Gegen die Millionen Dollar schweren amerikanischen Großproduktionen, welche nach der Übergabe Hongkongs an China zum Niedergang dieser einstmals blühenden Industrie beitrugen, kommen heutzutage nur noch Neujahrskomödien und Starvehikel an.

Bestes Beispiel dafür ist die Infernal Affairs Trilogie, deren Ansammlung an HK-Stars fast schon einem verzweifelten Betteln um Aufmerksamkeit gleich kommt. Gleiches gilt für die unzähligen Historienepen, meist koproduziert mit dem Festland, wie The Warlords, in dem Jet Li, Takeshi Kaneshiro und Andy Lau um die Gunst des Zuschauers werben. Das Kino der Sonderverwaltungszone hat seit dem Schicksalstag im Juli 1997 vieles von dem verloren, was es einst einzigartig im internationalen Wettbewerb gemacht hat.

Wer körperbetonte Kampfsportfilme sehen will, wendet sich an Tony Jaa. Ist man auf gewagte Genremixe aus, sucht man sie ebenfalls in Thailand. Ungewöhnliche Storys jenseits der bekannten Hollywoodformeln findet man seit einigen Jahren auch in Korea, nur eben professioneller produziert auf gleicher Augenhöhe mit der amerikanischen Konkurrenz.

Sind diejenigen, welche Hongkongs Filmwunder in den 80er Jahren mitverantwortet und von diesem am meisten profitiert haben, nach dem Handover nicht nach Hollywood verschwunden (Tsui Hark, John Woo, Chow Yun-Fat), erfreuen sie sich an den Vorstufen der Frührente (Brigitte Lin, Maggie Cheung) oder haben diese Welt ganz verlassen (Leslie Cheung, Anita Mui).

Seltsam nur, dass auf der internationalen Bühne kaum ein Hongkonger Star dauerhaftes Glück fand. Während Jackie Chan immerhin mit Buddy Movies einen Fuß in die Tür bekam, litten besonders die Filme der Martial Arts-Legende Jet Li unter der Unfähigkeit amerikanischer Regisseure, seine Talente zu nutzen. Wurde deren zerstückelnde Actioninszenierung doch an Hollywoodstars geprobt, die vom Kämpfen im wahren Leben nicht mal den Hauch einer Ahnung haben. Noch dazu geht Romeo Must Die, Cradle 2 the Grave und wie sie alle heißen der Einfallsreichtum eines Tsui Hark oder Ronny Yu ab.

Kein Wunder, dass der Erfolg ausblieb. Statt asiatische Stars mit gewagten Projekten dem amerikanischen Publikum zu verkaufen, geht man auf der anderen Seite des großen Teiches nun dazu über, gezielt den lukrativen Absatzmarkt in Fernost anzusprechen. So kommt es, dass der dritte Teil der Mumie-Franchise am Startwochenende in den USA den Schwarzen Ritter nicht vom Sockel stürzen kann, sich dafür aber in Hongkong und Korea als Box Office-Gold erweist.

Die Mumie: Das Grabmal des Drachenkaisers beherbergt schließlich die chinesischen Superstars Jet Li, Michelle Yeoh und Isabella Leong. Die drei werden also letztendlich nach Hollywood gekarrt, um mit ihrer Besetzung in Nebenrollen ihr eigenes, längst erobertes Publikum in die Kinos zu locken. Am Ende verlassen die Stars des HK-Kinos ihre Heimat, um in teuren US-Blockbustern zu ihr zurück zu kehren, die Hongkongs Eigenproduktionen von den Leinwänden vertreiben.

Verfolgen die großen Studios diese sich jetzt schon bewährende Taktik weiter, so bleibt nur die Hoffnung, dass die zukünftigen, international besetzten Filme qualitativ mehr aufzuweisen haben, als Rob Cohens Ausflug nach China. Dabei ist die Grundidee, die Abenteuer von Rick und Evey ins Reich der Mitte zu verlegen, noch das beste, was der Reihe passieren konnte. Schon in Die Mumie kehrt zurück erwies sich nämlich der ägyptische Hintergrund als reichlich verbraucht. Nicht zuletzt deshalb versank der Film in einem Meer schlechter Effekte, deren peinlichste Ausgeburt der Skorpionkönig war.

Problem nur, dass der bereits in diesem Teil nervige Sohn des Abenteurerpaares O'Connell nicht über Bord geworfen wurde, sondern im Grabmal noch mehr Platz einnimmt. Gespielt vom 27jährigen Australier Luke Ford, wird Alex O'Connell als überflüssiger zweiter männlicher Actionheld neben Brendan Fraser an den Start gebracht. Dass die beiden als Brüder wesentlich glaubhafter wären, sei mal dahingestellt.

Dieser Alex gräbt im China der späten Vierziger den in Terrakotta versteinerten Drachenkaiser (Jet Li) aus, der dummerweise vom fiesen General Yang (Anthony Wong) zum Leben erweckt wird, um die Herrschaft über China zu erringen. Rick (Fraser) und Evey (Maria Bello) kommen zu Hilfe, John Hannah als Jonathan ist natürlich mit von der Partie. Gemeinsam geht's nach Shangri-La, um zu verhindern, dass Kaiser Han, der eigentlich dem ersten Kaiser Qin Shi Huang nachempfunden ist, also demjenigen Herrscher, den Jet Li in Hero umbringen will - aber das nur am Rande - dass also dieser Tyrann ewiges Leben und was sonst so dazu gehört, erringt.

Der grobe Plot entspricht also dem des ersten Teils. Es gibt einen mörderischen Untoten samt Helfer, zwielichtige Museumsmitarbeiter, geheimnisvolle Wächter des Grabes (Isabella Leong und Michelle Yeoh), sogar einen alten Kumpel, der die O'Connells irgendwo hin fliegt. Da muss man sich unweigerlich fragen, wie Rob Cohen es geschafft hat, seine Mumie sprichwörtlich dermaßen gegen die Wand zu fahren.

Vielleicht kann man den alles durchdringenden Mangel dieses Films an Hand eines Beispiels erklären: Die Helden landen beim sagenumwobenen Tor nach Shangri-La und rüsten sich mit allerhand Maschinenpistolen für den Kampf gegen die Soldaten Yangs. Ganz vielversprechend geht es auch los mit handfesten Schießereien, die Indiana Jones und seine Kristallschädel vor Neid erblassen lassen. Irgendwann kommt Isabella Leongs Figur Lin auf die Idee, in den Bergen des Himalayas nach Hilfe zu rufen. Und was kommt? Yetis! Nicht einer, nicht zwei, sondern drei (!) zottelige Yetis zermalmen die bösen Soldaten.

Die Action hat ein Ende, das C.G.I.-Fest beginnt, denn Cohen versteht es ganz offensichtlich nicht, zwischen Unterhaltung und Maßlosigkeit zu unterscheiden. Dass er das sagenumwobene Shangri-La, das Paradies auf Erden, in genau einer Einstellung zeigt, bestätigt seine Unfähigkeit. Jeder andere Abenteuerfilm würde sich diesen legendären Ort wohl für das Finale aufsparen, für Cohen ist er nur ein Effekt unter vielen.

Natürlich kann man nicht alle Schuld auf den Regisseur abladen, denn die Schwächen des Films sind in all seinen Bereichen zu finden. Das Drehbuch von Alfred Gough und Miles Millar muss als erstes an den Pranger gestellt werden. Schon der Prolog, der erzählt, wie die Hexe Zi Juan (Yeoh) den Kaiser einst verfluchte, vertreibt durch seine platte Schwerfälligkeit jedes Mysterium. Alles, was gezeigt wird, muss aus dem Off noch mal erklärt werden, als handle es sich hier um die Hörfilmfassung. So ergeht es den ganzen 112 Minuten.

Werden die Dialoge nicht gerade durch einen einfallslosen, schon in Dutzenden anderen Filmen gehörten, Oneliner aufgelockert, muss irgendeine (meist chinesische) Figur die Rolle des Basil Exposition übernehmen und uns alle Hintergründe erklären. Selbst wenn die Yetis auftauchen, muss Maria Bello wie eine Führerin im Naturkundemuseum erklären, dass die Viecher in Tibet als Yetis bezeichnet werden.

