Movie Review - The Mummy Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

Movie Review - The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

Starring Brendan Fraser, Maria Bello, Jet Li, and John Hannah.

Rated PG-13 for action adventure and violence. Running time of an hour and forty minutes.

From beginning to end, the new Mummy movie fails to bring anything new or entertaining to the screen. It is nonstop action with nonstop stupidity thrown around so abundantly that it's hard to understand why anyone would think that this was a good idea for a third Mummy movie.

But let's back up a bit. I loved the first Mummy movie, so much so, I dig into ancient Egyptian culture and studied Egypt immensely and completely lost myself in this marvelously mysterious culture. And as such, the second Mummy movie was something I looked forward to and was delighted with its greatness. Then, they made The Scorpion King movie as a spin-off of the Mummy series. I didn't even watch it. Still haven't. Still don't plan on doing it. Now, with the third Mummy movie coming out, I couldn't help but get a bit excited for it. The trailer was terrible and I although it wasn't set in Egypt this time, I was optimistic about it at least being entertaining. I wish I didn't waste the time going.

This movie was horrendous. I even went out to the lobby to refill my pop and popcorn as that was the only thing I was truly interested in during the flick. At least, it gave me something to do, as the movie did not.

The third flick in the Mummy franchise is rooted in China where an evil emperor from the past was cursed and turned into stone/clay/whatever and can only be awakened by a completely ridiculous device and then can only become whole again after going to a mythical pool that gives eternal life. So, as you can imagine, our heroes from the first flicks and their son, are the only ones who can stop this Mummy.

What immediately adds to the terribleness, is the recasting of the lead female role. Rachel Weisz was the main lead in the last two flicks and did a phenomenal job. This time, she opted out, and the filmmakers decided to put Mario Bello in the starring role. Big mistake! Bello was good in some recent flicks like A History of Violence, but couldn't manage to find her own identity in this flick while also playing the same character made famous by someone else. The accent alone is enough to walk out of the theatre. Brendan Fraser is the only part that manages to stay the same from the previous movies and tends to be the only piece in this puzzle that manages to entertain the slightest bit. Every other actor/actress is playing up there roles, but nothing is convincing or enduring.

As you can tell, I direct a lot of hate towards this flick. Mainly because I liked the first two so much, I really wanted this flick to be something worthwhile, but it misfired on all accounts and let me down. I can't say I recommend this flick for anyone and the critics agree, this flick is rated 9% out of a possible 100%. That's awfully low average score. My suggestion, go watch The Dark Knight again. It's well worth it and the second time, you pick up on so much more details that it's just as enjoyable as the first time.

Both The Mummy and The Dark Knight are playing at Cinema 3 in McCook, Nebraska. Check out www.fridleytheatres.com for showtimes and information.