The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor – There’s only so many times you can kill the same bad guy, right? Which is why Rick and Evie are now All Grown Up and settled in Oxfordshire, England, following World War II (where their exploits for the British Government have set them up for the life of landed gentry). They’re thrown back into things when their son Alex (now very much grown up from his showing in The Mummy 2) uncovers the terracotta warriors… only now, they’re mummies from an ancient curse, and the Emperor isn’t happy with his millenia-long sleep.
It’s disappointing that Rachel Weisz didn’t choose to return, though one can see why – this ain’t gonna win no Oscars. Maria Bello overdoes the English accent, while Australian Luke Ford, as the son Alex, speaks inexplicably enough in an American accent. The family is probably the most awkward and least likely I’ve seen on screen in a long time. Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh get neglected as the producers attempt to spin this as a quasi-family film, and their skills entirely obfuscated by CGI. Which is not to say this isn’t a fun enough movie when you’ve got your brain switched off – doesn’t live up to the previous Mummy movies, but is a good cheesy romp no less.
★★★
(p.s. there’s a 4th – or more – in the works; the end of the movie suggests something in South America… *cringe*)
The question to be asked though, is it a cinema-see-all-the-effects movie or a sit-at-home-dvd movie?
Hmm, I guess it can be passable at home, but the effects are large enough to warrant viewing in a cinema, unless you have a kick-ass surround-sound-and-big-screen setup.
yeah. my expectations of the movie weren’t high, but sometimes to make it worth it, you need to big sound and big screen…