Dabei hat Bello als Nachfolgerin von Rachel Weisz in der Rolle der Evey schon genug mit der eigenen Fehlbesetzung zu kämpfen. Ein Großteil der Chemie zwischen Fraser und Weisz entstand aus deren Gegensätzen, aus der Kombination des rauen Abenteurers Rick mit dem rehäugigen, naiven Bücherwurm Evey. Bello, beileibe keine schlechte Schauspielerin, verliert im Kampf mit dem britischen Dialekt jede Natürlichkeit und wirkt mit ihrer kühlen, erotischen Ausstrahlung wie eine dem Film Noir entsprungene Femme fatale, die sich unversehens als Mutter eines erwachsenen Sohnes in einem Abenteuerfilm wiederfindet; mit einem Wort: deplaziert.

Ein Glück, dass der Film Jet Li und Michelle Yeoh zusammenbringt, könnte man meinen. Doch Cohen, der es, man weiß nicht wie, geschafft hat, sich als Actionregisseur einen Namen zu machen, versagt selbst, wenn es darum geht, den lang erwarteten Kampf zweier Martial Arts-Haudegen entsprechend mit der Kamera einzufangen. Sicher, der Kampf zwischen Li und Yeoh ist einer der wenigen Höhepunkte des enttäuschenden Films, doch Cohen verwässert die eigenen Schauwerte durch den hastigen Schnitt und die Wackelkamera, die für den Genuss eines Martial Arts-Setpieces nicht geeignet sind. Damit krankt auch dieser Film am bereits oben erwähnten falschen Einsatz der Ikone Jet Li.

Dieser ist als Bösewicht allemal sehenswert, taucht aber im Vergleich zu Arnold Vosloo viel zu selten auf, um ähnlich bedrohlich zu wirken. Meist sehen wir vom Gestaltwandler Han nur sein Terrakotta-C.G.I.-Alter Ego, einen dreiköpfigen Drachen (ein Kopf reicht mal wieder nicht) oder irgendein beharrtes Viech, dass den Film auch nicht gerade besser macht.

Yeoh, deren Rolle insgesamt mehr hergibt, besticht durch ihre gewohnte Erhabenheit, der auch schreckliche Dialoge nichts anhaben können. Ohne mit der Wimper zu zucken, spielt sie ihre Filmtochter Isabella Leong an die Wand, deren Hollywood-Debüt im großen und ganzen blass bleibt. Hongkong-Veteran Anthony Wong hat auch schon in besseren (und vielen noch schlechteren) Filmen mitgespielt. Da sich seine erstaunlich große Rolle auf das Schreien von Befehlen, die Erklärung des Plots und eine erinnerungswürdige Todesszene beschränkt, die einem durch Mark und Bein geht, kann auch er seinen bereits in unzähligen Variationen gespielten Bösewichten keine neue Facette hinzufügen.

So bleibt einem am Ende anscheinend nur die Aufzählung von Mängeln, denen Cohen kaum etwas positives entgegen zu setzen hat. Immerhin erreicht der Film einen mäßigen Unterhaltungswert, der immer dann zum Halten kommt, wenn Rick und Co. irgendwie anfangen zu reden und man nur noch mit einem gepflegten Zusammenzucken reagieren kann.

Als großer Sommerblockbuster wird Die Mumie: Das Grabmal des Drachenkaisers sicher auch in Deutschland seine Zuschauer finden und das nötige Geld für einen vierten Teil einspielen. Wer dagegen Jet Li und Michelle Yeoh kämpfen sehen will, sollte sich The Tai-Chi Master besorgen. Um den von der dritten Mumie verursachten Augenkrebs zu kurieren, nehme man des Weiteren eine Dosis Li zu sich (vielleicht Once Upon a Time in China oder Fist of Legend) gepaart mit etwas Yeoh (Tiger and Dragon oder sogar The Heroic Trio) und einem gut aufgelegten bösen Wong (Big Bullet und für Hartgesottene: Love to Kill).

Mit anderen Worten: So ziemlich alles ist ansehnlicher als diese eklatante Verschwendung asiatischer Talente durch einen miserablen amerikanischen Film. Die genannten Empfehlungen vereinigen in sich genau das, was das Hongkong-Kino einmal ausgemacht hat. Und dieses wusste immerhin, wie man das Actionpotenzial eines Jet Li ertragreich nutzt. Ist man unbedingt auf einen Trip amerikanischer Produzenten ins chinesische Milieu aus, so ist Kung Fu Panda garantiert die lohnendere Wahl. Der ist übrigens auch ein Hit in China.

(Erstmals veröffentlicht in der Online-Filmdatenbank am 07.08.2008 )

Kritiken ausgewählter Filme aus der Sonderverwaltungszone Hongkong.

Ein lesenswerter Artikel des Time Magazine über den Zustand der Hongkonger Filmindustrie.

Das Wiederbeleben von Mumien hat seine ganz eigenen Gesetze. Wer schon einmal mit dem Gedanken gespielt hat, hier tätig zu werden, sollte bedenken, dass mit jemandem, der nach mehreren tausend Jahren aus dem Halbschlaf gerissen wird, nicht besonders gut Kirschen essen ist – zumal der ganzen Sache in aller Regel ein ziemlich gemeiner Fluch vorangegangen ist, der nicht unwesentlich zu einer Menge angestauter Aggressionen beigetragen hat. Hinzu kommt, dass auch bei bester Einbalsamierungsarbeit kaum von unversehrter Körperlichkeit die Rede sein kann, und so ist der Anblick, der sich da bietet, nicht gerade der angenehmste. Paradoxer Weise haben die Späterweckten allerdings enorme Kräfte (nicht selten magischer Natur), vor denen man sich tunlichst in acht nehmen sollte. Der Pharaonenpriester Imhotep etwa, erstmals 1999 (bzw. 1921), dann 2001 (respektive 1933, einem auch sonst ereignisreichen Jahr) noch einmal wiedererweckt, hatte keine Schwierigkeiten, Sandstürme und Wassermassen sowohl wirkungsvoll in Gang zu setzen als auch zu allem Überfluss noch mit seinem Konterfei zu versehen. Genützt hat ihm das am Ende zwar alles nichts, aber Eindruck schinden ließ sich damit schon. Der Drachenkaiser nun, im Shanghai des Jahres 1947 (oder 2008 eben) von einer Handvoll verblendeter Paramilitärs aus dem Reich der Scheintoten zurückgeholt, will da keineswegs zurückstehen und befehligt deshalb nicht nur gerade mal so eben alle vier Elemente, sondern ist auch noch in der Lage, beliebig seine Gestalt zu wandeln und zum Beispiel als dreiköpfiger Drache für gehörige Unruhe zu sorgen. Können die O`Connells, bekanntermaßen umfassend mumienerfahren und eigentlich schon im Ruhestand, da auch dieses Mal wieder mithalten und das Schlimmste (die Weltherrschaft durch eben jenen Wiederauferstandenen und seine ebenso entmumifizierte Armee nämlich) gerade noch so verhindern? - Wer sich das ernsthaft fragt, ist selbstredend im falschen Film. Wichtiger zu klären wäre vielmehr: Lässt sich das Konzept der „Mummy“-Serie (kein Kosewort für Mütter übrigens) auch beim dritten Mal noch wirkungsvoll und verlustfrei auf die Leinwand bringen? Funktioniert der Film auch ohne Rachel Weisz, Arnold Vosloo, Oded Fehr und Stephen Sommers (zumindest auf dem Regiestuhl)? Und nicht zuletzt: Haben alle Abenteuer-Archäologen erwachsene Söhne, die in ihre Fußstapfen treten? Fragen über Fragen. Hier ein paar Antworten.

Warum die US-Kritik den Film mit dem langen Titel („The Mummy – Tomb of the Dragon Emperor / Die Mumie – Das Grabmal des Drachenkaisers“) nahezu unisono zum größten Unsinn des Kinosommers 2008 erklärt hat, bleibt wohl ihr Geheimnis. Die Zuschauer jedenfalls hat es, wie so oft, wenig interessiert, und so stand einer Topplatzierung am Startwochenende lediglich der Mann aus Gotham City im Weg, und Regisseur Rob Cohen fantasiert schon direkt mal von einem vierten Teil, der das Abenteurerpärchen mit ambitioniertem Sohn und vertrotteltem Schwager möglicherweise nach Lateinamerika führen könnte (der großen Menge wiedererweckbarer Aztekenmumien wegen). Das alles sagt nun über vorhandene oder fehlende Qualitäten des Films selber natürlich herzlich wenig aus, und so muss man sich schon fragen, wieso ihn so ziemlich niemand außer Roger Ebert offiziell zu mögen scheint. Dazu ein Flashback.

