The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor basically largely rips off the previous installments, especially the second one, and even though it was released in 2008, it doesn't exactly offer great visual effects (though thankfully, they're better than in the second one). While I've liked Maria Bello since Coyote Ugly, I missed the excellent Rachel Weisz. Brendan Fraser was still quite fit, but still bland acting-wise, as was Luke Ford as his son. Jet Li wasn't bad, John Hannah was passable (the interaction with the cow was funny), but it was Michelle Yeoh who appealed to me the most out of the whole cast. That said, the presence of the yetis, the family filler, the stilted action, and the stilted script inexorably bring the film down to the waters of mediocrity. (28/02/2021)

Jet Li has risen from the dead and decided to take over the world. Fortunately, Rick O'Connell and his family are here to stop him. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is hampered by poorly shot action sequences, and while there is always something going on screen, you rarely come across a genuinely entertaining moment in the barrage of mediocre visual effects and toe-curling dialogue. This wannabe adventure film that masquerades as ideal family entertainment is actually a prime example of wasted potential. (29/07/2008)

Colorful crap from time to time plays on an ambitious and visual effects-loaded note of a wannabe, failed blockbuster. All the atmosphere of the previous parts is gone and the watchable mix of action, romance, and adventure has been replaced by computer-generated avalanches, werewolves, the Terracotta Army, and the boring clown Jet Li. Those who expect an epic sequel will be disappointed. The wiscracks don't work, there is no story, and technically the worst by a long shot. Rob Cohen did exactly what was expected, he messed it up nicely. (28/11/2008)

Yuck. I love The Mummy, and The Mummy Returns is a great sequel. But this? Rob Cohen is not Stephen Sommers. Maria Bello is not Rachel Weisz. Jet Li is not Arnold Vosloo. Neither Brendan Fraser nor John Hannah do much in favor of the third Mummy. I liked a few, really only a few, scenes (the opening one, the yetis and part of the final "battle") but overall I was very disappointed. Thanks at least for the likeable duo of Michelle Yeoh and Isabella Leong. Thanks to Cohen, all the playfulness has gone out of The Mummy, leaving an uninspired 112-minute-long mess, which I hope has been so overused that no one will make a fourth film. Only Sommers, but I don't believe that.__P.S. Edelman's good music is a shame to waste on this one. (29/08/2009)

Unnecessarily long introduction, where the legend is revealed, around which it will revolve, is just a plagiarism of the first part and quite sufficiently shows how the rest of the movie will proceed. Boring and unnecessarily long. The film is visually quite interesting at times, but what's the point when the story is really not worth anything? This is not a nice return to old familiar characters. Furthermore, I really missed Rachel Weisz here. I mean, no offense to Maria Bello, but Rachel is my favorite. Well, simply an incredible copycat of previous parts, only now it's Asian... (01/04/2014)