story is pretty much the usual fare for the Mummy films. We have an opening prologue that sets the stage and then our heroes stumble into the middle of everything and some how come out on the end. Simple, but fun story telling.

All in all, great way to spend 2hrs just sitting back and watching the O'Connell's and Co. take on another adventure.

Terrible cash in by all involved.

[coolkeoo · 1/10 · 17 July 2008]

I was able to see this film about a month ago in a preview screening and to put it in kind words, its terrible. Jet Li is about the only good thing about the film but he's hardly in it. Brendan Fraser was phoning in his performance and looked if he was waiting from a call from his agent to get him out of the movie. Maria Bello looked goofy and miscast and the actor who plays their son makes Hayden Christensen from the Star Wars films look like an Oscar winner. John Hannah manages to bring some laughs to the table but his stick is not as fresh as it was before and Michelle Yeoh does not really do much with her role. This movie lacks the creepiness of the first two Mummy movies and the stone warriors of this movie don't hold a candle to the ghouls of the first two films at all. Not to mention the fact that the visual effects in this film look even worse than the second film(The Mummy Returns). The film itself seemed toned down in the fun and thrills department and just feels tired in certain scenes not to mention the dialogue, which seems like it was written by a five year old. This film seemed like a quick payday from all involved and sadly with the little effort spent in giving the audience something to root for and care for, its just feels like no one even cared about what they were making.

Less than meets the eye

[evangelicangel · 1/10 · 19 November 2008]

After watching 'Mummy 3', watch 'The Mummy', and you will quickly see the vast difference in the two.

There are many elements that made the Mummy 3 a horrible edition to the Mummy series. Yes, the disappearance of Rachel was disappointing, but her presence wouldn't be enough to save this film from it's ultimate demise. Even Brendan Fraiser's character lost the edge many grew to love in the first two. The idea of the Terra-cotta was interesting, but not for this series. The story was poorly executed and almost over shadowed by the even more terrible "romances" between Luke, Lin, and the O'Connells.

The random dialogue and forced chemistry was enough to make you sick. There was very little going for this movie, and I'm disappointed in this series being handed over to Rob Cohen. This was nothing short of a botched boob job.

What a DOG!!!

[selkie1964 · 1/10 · 6 August 2008]

I want to say up front that I loved the first two Mummy movies, so I am not a hater of this franchise. They were campy, very tongue-in-cheek, and there was this wonderful rapport between the actors which came out in their performances. I went into this one with some trepidation because much of the main cast of the first two films would not be in it (Rachel Weisz, Arnold Vosloo, Patricia Velasquez and Oded Fehr), but I figured, well, the first two were great (or at least a lot of fun), so how bad could this one be?

Oh. My. God.!!! I am not exaggerating when I say that the best part of the movie was the Chinese-writing animation of the closing credits. Five minutes into the film I was cringingly embarrassed for the actors, and it only got worse. The only actor whose performance didn't suck a dead dog's butt was Jet Li, but only just -- he basically spent the whole movie yelling, killing people, and looking extremely cheesed off. There was no connection between his character and the audience. I mean, Imhotep (in the first two films) did evil things, but he had this romantic tragedy thing going on because he was in love with Anck Su Namun, and you could see some reason for his actions and you could even maybe sympathize with him a little bit (particularly at the end of "The Mummy Returns" when he realized that Anck Su Namun didn't really love him -- at least, not like Evie loved Rick -- and it had all been for nothing). He had a human quality, I guess. The Dragon Emperor, not so much. As far as anyone could tell, he was just a megalomaniacal twit with a world-domination complex -- there were no redeeming features in his character -- it was just a cardboard cutout of "evil." The only thing I have to say about the mother/daughter immortal protectors team is that even put together, they're no Ardeth Bay. Maria Bello was horribly miscast as Evie O'Connell. Her performance seemed clingy and desperate (not just Evie being clingy and desperate, but herself, Maria, the "actress"). Luke Ford was a huge waste of space -- I never thought I'd see an "actor" who was worse at acting than Keanu Reeves, but Keanu Reeves is a great Shakespearean compared to Luke Ford. I echo another reviewer's comment in saying why didn't they just keep Freddie Boath? He's about the right age and he was actually funny in The Mummy Returns. Of course, it's probably better for his career that he *didn't* appear in this piece of trash (ditto Rachel Weisz, et al.) -- kudos to their agents for keeping them out of it. Brendan Fraser, whose performances I really enjoyed in the first two movies (although a great actor he is not), seemed like he was tired of the whole thing -- monumentally bored and just milking the franchise for another paycheck (I know that's a horrible thing to say, but I can't imagine why else the egregious performance -- I mean, you can only blame so much of it on the rotten script). John Hannah (another actor whom I usually really like) ditto. To paraphrase Mark Twain (from "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses"): the film-maker should make the viewer feel a deep interest in the people in the film and in their fate; he should make the viewer love the good people and hate the bad ones. But the viewer of "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" dislikes the good people in it, is indifferent to the others, and wishes they would all get drowned together.