1998 war außer einigen Hardcore-Fans (und Harrison Ford, wie man hört) eigentlich niemand mehr von einer Rückkehr des Begründers aller modernen Schatzjägerei überzeugt, und so schien den Jungs von Universal diejenige Idee eine gute zu sein, mit der Stephen Sommers das lange Zeit auf Eis gelegene Remake des studioeigenen Mullbindenklassikers in die Gänge bringen wollte. Anstatt nämlich das Horrorpotential des Originals von 1932 (das Boris Karloff ein Jahr nach „Frankenstein“ endgültig zum Typecast-Monster verdammte) auf kleiner Flamme von lächerlichen 10 Millionen Dollar noch einmal aufzukochen, und sich damit in die Reihe anderer Bewerber einzuordnen (Clive Barker, George A. Romero, Joe Dante), schlug der bis dato auf kleinere Produktionen festgelegte Sommers vor, die Story des Originals doch einfach als MacGuffin eines neuen Indiana-Jones-Ripoffs zu verwenden, und damit die Akzentuierung deutlich zu verlagern. Das kam an, und Remake-Initiator James Jacks konnte die zu erwartenden Dollars vermutlich bereits riechen – zurecht, wie sich bald zeigte, denn die problemlos durchgeboxte Budgeterhöhung auf rund 80 Millionen zahlte sich mehr als aus. Bis heute hat alleine der erste Mummy-Film eine knappe halbe Milliarde eingespielt, und das schnell nachgeschossene Sequel stand seinem Vorgänger in nichts nach. Sommers war saniert, etabliert und hatte ein neues Franchise auf den Markt geworfen. Ein Spin-Off („The Scorpion King“ und „The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior“), eine reichlich misslungene Animationsserie (“The Mummy: The Animated Series” bzw. “Secrets of the Medjai”), jede Menge Merchandising und eine “Revenge of the Mummy”-Achterbahn in den Universal Themenparks – soviel Nachbeben hatte zuvor noch kein Indy-Epigone erzielt.

Das muss einen nicht wundern, denn die Formel war klüger und die Ausführung aufwendiger als alle anderen Versuche zuvor. Während echte Gurken wie etwa „King Salomon’s Mines“ (mit Richard Chamberlain!) oder „High Road to China“ (mit Tom Selleck) nicht nur mit Low-Budget-Voraussetzungen ins Rennen geschickt worden waren, sondern auch kläglich daran scheiterten, einen eigenen Indy-Charakter zu etablieren, setzte Sommers für seine Schatzjäger-Geschichte vielmehr auf ein ganzes Ensemble mit einem zunächst recht widerborstigen Pärchen im Zentrum, das mehr von Nick und Nora hatte (aus der „Thin Man“-Serie) als von Indy und Marion (oder gar Willie). Nebenfiguren wie der Medjai-Führer Ardeth Bay (Oded Fehr) oder Evies Bruder Jonathan (John Hannah) als ständiger Comic Relief, sowie vor allem die eigentliche Mumie, Imhotep selbst (Arnold Vosloo mit dem Auftreten und dem Aussehen eines modernen Yul Brynner) taten ihr Übriges. Die Fortsetzung holte (in weiser Vorwegnahme des zentralen Schachzugs von Lucas´ viertem Indy-Film) gar noch einen vorlauten Sohn der O`Connells aus der Trickkiste hervor und fügte der Story einfach mal so einen zweiten untoten Gegenspieler hinzu (Dwayne Johnson als Skorpionkönig mit Motion Capturing in echter Beta-Testphase). Hinzu kamen enorme Schauwerte, antike Paläste, Heerscharen von Anubiskriegern, einstürzende Bauten, Sandstürme, Falltüren, fliegende Schiffe und endlos vieles mehr, das mit großem Vergnügen vorführte, wie einfach Filmemachen doch sein kann, wenn man ein großes Budget und jede Menge entfesselter Fabulierlust zur Verfügung hat.

Was sollte sich daran also im jetzigen dritten Aufguss der Reihe geändert haben? Zunächst mal kann man froh sein, dass „Das Grabmal des Drachenkaisers“ in China und nicht erneut in Ägypten ausgehoben wird, denn die erneute Wiederbelebung von Imhotep und seiner wenig dankbaren Geliebten bedurfte bereits im zweiten Teil einiges an Anstrengung, um die ganze Sache nicht allzu sehr nach dem Remake eines Remakes aussehen zu lassen. Verraten von seiner großen Liebe, stürzte sich der kahlköpfige Priester am Schluss des Films selber in den Tod und gab damit auch alle Motivation für ein weiteres irdisches Herumwandeln endgültig aus der Hand. Ein neuer Wiederkehrer mit Rache- und Machtgelüsten musste also her, und da kam der Erfinder der chinesischen Mauer ganz recht. Vermutlich waren es auch finanzielle Anreize, die den Blick in Richtung Fernost gehen ließen, denn der Anteil chinesischer Crewmitglieder des Films überschreitet denjenigen der Amerikaner bei weitem. Unabhängig davon aber erwies sich das neue kulturelle Umfeld auch als fruchtbar für einen spannenden neuen Look, von dem die Serie ausgesprochen profitiert. Von den staubigen Ausgrabungsstätten voller Falltüren und geheimer Tötungsmechanismen (hier kommt die Serie ihrem großen Vorbild zum ersten Mal gefährlich nahe) über die buntbeleuchteten Straßen von Shanghai (wo Jonathan den prunkvollen Nachtclub „Imhotep“ betreibt), die lawinenlastigen Schneehöhen des Himalaya und die paradiesischen CGI-Träume des sagenumwobenen Shangri-La gibt der Film alles, was er an Kulissen auftreiben konnte.

Was Geschichte und Charaktere betrifft, hat sich das „Smallville“-erfahrene Autorenteam Alfred Gough und Miles Millar einiges einfallen lassen, um die beiden Vorgängerfilme möglichst hinter sich zu lassen, ohne dabei die Regeln der Serie auch nur im Ansatz zu verletzen. Alex, der mittlerweile den Kinderschuhen entwachsene Sohn der O`Connells, tritt offensichtlich lieber in die Fußstapfen seiner abenteuerlustigen Eltern als eine College-Karriere zu verfolgen, und so ist er es auch, der das titelgebende Grabmal entdeckt. Überhaupt nimmt er den beiden einiges an (Action-) Arbeit ab und tut es damit seinem jüngeren Filmkollegen Mutt Williams gleich. Das Verhältnis zu seinen Eltern ist natürlich (!) nicht ganz problemfrei (zunächst), und vor allem mit Vater Rick (Brendan Fraser trotz Sohn kein Stück erwachsen) müssen schon mal Länge und Schusskraft der eigenen Waffen verglichen werden. Luke Ford ist ein bisschen arg kreuzbrav in seiner Rolle und wäre seinen Gegnern aus der Unterwelt alleine sicher noch nicht gewachsen – von einem ganzen Film, den er auf seinen Schultern tragen sollte, ganz abgesehen. Umso mehr überstrahlt ihn die geheimnisvolle Lin an seiner Seite (Isabella Leong, in Hongkong bereits ein echter Shooting-Star und 2007 auf der Berlinale in dem taiwanesischen Homosexuellendrama „Spider Lilies“ aufgefallen), mit deren Präsenz er schlichtweg nicht mithalten kann. Noch faszinierender aber ist die zweite neue Frauenfigur, die sich Gough und Millar ausgedacht haben, und Michelle Yeoh, die schon James Bond mühelos die Show stehlen konnte, schenkt ihr mehr Tiefe als irgendeinem anderen Charakter der ganzen Serie (nicht weniger beeindruckend fällt fast gleichzeitig ihre Leistung in Mathieu Kassovitz´ atemberaubender Dantec-Verfilmung „Babylon A.D.“ aus).

