I loved the Mummy movie franchise. I could never get enough of The Mummy 1 and 2 regardless of how many times I’ve watched it. Everything was just right, the chemistry, the scenery, the suspense, the jokes. I could never get enough of how oddly shiny and white The Rocks teeth are in a hot, dusty desert during a flashback moment as the Scorpion King. Most importantly, Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz were just perfect for the roles.
Needless to say, I was very excited when The Mummy 3 aka The Mummy : Tomb of The Dragon Emperor was released. But bummer, it lacked the suspense and thrill that the first 2 movies delivered. Firstly, Jet Li wasn’t scary enough as the baddie. In fact, I wasn’t at all anxious as compared to the Egyptian mummy in the first 2 installments. Apart from that, this time around Rachel Weisz was replaced by Maria Bello. That’s too bad, Weisz was really perfect for the role as Evelyn. The new Evelyn kind of lacked the enthusiasm and the curiosity that Weisz’s Evelyn portrayed. Maybe should have just killed off Evelyn’s character and replaced with a new character, maybe then, it wouldn’t feel so out of place. And there was serious chemistry lacking between the new Evelyn and Rick O’Connell. Something was missing.
Besides that, Rick and Evelyn’s son was played by some actor (I didn’t even bother with his name) whom I think looks too old to be their son. The whole family thing just felt out of sorts. No chemistry, nothing. It was deadbeat relationship.
Nevertheless, the visuals were pretty cool and I loved the Yeti(s). I liked the movie as a whole. I just wished the characters had better chemistry. Looks like I’ll be watching re-runs of the Mummy 1 and 2 again to remind myself how much I still love it.
I read that there will be a Mummy 4, set somewhere in Latin America. Ooo, I hope it will be much improved.
Needless to say, I was very excited when The Mummy 3 aka The Mummy : Tomb of The Dragon Emperor was released. But bummer, it lacked the suspense and thrill that the first 2 movies delivered. Firstly, Jet Li wasn’t scary enough as the baddie. In fact, I wasn’t at all anxious as compared to the Egyptian mummy in the first 2 installments. Apart from that, this time around Rachel Weisz was replaced by Maria Bello. That’s too bad, Weisz was really perfect for the role as Evelyn. The new Evelyn kind of lacked the enthusiasm and the curiosity that Weisz’s Evelyn portrayed. Maybe should have just killed off Evelyn’s character and replaced with a new character, maybe then, it wouldn’t feel so out of place. And there was serious chemistry lacking between the new Evelyn and Rick O’Connell. Something was missing.
Besides that, Rick and Evelyn’s son was played by some actor (I didn’t even bother with his name) whom I think looks too old to be their son. The whole family thing just felt out of sorts. No chemistry, nothing. It was deadbeat relationship.
Nevertheless, the visuals were pretty cool and I loved the Yeti(s). I liked the movie as a whole. I just wished the characters had better chemistry. Looks like I’ll be watching re-runs of the Mummy 1 and 2 again to remind myself how much I still love it.
I read that there will be a Mummy 4, set somewhere in Latin America. Ooo, I hope it will be much improved.
2 comments:
The one star I plopped on this clunky bore-athon is due to the presence of the great Jet Li as the evil Dragon Emperor of the subtitle and the gorgeous Michelle Yeoh as Zi Yuan, a witch who's been on the Emperor¹s ass for over 2000 years.
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/movie/22126971/review/22126827/the _mummy_tomb_of_the_dragon_emperor
martial-arts superstar Jet Li triumphs as the mostly wordless evil Emperor Han of ancient China, a glowing magma spirit locked in a terra cotta shell.
Jane Horwitz
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/31/AR2008 073100734.html
Still, Li makes a great villain, using his powers to create fire, ice and other elements.
Edward Douglas
Coming Soon
http://www.comingsoon.net/news/weekendwarriornews.php?id=47377
Toward the end of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh launch into a vigorous sword fight — and what a grand pleasure it is to watch these two world-class stars in action again...Their duel atop the Great Wall of China is a reunion of titans, an Old Timers' Day for two actor-athletes still in their sinuous prime. Forgive the effusions of an alter-kocker fanboy, but the flinty glamour of Li and Yeoh — buttressed by the stolid, sneering presence of top Hong Kong villain Anthony Wong Chau-sang (who in 1993 appeared in 15 films!) — is the best reason to catch this third in the series of Indiana Jones knockoffs.
Richard Corliss
TIME
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1828343,00.html
A memorably badass Jet Li.
Nathan Rabin
AV Club
http://www.avclub.com/content/cinema/the_mummy_tomb_of_the_dragon
u know, u spoke my heart with this post!! i hated that guy who played Rick & Evelyn's son!! I was like going "who's that monkey!?!?"... maybe he should have gotten someone like shia lebouf (haha.. like indiana jones) then at least it would've been more memorable. I felt that the son was a redundant role and easily forgotten until someone blogs about how bad he is! and the bad memories come flooding back!
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