There was nothing even remotely funny about this movie -- the "jokes" (if you want to call them that) were either tired, stupid, or completely flat. The special effects couldn't make up for the mondo suckiness of this piece of... uh... "film." Even if they had been of the thrilling sort that one expects. Which these were not. The Yetis could have been cool, but they just, um, weren't. And the whole "field goal" thing was so NOT!

I had to give this film a rating of 1 (awful) because that's as low as IMDb's scale goes, but I'd really like to give it something more like a –27. And I'd also really like a refund on the two hours of my life I wasted watching this dog. Boo! Hiss!! Yuck!!!

Truly awful

[emtekworks · 1/10 · 2 August 2008]

First, Brendan Fraser is an actor who I really enjoy watching no matter what he's in. Second, I was hoping he would do another mummy movie - I like him in these campy action movies so I was looking forward to this movie. Now I wish he had turned this one down as Rachel did, I wouldn't have wasted my money. And I have a high tolerance for so-so movies. I felt so bad for Fraser, he was trying - but you can only do so much with a crappy script and poor direction.

Pros: Very good special effects. Jet-Li, Yeoh had good fight scenes.

Cons: Forced dialogue, Maria Bello trying too hard, No chemistry between Fraser-Bello-Ford (the son). Music either too much or just not a good fit, I found it overwhelming the scenes at times.

Everything comes across as trying too hard. I miss the Sommers touch. I just didn't have any fun this time. Seriuosly, wait for it to come to cable.

Still good!

[adamjohns-42575 · 8/10 · 28 December 2021]

The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor (2008)-

It's obviously not the best of the trilogy and that's never really been in question, but it is still a perfectly good film and enjoyable. It should have had Rachel Weisz in it and Alex should have been a lot more British, certainly his voice at least, even if he was more American in his demeanour, just like his father.

It gets the same flack that 'Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull' (2008) gets and unfairly so on both counts. They are both just films to enjoy and not think too hard about and ideal for Christmas holiday afternoons with the kids for a bit of adventure and loosely based in history.

Even though the producers correctly, in my opinion, chose to go away from the Imhotep concept, there is still a lot of repetition from the previous two films and they do seem to have taken a lot of their other ideas from 'Indiana Jones & The Temple Of Doom' (1984) and 'Lara Croft, Tomb Raider: The Cradle Of Life' (2003). Some of it was a good choice to repeat and copy, but other bits didn't work quite so well.

There's a tad too much comedy that cheapens it slightly and not enough of it being Jonathan who is still my favourite character. Also the 1940's General seems to have more lives than a cat, going through extreme conditions and coming out barely unscathed.

Some of the special effects should have been left to Ray Harry Hausen and alike. Especially when the Mummy turns in to 'The Gruffalo' for some reason?

Alas for me, Brendan is losing his appeal too and his shouting voice gets quite annoying at times, as he constantly screams "EVIE!!", "ALEX!" and on occasion "JON-A-THAN!".

It really doesn't bother me that they went to China instead for this one and if this had been the first of the franchise I think it would be just as highly regarded as the others, or at least close, but the absence of Rachel and the complete change of direction with the other aspects is a bit too much without some sort of transition.

I have no qualms about watching it as part of the trilogy and would never deliberately exclude it during my binge watching phases. If I watch one, I watch them all.

775.09/1000.

Well Made Mediocrity

[matthewmacgyver · 6/10 · 2 August 2008]

The Mummy 3: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - I liked the first entry to this series. About all I can remember of the second one was that it sucked, and it's loose spin off "The Scorpion King" was merely O.K. in a "I get a kick out of Conan-type movies" sort of way. Compared to the first, the Mummy 3 trades off memorability in it's characters for larger action sequences. Being the 3rd entry to this series, this is somewhat forgivable as most of the characters are already developed. The movie still suffers though as it seems as though they have less to do as characters and more to do as props, and this unfortunately also goes for the new characters introduced.

This movie knows what it is, and as such, carries with it a level of self awareness. There is even one scene where the new actress playing Evelyn addresses the audience, almost winking, and says "I'm an entirely different person", poking fun at the obvious point her character has been recast. It was cool seeing Jet Li as the Emperor, and as a villain. But that's really all he was, the villain. Unlike the first Mummy movie, where they treat the mummy as an actual character with identifiable motivations, the movie does very little to develop The Dragon Emperor as anything but the antagonist for the action set pieces. But Jet Li is good, he somehow makes the few scenes he was given work, his villainous sneers and smirks work well in portraying a one-dimensional popcorn villain... I felt the movie would have been much stronger if he had more screen time than his CG counterpart.