Einziger echter Wermutstropfen ist nicht nur das Fehlen von Rachel Weisz, sondern fast vielmehr noch ihre Ersetzung durch die völlig deplazierte Maria Bello. Wie sehr vor allem Weisz zum Witz der ersten beiden Filme beitrug und an die Stelle eines bloß routinierten Nebeneinanders mit ihrem Partner einen Hauch echten Screwballs setzen konnte, so sehr erstickt das bemühte, aber fehlgeleitete Spiel ihrer Nachfolgerin fast zwangsweise alles Leben der Figur. Zugegeben, Bello ist in einer kaum zu meisternden Lage, und die Autoren haben ihr, wissend, dass die Fans Schwierigkeiten mit der Neubesetzung haben würden, eine entgegenkommend selbstreferentielle Rechtfertigung ins Drehbuch geschrieben (Evie ist jetzt überraschender Weise Bestsellerautorin zweier Mummy-Romane, und als sie anlässlich einer Lesung gefragt wird, ob die weibliche Hauptfigur mit ihr identisch sei, kann sie guten Gewissens antworten, dass es sich dabei nun wirklich eine gänzlich andere Person handle), aber für den Zuschauer, der die beiden Vorgängerfilme kennt, geht leider eine Menge verloren. Von der liebenswert naiven Ungeschicktheit, mit der Weisz ihre Rolle beseelt hatte, ist nichts übrig, und die Chemie zwischen Bello und Fraser stimmt einfach kein Stück. Das ist bedauerlich, aber eben auch nicht mehr zu ändern.

Ansonsten jedoch steckt auch dieser Teil der Serie wieder gewohnt voller bunter Jahrmarktattraktionen, und mehr will das „Grab des Drachenkaisers“ auch nicht leisten. Rob Cohen dirigiert das Spektakel souverän und mit sichtlichem Vergnügen, und wer am Ende sitzen bleibt, um auch die beschwingt anzuschauenden End Credits noch zu verfolgen, kann guten Gewissens sein, ein paar Euro sinnvoll investiert zu haben. Wem das alles nicht reicht, dem ist eben nicht zu helfen.

Artikel © 2008 Thomas Lenz. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.
Filmplakat: Universal Pictures International Germany GmbH

Dalam film sekuel terakhir The Mummy kali ini, Jet Li melakoni seorang raja Disnati Qin. Sang raja rakus kekuasaan, mencaplok daerah mana saja, serta membentengi wilayahnya dengan membangun tembok raksasa. Dengan perbudakan. Setiap jasad musuhnya dia kubur di bawah tembok itu. Sang raja takut mati, berambisi untuk hidup abadi.

Film The Mummy kali ini kayaknya hampir menyaingi Indiana Jones. Ada kesamaan kisah: petualangan arkeolog.

Nampaknya Jet Li mulai tak alergi untuk peran antagonis. Pertama kali nampaknya dia berperan jahat untuk Lethal Weapon IV, main bareng Mel Gibson. Pada The Warlords, dia mengkhianati Andy Lau, coba merebut istri saudara sesumpah darah itu. Nasibnya pungkas di ujung belati Takeshi Kaneshiro. Ketiganya mengikat persaudaraan lewat sebuah sumpah.

Kali ini, dia jadi seorang kaisar bengis. Kaisar Han alias Kaisar Naga yang menguasai lima unsur di bumi ini yang dipercayai oleh bangsa Cina: api, air, kayu, logam, serta tanah. Keinginannya menguasai seluruh dunia. Penaklukan demi penaklukan dan penjajahan demi penjajahan dia lakoni.

Hingga dia takut pada satu hal: jadi tua dan mati. Dia ingin abadi. Dia cari seorang ahli mantra. Penyihir abadi itu adalah Zi Yuan yang diperankan oleh Michellle Yeoh. Michelle juga jadi narator kisah ini. Kaisar kepincut pada kecantikan Zi Yuan. Namun si penyihir justru jatuh hati pada jenderal kepercayaan kaisar, Ming.

Lewat tipu daya, kaisar menghukum mati jenderal dan hendak menguasai Zi Yuan. Lewat mantranya, Zi mengutuk kaisar beserta ribuan pasukannya jadi patung lempung atau terakota. Mereka jadi mumi lempung. Jangan sampai kaisar ini dibangunkan lagi.

Alur cerita bisa ditebak. Ricochet O'Connell beserta sang istri, Eve, terlibat dalam petualangan lantaran kebangkitan sang mumi. Mereka kudu menghentikan kekejaman Jet Li. Ric masih diperankan Brendan Fraser. Satu tokoh muncul, Alex O'Connell, anak Ric dan Eve yang sudah dewasa.

Alex-lah yang menggali reruntuhan kerajaan Han dan menemukan patung-patung terakota itu. Alex terlibat asmara dengan anak Zi Yuan, Lin yang juga abadi, berusia 2.000 tahun. Lin menjaga kuburan kaisar itu agar jangan bangkit lagi.

Terlanjur, sang kaisar bangkit lantaran ambisi seorang jenderal Cina, Yang. Sang jenderal modern itu diperankan oleh Anthony Wong. Dia hendak mewujudkan kejayaan Cina di bawah kaisar kuno. Dia rela mengabdi pada Kaisar Han.

Yang bikin saya agak heran adalah adegan kejar-mengejar di padang salju Himalaya. Udara boleh dingin. Namun uap air tak muncul dari mulut para tokoh. Kentara, mereka hanya di sebuah studio. "Kok gak ada uapnya yah? Padahal dingin penuh salju," komentar Mur yang nonton bareng saya.

Lin punya kawan, tiga ekor yeti, si makhluk salju yang kini masih jadi mitos keberadaannya. Yeti inilah yang membantu Lin dan konco-konco menghadapi Kaisar Han dan Jenderal Yang. Akhir cerita bisa ditebak. Kaisar kalah dengan ditikam sebuah belati ajaib tepat pada jantungnya.

Yang bikin saya kurang puas adalah aksi laga Jet Li yang kurang eksploratif. Jurus-jurus kungfu tak nampak, seperti pada duet Jet Li dengan Jacky Chan pada The Forbidden Kingdom. Perkelahian tetap ada sebagai menu utama film petualangan. Namun sayang, kebanyakan diambil dengan jarak dekat. Gemulai jurus bela diri ala Cina ini tak nampak banyak.

Forbidden Kingdom rilis beberapa bulan lalu. Nampaknya tahun ini Jet Li terlibat dalam sejumlah film besar.

Prestories yang cukup panjang, sekitar 15 menit-an untuk menceritakan kisah awal dari kaisar Cina yang akhirnya dikutuk membuat durasi film 2 jam terasa kurang lama. Selain itu hal-hal yang kurang penting seperti Rick yang sedang memancing dan Evelyne yang membacakan bukunya untuk penggemar membuat film ini makin terasa pendek saja. Mungkin hal tersebut sengaja ditampilkan untuk mencairkan suasana yang mulai tegang setelah prestories selesai atau lebih tepatnya ketika kaisar dikutuk oleh Yi Zuan.

Ketegangan memang dimulai lagi ketika Alex menemukan kuburan kaisar Cina yang dibantu oleh Wilson. Banyaknya jebakan hingga membuat 2 pembantu Alex mati mengerikan. Ada yang tekena asam beracun dan bahkan ada yang terkena tembakan panah otomatis dari suatu mesin yang diciptakan pada zaman kaisar. Yang saya heran, kok bisa ada mesin yang sudah ribuan tahun lamanya gak digunakan, tiba-tiba menghempaskan tembakan panah yang begitu banyak. Seperti hal nya senjata mesin yang melepaskan begitu banyak peluru, hanya saja senjata kaisar kali ini melepaskan anak panah. Memangnya gak karatan yak, lha wong senjatanya terbuat dari besi. Jangan-jangan di zaman kaisar sudah ada brasso yak, yang bisa bikin tahan karat, hehehe…

Seperti The Mummy sebelumnya, ada saja teman Rick yang dimunculkan yang berprofesi sebagai penerbang. Kali ini teman Rick yang bernama Mad Dog yang berprofesi sebagai penerbang. Tak ketinggalan pula Jonathan yang setia mendampingi dari The Mummy sebelumnya. Walaupun dua orang ini tampak konyol, peran mereka untuk membantu Rick, Evelyne dan Alex tidak dapat dipandang sebelah mata. Malah peran mereka membuat film ini memberikan bumbu-bumbu joke yang membuat film ini sedikit ringan.

