The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - Review

At first, I had a bad feeling about this movie. I thought that this was going to be a last ditch attempt to squeeze as much money as they can out of this dying franchise. The first 45 minutes were just boring but it quickly got exciting when they travel through the mountains in China. You have Brendan Fraser back as Rick O'Connell but for some reason, I feel like he wasn't even trying here. Maybe it was just bad writing but I liked his character in the other two movies more. They replaced Rachel Weisz with Maria Bello. I really liked Maria Bello as an action star because she really sold those action set-pieces, but the best Evelyn will always be Rachel Weisz. Luke Ford as Alex was completely useless. I did not like this character what so ever. They tried to tie in a romance story with some immortal Chinese woman but it was so bland and forgettable. John Hannah as Jonathan is great in all 3 movies and is probably my favourite character in the whole series. The back story was interesting enough with the emperor and Zi Yuan. Props for doing something different as opposed to going back to Egypt for the third time. The action is where this movie excels. The whole series thrives in this category because whenever an action scene starts, you are instantly involved and committed to it. The action scene in the mountains reminded me so much of Uncharted 2 which was a nice treat. Overall, I would only recommend this movie to fans of the series or fans of mindless, and ridiculous action and plot. I had fun with this movie, but I believe it's only because I am a fan of the previous two films and if I re-visit this movie... let's just say I'm afraid to. I feel like this film is not one that can withstand a second viewing and still be enjoyable. Proceed with caution boys and girls.