The martial arts and sword fighting sequences were filmed in a typically Hollywood style with far too many cuts and closeups. The action would have benefited from pulling the camera back a bit to see more of the action. There are a few points about the plot where you find yourself asking questions that simply can't be answered, but the movie's plot is the kind you're not supposed to think about, but instead are just supposed to sit back, relax, suspend your disbelief, and enjoy the ride. If you are able to do this, there are a few parts in the movie that will have you cheering.

It would have been a lot better if there were 15-20 minutes more character development and exposition, but that would have put the movie over the 2 hour mark, and it's pacing might have suffered, and it's box office definitely would have. As it is, the Mummy 3 hits it's mark as being mass market (barely) digestible popcorn. The movie's story plays as somewhat of a cross between Dragon Wars and Indiana Jones 4, and with respect to quality, it falls somewhere in between... although is admittedly closer to the Indiana Jones 4 end of the spectrum. The movie is what I would call "well made mediocrity". It managed to entertain me. If the Mummy 1 was 8/10, Dragon Wars: D-War was 5/10, Indiana Jones 4 was 6/10, then I would have to peg The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor at 6/10.

Huge disappointment

[kibeth-2 · 1/10 · 15 August 2008]

This movie sucks major big time. The script is utterly lousy. The characters are not the same characters I grew to love in the first 2 movies. There is NO chemistry between Brendan and the new Evy. The filming is disappointing. Wide shots might as well be photographs - nothing happens, no movement. Action shots are too close in so you can't see enough of what is going on. For instance, the sole fight scene between Michelle Yeoh and Jet Li is too close in. You can't see what these two martial arts experts are capable of. All you see is an occasional whirl of their arms, a twist of their torsos, and maybe a scowl if you're lucky. Legs and kicks don't come through because it's shot from the waist up, too close in. It lasts like 2 minutes - a real disappointment given what these two can really do. The plot has all this contrived, cutesy gook and sometimes it contradicts itself. This is a HUGE disappointment - a waste of money. No wonder Weisz saw fit not to sign up. Bring her and Stephen Sommers back and it would have been the same great Mummy movies from before.

Not the Mummy We Remember-But Still an Excellent Movie

[conor-007 · 7 August 2008]

I was looking forward to this movie. Then as I read more and more negative reviews, I started to get a little worried. I loved the first 2 and didn't want this to ruin the series. I left the movie in a happy mood. It was quite a good movie. Why it received all the bad reviews I don't know. There are a few bits which I don't get. Yeti's okay. But ones which have human emotions and act like people-NO The Emperor turning into horribly created and ugly looking CGI-disaster monsters.-TOO FAR.

But apart from that, it's rather interesting. Maria Bello brings her own style to Eve. Not as good as Rachel Weisz of course, but there you go. The actions scenes are impressive. Jet Li makes a brilliant appearance as the sadistic villain. CGI is superb at times but terrible in others plus the supporting cast pull off great performances and it's good to see Jonathan as his usual self. When watching this film, don't think too hard about character development, camera angles, plot details etc, just sit back and have fun at the movies.

Not Dark Knight material but it's definitely worth a look.

Thanks for reading

Feel free to send me a message.

Shameful!

[sue-thomas21 · 2/10 · 20 June 2010]

This film is difficult to watch, because Maria Bello's terrible accent and acting grate on you so much. She just simply is NOT Evie. Rachel Weisz was never going to be easy to replace and it should probably not have been attempted. The on-screen chemistry between Weisz and Fraser was one of the best things about the first 2 films. Bello cannot fill her shoes. Whoever cast her should be shot! Unfortunately, I find the son a bit annoying too - it seems like his character is being moulded into a big, bouncing puppy version of Brendan Fraser - and he seems to have inexplicably turned into a "true blue" American...Weird. However, I think the Yetis are great -definitely the best characters in the whole film. :-D

It's Decent...

[abcizdaman · 7/10 · 28 February 2021]

But to get rid of the original actress who played Evie and say she's a new Evie? Come on! If they couldn't get her, then just say she died and get a new character Rick has a relationship with.. like Eva maybe, but yeah to say a different actress is the same person that just killed the rest of the movie for me. Other than that it was cool to see Rick with an older son and that dynamic. There was a good story in this as well.

Not As Good As The Others...

[cant_hardly_wait · 7/10 · 7 August 2008]

When I heard that a new Mummy movie was coming out I just couldn't contain myself! I was so happy - finally a chance to catch up with Rick and his family.

So, the day it came out here in the U.K. I went straight to the cinema to watch it. The start was a bit slow, of course they do have to explain everything about what is happening with the Dragon Emperor. This was obvious seeing as it happened in the other two movies. Here for the first time we meet him played by the wonderful Jet Li.