Adegan-adegan di tengah kota Shanghai antara mummi Kaisar Cina, Jenderal Yang, Rick, Evelyn, Alex dan Lin benar-benar membuat saya deg-deg-an plus geregetan. Bagaimana tidak, Rick dkk hanya bermodalkan senjata api dan pisau keramat yang dibawa oleh Lin, sedangkan Kaisar punya tenaga gaib yang dengan mudahnya mengendalikan mummi kuda dan benda-benda lain. Namanya juga mummi, ada hal-hal aneh yang gak masuk akal, seperti kuda yang kepalanya putus namun masih tetap bergerak bahkan berlari. Selain itu, ada hal aneh ketika Lin tertembak oleh Jenderal Yang tetapi dia gak terluka sama sekali. Jawabannya bisa dilihat ketika Rick dkk menemukan Shangri-La.

Adegan lainnya, ketika terjadi pertempuran di kuil untuk menemukan jalan ke Shangri-La hingga akhirnya menemukan jalan ke Shangri-La. Shangri-La, tempat kolam keabadian berada. Siapapun yang berendam di dalamnya akan hidup abadi. Nahhh hal inilah membuat Lin abadi dan ternyata dia sudah berumur ribuan tahun. Waaa, kira-kira asyik gak yak bisa hidup ribuan tahun. Tapi kan gak mungkin, hehehe. Ada kejutan lainnya ketika sampai di Shangrila, ada seseorang selain Lin yang juga telah hidup ribuan tahun. Mau tahu siapa, nonton aja yak, hehehe.

Yang agak mengesalkan adalah cara matinya Kaisar, bayangkan saja (*hayoo mari kita bayangkan*) setelah pertarungan antara pasukan kaisar yang dihidupkan kembali dengan prajurit yang mati penasaran termasuk Jenderal Ming, ternyata kaisar (Jet Li) mati hanya dengan ditusuk. Gak keren banget dah.

Selain itu endingnya film ini pun berada di lantai dansa, yang menampilkan Alex dengan Lin dan juga Rick dengan Evelyn yang sedang berdansa. Ending yang gak keren juga.

Overall jika ingin nonton film ini siap-siap lah geregetan dan deg-deg-an, karena film ini lebih banyak menampilkan adegan pertempuran, dan gak kerasa tiba-tiba film ini telah habis.

PS: Image dipinjam tanpa ijin dari Yahoo Movies,

A Mummy movie that makes Love Guru look golden! How about that!

I'm going to say it out straight because there simply isn't any sugar-coated way to say it: For what it was worth, the Mummy franchise was good while it lasted! It's time to lock down the tombs and walk away! If The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor has not been a rude awakening to this fact, then I don't know what is!

There! That wasn't too hash was it?

Rob Cohen's Mummy, the third, unfortunately falls in the category of mundane trilogies that lack any substance or appeal. To be brutally honest, The Midnight Meat Train should have been given more time in theaters than ToTDE (Tomb of The Dragon Emperor) because it simply deserved so! This movie deserves a Direct to DVD release. Period!

You begin to fear you have wasted precious amount of your hard earned dough right from the start when you sit through 11 minutes of voice over commentary on who is who and why and how and when and where and this and that and those and them and theirs and not theirs and ... yes, it was THAT complicated a narration! As simple as the story line actually is, they could have done without it and everyone would have gone along through the movie with casual nods of 'oh yeah, ok, that's how that happens to be!'

A bird's eye view of the story reveals the same premise as its first two movies. You got this bunch of good folks who discover something ancient and dark and are pursued by some bad folks hell bent on acquiring the said artifact to awaken something nasty and evil. et viola! We have a Mummy movie on our hands! Does the phrase 'same crap, different loo' mean any thing to Cohen? Apparently not. I have tried hard to understand how could a story-line such as this could claim to outrank The Dark Knight. It's like a bunch of ideas were thrown in a bowl and 10 were pulled out randomly. Cohen probably then put his team to work to bridge the gaps between the 10 plots. I can almost hear him say, 'I don't care about how you do it or how confusing, absurd, or ridiculous it will sound or look. Just connect these dots!'  Is that how we make movies now?

If anything, it will be this very element of 'everything imaginable included' that could help the movie stay afloat. With an audience that beams with excitement when they see Yetis, Dragons, Mummies, Skeleton armies and several other things stuffed in one movie, yea, this movie could perhaps breath for a while before slumping down.

The chemistry between Brendan and Maria's characters did not shine as it did when Rachel Weisz portrayed Evelyn in the last two movies. If it was expected that such a change would work positive for the production (like it did for The Dark Knight where Katie Holmes was replaced by Maggie Gyllenhall), it can be comfortably concluded that the plan back fired! Maria Bello's performance was as dismal as it could have been. Jonathan was up to the same recylcled comic strip antics we have seen him do in the past two films. Nothing new to offer there.

Coming to Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh. What about them? There wasn't much to see of the two in the movie! With their almost silent roles, the two were pushed in the back drop and it never really looked like it was about the Dragon Emperor. It was all about Fraser. Sad.

The legacy of the Mummy has been severely tarnished with a tardy trilogy. Rachel Weisz was wise to part with the franchise. The movie even begins with the notion that Mr. and Mrs. O'Connell have retired. All signs inside and outside the production pointed out that The Mummy has run full course. And when Evelyn's brother, Jonathan, himself said the lines, "I've seen enough mummies to last a lifetime!", I could almost hear a silent echo of 'Amen' resonate from the very walls of the cinema hall. 

Movielicious Ratings: [ 3/10 ]

See image gallery for The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor here

I don't have a lot to say about this film, other than 1) I don't regret spending $5 on it at the a.m. cinema. 2) I probably won't watch it again, unless it was on TBS or something, and nothing else was on. 3) It kept me entertained the length of the movie, and didn't seem too long or anything. 4) Brendan Fraser and Maria Bello old enough to be parents of a full-grown adult? Puh-lease.

That is all.

-La momia: la tumba del Emperador Dragón: he aquí que una franquicia que parecía muerta tras una entretenida primera entrega y una infumable segunda parte se reactiva sin cambiar al héroe (Brendan Fraser), colocándole chica nueva (María Bello) y dándole toque renovado, a base de mudar el escenario de Egipto al Lejano Oriente, con incorporaciones ad hoc (Jet Li, Michelle Yeoh); es probable, y fácil, que supere a su predecesora, lo cual animará a más de uno a ir a pasar un rato de coca-cola y palomitas al cine.

-Hellion, el ángel caído: vale La Profecía (la original) era tan buena que dan ganas de copiar su rollo de niño diabólico, ¿pero a costa de perder la dignidad haciendo un bodrio?

-Dejad de quererme: francesa, drama, cuota europea.

THE MUMMY - TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR (Estados Unidos - Alemania - Canadá, Aventuras, 112 Minutos)
Dirección:

Valoración: 4/10

Resumen: Han pasado años desde la última aventura de los O'Connell y las cosas han cambiado mucho para la pareja. Rick sobrevive como puede en la tranquila campiña inglesa, mientras que Evelyn ha comenzado una carrera como escritora. Sin embargo su anodina nueva vida queda atrás cuando su hijo Alex hace un gran descubrimiento: la tumbra del malvado emperador Dragón, un gobernante víctima de una maldición milenaria que vuelve a la vida en busca de venganza. Ambos viajarán hacia China para ayudar a su vástago a detener al resucitado emperador, cuyos poderes amenazan con destruir el mundo.

Crítica: Encontrar la fórmula del éxito conlleva el deber de mantenerla a lo largo del tiempo. Modificarla es un hecho inevitable que sin embargo, tiene sus riesgos. Si se opta por mezclar una y otra vez los mismos componentes, confiando en el éxito original, el resultado corre el peligro de caer en la repetición y finalmente evaporarse. Si se elige añadir nuevos ingredientes, el riesgo es entonces alterar tanto el producto inicial que se convierta en algo irreconocible. A la habitual mezcla entre homenaje, entretenimiento, humor, acción y gran sentido de la autoparodia con la que La Momia encontró su lugar entre el cine de aventuras, se ha sumado ahora -a la enésima potencia- el tono familiar. Lo que en principio es un punto a favor de atraer más público a las salas, es sin embargo golpe de gracia a la limitada calidad cinematográfica que se esperaba de este título. Este factor, unido a la falta de frescura del resto de ingredientes, una apática María Bello en su intento de suplir a la gigantesca Rachel Weisz, unos yetis -¿¡yetis!?- convertidos en solución para todo, una trama por momentos incoherente y una narración cargada de altibajos, es determinante en el deterioro definitivo de la franquicia. Por si eso fuera poco, esta tercera parte parece haberse propuesto ser más Indiana Jones que la propia saga del hombre del sombrero y el látigo, cargando su metraje de incontables referencias a la trilogía original del triunvirato Spielberg-Lucas-Ford. Desde arqueólogos atravesados por trampas, pozos de almas, trajes copiados al milímetro, numeritos musicales y persecuciones en la ancestral China, hasta padres heridos necesitados de medicación inmortal, sidecares, ruedas mortales y chicas atrapadas en tiendas de campaña. Un insistente homenaje que evidencia aún más la notable decadencia de una franquicia que ha perdido su sitio y cuya fórmula parece ajada y demasiado artificial.

