“I really hate mummies!”
Moviegoers will undoubtedly agree with Rick O’Connell’s battle cry in “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor,” but in a more meta-filmic context, mainly due to the film’s complete lack of necessity and originality.
“Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” finds Rick and Evelyn O’Connell (Brendan Fraser and Maria Bello, respectively) locked in an adventure-less existence, having reluctantly buried their desire for raiding tombs and fighting wars.
As Rick and Evelyn attempt to fill their humdrum lives with busying hobbies, their son Alex (Luke Ford) is secretly making his first big discovery: Dragon Emperor Han (Jet Li). This mummified Chinese sovereign was once the dominant Asian power until his would-be lover, Zi Juan (Michelle Yeoh), cursed Han along with his grand army, turning them all to stone.
This back-story’s explanation is guaranteed to insult your intelligence, however, as it is painstakingly played out, complete with a History Channel-esque narration.
Naturally, the recently unearthed Han is revived and the O’Connell’s – hungry for excitement and danger – take it upon themselves to destroy him.
Containing very little depth and emotion, the film works well as an imaginative action-adventure bred purely for entertainment. Attentive audiences, however, will notice its major flaw: the story.
An evil ruler of a once great empire attempts to awaken a vast and powerful army, all in the name of world domination? This sounds suspiciously similar to Guillermo del Toro’s “Hellboy II: The Golden Army.”
In addition, “Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” screenwriters cut noticeable corners to hurry the story along, which took much away from its coherence. For example, a random appearance of Himalayan yetis helps clear any confusion and solves otherwise-hindering problems.
The film did have a diamond in the rough: legendary martial artists Li and Yeoh square off in a breathtaking fight scene during the climactic all-out mummy war.
All in all, “Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” is the newest edition in a long line of unnecessary “three-quels,” which often leave viewers wondering why the movie was ever made.
Ian Bostick can be reached at [email protected].