After you get past the explaining of the plot the movie starts to get so much better. Finally you see Brendan Fraser at his best! Not forgetting John Hannah who I simply adore! It is full of laughter, suspense and like both of the other Mummy movies a little bid of edge of the seat Oh my gosh I can't believe that just happened.

Good Points: Brendan Fraser, John Hannah and Luke Ford really make this movie good. The surprise guests and little jokes are hilarious. And of course, who forget the famous Mummy of the movie! Jet Li makes an excellent Mummy!

Bad Points: What were they thinking when they thought they could replace Rachel Weisz. No offence to Maria Bello but no one can replace her. Evie was made for her! There is no on screen chemistry between Maria and Brendan like there was with Rachel. There are certain special effects which make you cringe. Seeing as technology is so advanced.

Overall I like this movie and am definitely going to buy it on DVD when it comes out. If your a mummy fan then this is perfect - if you are watching it because you want to see if its better than the others stay clear.

Only worth a few laughs

[drunkdionysus · 3/10 · 31 July 2008]

The movie started out very well with an interesting introduction, but it went downhill from then on. I was very disappointed with this sequel. Weak storyline, mediocre acting and unimpressive CGI. The action was exciting but monotonous after a few scenes. I was looking forward to this movie, being a fan of the first two, but this was a forgettable movie, without much fun. There were amusing moments here and there, but mostly cheesy catchphrases that you would like if you were about thirteen years old.

I have to commend Maria Bello for attempting to portray Evenlyn in a satisfactory manner, but she's no Rachel Weiss and that is painfully obvious in all her scenes, and she has little chemistry with Brendan Frasier. I didn't like the Rick-Alex relationship either, it was as far off from The Mummy Returns as possible! Michelle Yeoh was probably the only part of the movie worth seeing, but the script did her no favours. Jet Li was completely wasted in this film, and coupled with a painfully inaccurate representation of 1940s Shanghai, this film had no saving features. Not even worth it if you just want some mindless fun. Spend your money on a second viewing of The Dark Knight or some other movie.

It is made just for entertainment only!

[helmutty · 7/10 · 2 August 2008]

When I was young, I remembered that I was scared watching the first and second movies. After some long years, the sequel is finally made. This time, it turns to be action-packed loaded with great CG effects. Its story is the weakest but who cares when watching action-packed movies with CG effects. Its actions and CG effects are the main appeal of the movie and do not expect more than those.

The story: Like I said, the story plot is the weakest thing in this movie. I forgive that, the action and the CG effects make this movie entertaining. The director, Rob Cohen who did Fast and Furious and xXx, did a great job in the action scenes. The acting is great with some great humour. Now it makes me want to watch the first and the second movies again since now I am not scared of mummies.

Overall: It is a blockbuster movie with non-stop action and CG effects which is not unusual. It is not bad but could do better. I am not afraid of saying this: I can't get enough of the action and hope that this would be longer. Those who can't get enough of big blockbuster movies like Hellboy 2, The dark Knight should watch this. After this, you will have to wait until next year summer for big blockbuster action movies. So watch it, I bet all the blockbusters this next year will make you crave for more. This will or may not help you wait until next year but it did help me.

The mummy should have stayed dead

[moviesfilmsreviewsinc · 10/10 · 5 April 2022]

Rick O'Connell and his wife, Evelyn (Brendan Fraser and Maria Bello), are back, having come out of retirement to race to the aid of their adult son Alex (Luke Ford), who has inadvertently awakened the mummy of the Dragon Emperor (Jet Li). In a prologue, we learn he was cursed by the sorceress Zi Juan (Michelle Yeoh), who incurred his wrath by spurning his love, and later, we learn, bearing the daughter of General Ming (Russell Wong). Both daughter and mother are immortal. So is the emperor, although it is a mixed blessing when you are immortal but mummified inside a thick cocoon of terra cotta. Now the emperor has awakened and unleashes his army of 10,000 slumbering warriors to feed his ambition to conquer the world, which is going to take more than 10,000 spear carriers, but he's operating on B. C. time. To counter him, the sleeping slave skeletons are awakened by the sorceress and are sort of funny; one misplaces his head and screws it back on. The emperor is a shape-shifter, able to turn himself into a three-headed, fire-breathing dragon, which coils, twists, turns and somehow avoids scorching himself. He speaks in a low bass rumble, just like Imhotep, the mummy in the two earlier pictures. The battle between these two sides is won by the side with the fewest missing heads. The sacrifice of the sorceress in relinquishing not only her own immortality but that of her daughter permits love to bloom, although would you really want a bride who was 4,000 years old, even if she was going to die?