There was too much slapstick, infantile humor that was never funny at any point - now I'm wondering if they ever were meant to be funny. Luke Ford looks too old to be Fraser's son, I don't buy it. And the battle between the clay armies and the skeleton warriors was just too ridiculous to watch.

Why Brendan Fraser is continuously signing up for the sequels is beyond me. Brendan, Michelle, and Jet, what the hell were you thinking? Doesn't anybody read the script first before doing a movie?

Vuelve la familia O'Connell al completo (o eso nos hacen creer) para rescatar al mundo de las  momias devueltas a la vida con ínfulas de dioses para dominar el mundo bajo un mandato cruel y despiadado.

De esto iba la primera, la segunda y por último esta nueva secuela de la película que mas o menos encumbró a Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz y Stephen Sommers a la fama. Pero esta claro que en esta ecuación para la tercera parte, faltan 2 nombres, y eso se nota, y mucho.

El planteamiento o la base es la misma. Tenemos un comienzo que nos sitúa miles de años atras. Una pequeña historia sobre el villano al que se enfrentarán durante toda la película. Nos muestran lo malo, cruel y aterrador que es. Y sinceramente, hasta ahí bien (no olvidemos que se trata de una película, por lo que no es cuestión de analizar si lo que cuentan sucedió o no en la realidad).

Pero llega el momento de la verdad, el encuentro con personajes que ya conocíamos y que quizás les teniamos cierto aprecio por su simpatía. Y nos encontramos con una Evelyn (Ivy) sosa, insípida y repulsiva que no hará precisamente las delicias del público que les ha seguido durante las entregas anteriores. Maria Bello (y perdonden los seguidores de esta actriz que generalmente sí que da el tipo, aunque esta no sea la ocasión) se hace del todo insufrible desde la primera línea de su guión. No sólo nos han cambiado a la actriz protagonista, sino también a su personaje.

Mientras en las anteriores entregas, los O'Connell eran personas aparentemente normales superados por las circunstancias, ahora son anodinos y simples que han dejado la vida de "espías" durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, y buscan aventuras a pesar de negarlo repetidas veces. Sí, en la segunda al principio, teníamos más de lo mismo, pero no resulta tan patético como en esta (pincha aqui para leer el análisis de La Momia).

Es más, la Sra. O'Connell se ha convertido en una novelista de éxito de sus hazañas de heroína (al mas puro estilo Joan Wilder en "Tras el corazón verde" y "La joya del Nilo", vaya copia!!!).

Pero esto es una película, y sus protagonistas tendrán lo que tanto anhelan, aventuras. Y si de por medio está una momia, aunque sea china y emperador, pues mejor que mejor. Pero si además, les metemos más efectos especiales, varios monstruitos estilo "yetis", "dragones de tres cabezas" y "animal con patas indescifrable de conocer", pues para que queremos más.

Viajaremos mucho más que en las anteriores películas, ya que comenzaremos en Londres, para trasladarnos a Shangai, ir al Himalaya (a hacerse amiguetes de los yetis, por supuesto!!!) y volveremos al yacimiento arqueológico donde el hijo de los O'Connell (Alex, Luke Ford) descubrió la tumba del Emperador Dragón, y donde éste mantiene a sus guerreros que también cayeron bajo la maldición de la bruja.

Como ya he dicho mucho mas de lo mismo. Más gags (algunos bastante divertidos, que no todo es tan malo en esta película), más efectos especiales, más acción, más tiros, más armas, mas poderes del malo, más muertes (o supuestas muertes), más familia.........

Parece que la fórmula funciona, y por eso se sigue explotando, a pesar de que en el reparto no esten todos los que eran. Hubiera sido más factible, que la Sra. O'Connell hubiera muerto por causas naturales (y como acabó perdiéndose el "Libro de los muertos" en al segunda) y que la acción y la película hubiese continuado sin ella, a tener a una nueva protagonista que nunca alcanzará a lo que hizo la anterior (se nota que estoy particularmente disgustada con esto, ¿no?).

En definitiva, hubiera sido una película bastante más aceptable de lo que es, si no fuese una tercera parte, si no bebiera de otras películas más antiguas (véase "La joya del Nilo" por poner un ejemplo, o la misma "La momia"). Es un refrito con protagonistas ya conocidos, con una historia antigua relativamente creible pero no tan atractiva como las que contaban del antiguo Egipto. La película me ha dejado unas sensaciones agridulces. Ya que como peli, no esta mal (he visto taquillazos este año mucho peores), pero como una parte de La Momia deja mucho que desear. Ir sin expectativas al cine, a pasar un rato entretenido (que conste que lo es, yo no me he aburrido ni un sólo momento en las casi 2 horas que dura la película), pero no espereis a esa familia que llenó las pantallas hace ya 7 años.

Para leer la ficha de la película, pincha aqui

Karelia

The overall plot starts off simple as the husband and wife exploring team of Rick O’Connell and Evelyn (Brendan Frasier and Maria Bello taking over for Rachel Weisz) become bored with their retirement. They are thrust back into the thick of things when they head to Shanghai after being tricked into a scheme that revives a 2000 year old emperor, played by Jet Li in a part that, unfortunately, plays like an extended cameo. At the same time, they are reacquainted with their now grown-up son Alex (Luke Ford) who has entered the family business.

Director Cohen gets things out of the gate fine as I felt both involved and entertained for the first 45 minutes or so but, like Sommers before him, Cohen ultimately falls for the temptation of solely relying on CGI effects instead of a story to move things along. That’s when things start to unwind. After a dead spot or two we’re introduced to abominable snowmen, a three-headed dragon and a never ending army of undead that’s neither overly impressive nor entertaining. Frasier, who was very effective in the first two Mummy films, seems to be going through the motions this time around and the best line the screenwriters could come up with for him is “Here we go again.” As for Bello (History of Violence), she gives it her all but doesn’t have the same chemistry that Weisz did with Frasier in prior outings (although Bello gets in a great one-liner at the story’s beginning, giving the audience a sly wink that she’s not the same actress playing the part). Luke Ford as their son is okay but his character’s personality is neither here nor there. Michelle Yeoh (Tomorrow Never Dies) as a double-crossed Sorceress has a few good moments (one involving a sword fight with Jet Li that was good but could have been better) but she, like many here (especially Jet Li), are underused. Overall, for me, this Mummy Movie is a mixed bag. While I enjoyed the first 45 minutes, the rest of the movie sort of goes into an uninspired cruise control that ultimately makes this third entry not worth your $9 admission price. It’s far from awful but, considering its reported $175 million budget, I expected so much more!  It's only 2.5 out of 5 ZOMBIES for me.

Yep, I have no idea where his front foot is either. It's mummy magic.

Movies are almost synonymous with one type of food; popcorn. Summertime is equally synonymous with one kind of movie; popcorn cinema. This would be the type of movie where you walk in, sit down with an overly large tub of possibly-buttered delight in your lap and shut the brain off. Just watch the action, be wowed by the explosions and chuckle at the one-liners you would only joke about, but never believe you would actually hear someone say on screen. Now it may sound like I'm mocking these flicks, but I'm not at all, we eat these up with both hands every year and this summer is no different. How do you think Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull made such a ridiculous amount of money? So, tonight I bore witness to another lasting franchise in the candy coated adventure world and it's new arrival, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

The first two movies were helmed by franchise creator Steven Sommers, but this time the reins were handed over to another Universal Studios master-at-arms, Rob Cohen. Rob is no stranger to the multi-sequeled storyline, but usually he's at the front of it instead of coming in during round three. He launched such franchises as The Fast and the Furious, xXx and The Skulls. He also directed one of the more stand out martial arts movies of the early 1990's, Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story. With all those credits on his rap sheet, you'd figure this project would be akin to giving a professional conductor one of Beethoven's classics, a walk in the park. Yet this stroll down popcorn lane proved to be a more windy road than imagined.

