The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor

Just when we thought The Mummy was laid to rest; it rears its ugly head. Back after a 7-year hiatus, the third installment of The Mummy catches up with Rick (Brendan Fraser) and Evelyn (Maria Bello) O'Connell who have retired from the business of risky adventures and chasing mummies. Meanwhile, their now grown-up son Alex (Luke Ford) has dropped out of school and followed directly in his parents footsteps (unbeknownst to them, of course). On his dig in China, Alex discovers the Dragon Emperor's tomb. In light of this discovery, the British government enlists the help of Rick and Evelyn to bring the Eye of Shangri-La back to China as a token of good will to the Chinese. With the Eye, they manage to resurrect the Dragon Emperor (Jet Li). The film then follows the O'Connells as they battle to destroy the Dragon Emperor while working through some family issues (the usual father showing no affection to son bit). Along the way they meet some interesting characters including Lin (Isabella Leong), Zi Juan (Michelle Yeoh), an army of dead Chinese soldiers and oh yeah, Yetis!

This a franchise that should stop producing sequels, which unfortunately doesn't seem to be the case anytime soon.The effects in the film looked cheap and the plot has been done to death. Brendan Fraser seems stale and he doesn't even look like he's enjoying himself. Maybe it was because he lost his original leading lady, Rachel Weisz who was replaced by Maria Bello. While she's a pretty face, Bello's English accent was horrid and shared zero on-screen chemistry with Fraser. And Jet Li barely made any impact in his role as the tyrannical Dragon Emperor. The only good thing about this film was finally seeing Isabella Leong in a Hollywood flick. The Abominable Snowmen is what sealed the deal for me though. Give this one a miss because the only highlight will be when the end credits roll.

Cast Brendan Fraser, Jet Li, Maria Bello, John Hannah, Michelle Yeoh, Isabella Leong Director Rob Cohen Runtime 112 minutres Opens 1 August

Text Didi Ramlan