The story takes place many years after the last chapter and Rick and Evie's son, Alex has taken on the family business of digging up and uncovering the most dangerous of mummified enemies. This new foe happens to be an ancient Chinese emperor who once controlled the five elements and tried to take over the world, which seems to be a bit of a habit for these mummies. Once he is reawakened, the ride begins and we are off once again, racing around the continent to try and stop him from becoming completely immortal. The basic premise works and personally I was glad to move the location out of Egypt, since I felt they had played that tune as long as they could. Yet once you move below the basic storyline, all the connecting points seem to fall apart. I'm a huge supporter in the "willing suspension of disbelief", which we all need to fully enjoy any movie, but this suspension was pulled just a few hairs past the limit. So many things take place which are never explained, never set up and sometimes never paid off. Once the momentum really got moving, every other scene was spent trying to figure out how we got there and what was going on. It had a little taste of Wanted, which also jumped absolutely huge logic holes for the sake of making something look cool on screen, but that film, under the insane vision of Timur Bekmambetov, pulled it off much better.

As for casting, back in the day this was going to be the bread and butter of Brendan Fraser's career (who plays our dashing hero and young Indiana Jones homage, Rick O'Connell), but since the first movie I haven't felt that same magic from his performance. Ever since then it has all felt like a shadow or almost a parody of the moments he created in the original. Also, in the first two he starred alongside Rachel Weisz, but she didn't return to the sand and savagery this time and the studios were forced to either write her out or replace her. They chose the latter. In comes Maria Bello as Evie O'Connell, the spunky and adventurous librarian-cum-swashbuckler. I think Maria is a fantastic actress and I was wildly supportive of her turn in A History of Violence, but this was not a good fit for her. Her action scenes felt forced and overly silly, on top of her accent sliding in, out and completely off the British continent. From the original chapters, the only person to bring the exact same level, for better or for worse, was John Hannah, as Evie's charmingly opportunistic brother, Jonathan. New to this series was Michelle Yeoh, an immortal witch hoping to stop the Dragon Emperor, and Jet Li as the Emperor himself. Michelle was fairly strong in her performance, but Jet Li spent most of the movie walking around as an animated Terra Cotta statue, so it's a little hard to criticize any lack of emotion from the part.

It can be argued that acting skills and story structure have nothing to do with popcorn cinema, it is all about the special effects. We are there for the glitz, the glamor and the wonderment of things we have never seen before on screen. Unfortunately this visual extravaganza didn't break down any walls in that realm. The statue effect on Jet Li's character skipped back and forth between impressive and amateurish, while the practical effects and explosions failed to really pop the eyes open of the audience. The one thing standing out amongst the crowd was the Yeti creatures (don't ask how or why they appeared, just let that one go). These imagined visualizations of the abominable snowmen provided not only some much needed freshness to the flick, but some decent comedy as well. Numerous times there was laughter peeling through the audience, but half of it was laughing alongside the movie, while the rest was laughing at it. Big difference, same result: entertainment. As many problems as this does have, I can't say I walked out unamused. The plot holes and logic issues leave the script looking like a well used target down at the local gun range, but the jokes were plentiful and they kept coming until you gave in and laughed.

Recommendation: As I've said before, this is an action movie, so it can only be helped by seeing it on the big screen, but on this occassion I might just suggest waiting for TV distribution and sitting really, really close to the set.

p.s. I was once again reminded about why I choose to go to the Arclight Cinemas as much as possible. Tonight they gave out posters signed by Rob Cohen to people sitting in random seat numbers. Plus, if that wasn't enough of a bonus for the night, Rob Cohen himself was there to introduce the movie. He mentioned that he made the movie for us, the fans, the general public, and not for the critics and bloggers (like myself). He said it's about sheer entrainment, so whether you think it's good or it's bad, if you laugh at it during any point, his job is done. For me the job was done, but it might not have been the job he intended.

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

This is an entertaining adventure story. In this sequel the moviegoer finds Brendan Fraser with all cylingers running well. This version was directed by Rob Cohen. I thought he, along with his team, did well, utilizing my premier qualifications: Does the film look good and move at a reasonable pace? Yes, to both. Way to go Rob & Co.!

At first I missed the old Evie (Rachel Weisz), but as the film progressed, the new Evie (Maria Bello) won my acceptance as a good replacement. The son, Alex O'Connell (Luke Scott), was suitably dashing as a "chip off the old block." John Hannah served up Rick's brother-in-law, Jonathan Carnahan, consistent with prior renderings, except for a few scenes at his nightclub, "Im Hotep," where he briefly struck cords reminescent of Bogart's "Rick" in Casablanca blended with John Cazale's "Fredo" in Godfather II.

The dialogue in this film was pretty good, and there were several occasions when I "LOL." The scriptwriters were Alfred Gough and Miles Millar.

The rendering of the story was generally well done. One must concede certain implausible and/or impossible aspects as part of the fun of the adventure. It can get rip-roaring at times. There are several well-done special effects, such as the Abominable Snowmen, and the chariot & truck chase. Still, much of the special effects in this story, and the story itself, are, by now, familiar aspects of this series, as well as other movie.

The primary settings are London, England and The Peoples Republic of China. The latter gets the lion's share (or should I say "dragon's") of filmtime. The renderings of Shanghai are interesting, whether real or construct in a Hollywood backlot. The camera shots of western China's Ningxia Province was "nothing to write home about." The time period is 1946. China is not an altogether stable place. Rebellious forces lurk in several provinces. Some leaders believed that only an "Iron-fisted" man could restore order to China.

The movie opens with a rather extended prologue in which a historical and mythic narration provides the moviegoer with a foundation from which he draws all need direction. This prologue establishes the nature of the emperor (Jet Li), the Faustian deal he makes, the triple betrayal involving the emperor, a witch (Michelle Yeoh), and General Ming Guo (Russell Wong), and the subsequent pregnant sleep.

The Big Capsule: The body of the film opens in western China in Ningxia Province in 1946, where the son of famed adventurers, Rick and Evelyn O'Connell, "Alex" (Luke Ford) is presiding over an archaeological "dig." Alex was assigned this task by British Professor Roger Wilson (David Calder), who will soon be arriving to oversee the promising site of the Tomb of the Dragon Emperor Han at which he and a large team of "diggers" are toiling. Unbeknownst to Alex & Company, someone is watching there excavation, which has already revealed the top part of a large "bust" of Emperor Han. The professor arrives, receives a briefing, and they prepare to enter the tomb soon, as the dicovery of the entrance gate is imminent. They find it, enter it, and discover (shades of Indiana Jones: Crystal Skull) that it has a "key," is "booby-trapped" and is a craftily engineered structure having qualities of "transformers" (if there were such mechanical toys in 1946). Also, a ninja (Isabella Leong) attacker appears on the scene. She and Alex strife, and she makes a getaway under a "hail of bullets." Although they don't know it, this ninja is part of a mother-daughter team, who seek to protect the sleeping emperor--and keep him sleeping. The mom, "Zi Juan" (Michelle Yeoh) also happens to be the good-looking witch of the film prologue, who had caught the eye of both the Dragon Emperor and his "right hand" man, General Ming, This may puzzle the reader, but one may rest assured that magic is required of some sort. As a matter of fact, this mummy sequel weaves into the storyline the legendary Himalayan land of immortality, Shangri-La. For today's adventure stories, one legend is never good enough. This side trip to the Himalayas does provide a pretext to show the moviegoer some attractive snowy mountain terrain. Also, there is the pretext in this lofty sidetrip for introducing the Abominable Snowmen (aka, "Yetti"), who turn out to be "righteous dudes." Incidentally, the Yiddish word, "Yenta" may be derived from "Yetti." (In either case you have a difficult person to deal with.) Be that as it may, the successful dig results in the discovery of The Emperor's burial remains and entourage. Unbeknowst to Alex, the witch had put a curse on the emperor and his soldiers that left them encased in clay-like material, which soon hardened. By use of certain magical tools and the special golden pagoda of Shangri-La, the awakened emperor would gain immortality and bring global tyranny. So, what awakened him to begin with? Let's just say that England lay an egg. The camera cuts to England and the stately manor of The O'Connells. Rick and Evelyn are dwelling in a safe, wealthy and --for Rick--boring "retirement. Evelyn has written a few books based on her and Rick's adventures which proved to be popular, especially with the ladies who secretly dreamed of adventures themselves and lived Evie's vicariously. There are transient moments in which amour is suggested by one or the other. Writer's block or napping seem to get in the way. There are references to son Alex, and the moviegoer is introduced to a counterpoint to the lively young archaeologist encountered at the dig in prior scenes. There is a stab at fisherman humor at a trout stream running through the estate. Soon enough, the O'Connells are visited by one of HRM's lesser officials, who inquires if the retired couple might like to do one last service for their government. They feign a lack of interest but are clearly curious. It seemd that the British Museum has possessed an ancient Chinese relic, known as the Eye of Shangri-La, which it wants to return to its ancestral locale of China, as a show of good intentions toward the politically unstable Chinese government. The trick was to get it to the right people. Naturally, HRM's government recalled the very able assistance provided by the O'Connells during the war years and wondered if Rick might consider the task. The "Eye" is housed in a sort of grillwork of serpents, which included a shield-scroll on which were engraved ancient script, which amounted to a code for opening the egg of the Eye. Obviously interested, the O'Connells recall that Evie's brother, Jonathan, has a restaurant in Shanghai. One not pay him a visit. Who knows? Maybe visit son, Alex, too. And, since we're going there, may as well take the egg along. By now, the moviegoer realises that General Yang is determined to awaken the Dragon Emperor to save China from chaos. He has a "tough cookie" of a woman as his devoted subordinate officer, always at his side, except when out trying to assassinate someone who is interferring with General Yang's vision. When the O'Connells arrive at Jonathan's Im Hotep Night Club, the find not only Jonathan but Alex as well. Alex is still in the John Lennon stage of "not needing anybody's help in any way." He and his father are slightly estranged, and Mom is trying to keep her boys together on good family terms. There are a few brief scenes that indicate some competitive feelings (Oedipus Complex?) that suggest "burying Alex's father" under the glory of his achievement(s). At any rate Alex does show the terracota image of the Dragon Emperor, posed on his chariot, which had been removed from the "dig" to a site in Shanghai, to his Mom and Dad. Professor Wilson is on hand, and he and Rick greet each other warmly. however, General Yang, his Gal Friday, aka, "Scarfacess," are also on hand, but they don't plan to shake any. They've thoughtfully brought along some "strongarm" support.  They want thr egg so that they can awaken the Dragon Emperor and swear fealty to him. (Please recall that the Dragon Emperor feels that he's been betrayed before by a general, and, therefore, General Yang had entered into a risky business here.) General Yang & Co. get "the drop" on the O'Connells, and he demands that Evie translate the engraved script. She feigns lack of expertise in the language, which is ancient sanscrit (dovetaiks well with Shangri-La/Himaiayas story ingredient). Finally, Evie translates the clue as requiring the blood of an innocent to open egg grillwork, so they could get at the "Eye" (a large, cut, blue diamond). Parenthetically, it's well-cut, and I doubt the skill existed at that time, as well as helpful tools, to accomplish this task, Be that as it may, a third ingredient arrives in the form of ninja Lin, who has on her person the only weapon in the world that could kill the emperor before he wreaked havoc on the world. It's a fancy-handled dagger, given to her by her witch Mom, Zi Juan. Which way will the Eye go? General Yang takes a fake "kill-aim" at Rick, and Evie leaps to the rescue. She is secured by Scarfacess," while the General wonders if their can be more innocent blood than that which is given to save another. He cuts Evie's finger and drips blood upon the sanscrit letters. This leads to a very "kool" opening of the egg. About this time, Rick has been forced to and has achieved the lifting of the heavy top to the imagined remains of the Dragon Emperor. Almost immediately, ninja Lin leaps into the "coffin" and stabs the bones of the man in the burial container. She gets him in the "heart"--the only spot that will kill him. during the confusion, the elixer inside the egg which was to be a first stage launching of the emperor into life orbit get splashed on the statue of the emperor upon his chariot, fronted by four strong warhorses. When Lin realises that she has stabbed a eunique--not the emperor, she looks about puzzled. Where is the emperor buried? By now the statue is cracking and a semi-molten mummy, revitalized, accepts the homage of General Yang--with due threat against betrayal issued. This leads to a chase. Alex's has taken a "shine" toward Lin, who has joined the O'Connell clan in their determination to stop the Dragon Emperor from reaching Shangri-La. However, awkwardly, Rick has been impelled by a flung sword by the Dragon Emperor, and it looks real bad for him. His only chance is to get to Shangri-La, where the good witch, Zi Juan, can work her healing magic. Lin knows the way (heh,heh,heh!). She's been there once before. When they get there, it is their intention to blow up the golden pagoda on which the Eye of Shangri-La perches. Once in place, it casts a beam to the location where immortality awaits. Incidentally, when it finally casts its light, I saw only icy peaks, so I must have missed something. Anyway, the good guys are trailed by bad guys, including General Yang, his soldiers (a company or so), and the "Bad" emperor. While Jonathan sets the dynamite bundles, carefully wiring them, Rick and Alex compare armament. There are Abominable Snowmen, avalanche, and a firefight coming on the heels of one another. The welling powers of the emperor allow him to thwart the dynamite scheme. Rick offers a last-ditch effort which fails. The emperor beams up with the Eye. Although the "Yetti" have caused havoc to General Yang's soldiers, after Zi Juan explained to one that General Yang and his men were evil and must be stopped, the Dragon Emperor proved too much for them and they split. The Dragon Emperor heads to his tomb to collect his troops for the walk to immortality. Rick calls for Mad Dog Maguire who is periodically brought into the film to get the O'Connells to unlikely terrain, so they can get to the Wall before the emperor and his troops. Zi Juan gives up her immortality (an example for her daughter) to summons the killed adversaries of the Dragon Emperor, who had been buried beneath the Great Wall of China, to rise up against the tyrant who had killed them and avenge themselves and preserve freedom for the people. This is pretty heady stuff. Who could refuse? So, the great battle is formed, as the Dragon Emperor and his ancient army, joined by General Yang and his more modernly equiped soldiers, gather in rank and file, phalanx and cavalry, to march beyond the Wall to immortality and invincibilty. Facing them, the wrathful horde of skeletal adversaries, led by old General Ming, eager to defeat the emperor and avenge their ancient wrongs at his hands. There is some good tongue-n-cheek humor, as well as slapstick comedy, as the individual "warriors" cope with their disabilities. The O'Connells and the witch and her daughter expend all their effort at stopping the emperor from crossing the wall, but his "shape-changing" abilities make him more formidable than an "eight hyndred pound gorilla." (Previously, he had changed into a three-headed flying dragon to get to Shangri-La.) There is a brief moment when General Ming sees old lover, Zi Juan, and they gaze at one another briefly recalling what had been and what might have been. Then he raises his sword in victorious salute--and dissolves away in dust. About here in the film, a deadly "mano-a-galo" fight ensues between the Dragon Emperor and the good witch, Zi Juan. She sees that he is wearing the magic dagger in its hilt at his waist. When he perceives that she is now mortal, he relishes the thought of killing her. Before he can act, she impells herself on his sword, while at this distracted moment, withdraws the magic sword from his hilt, and gets it to Lin. There is also a tussle going on between General Yang and "Scarfacess" and the team of O'Connells and Lin. Yang gets yanked between crushing gear teeth, as does his loyal gal Friday, when she refuses to release him. Rick takes the magic knife and tries for the heart of the emperor but misses. The knife is flung fiercely away and breaks in two. Not to worry! It's a long knife. While Rick is looking at the enraged Emperor coming his way, Alex retrieves the front end of the magic knife and, leaping from behind, drives it deeply into the emperor's back. When the emperor begins to change colors--not talking royal purple, now--the moviegoer perceives that the world has been saved from his New Weird Order. However, since he is still staggering about, Rick thinks it is expedient to "stick him" with the remnant of the magic knife stretching out from the hilt on the floor nearby. He grabs it and plunges it into the front heart side of the "disco-lighting" emperor. This does it, signified by the dissolving of his terracota troops into dust, as well as himself. For all the witches and magic in this film, when all is all said and done, the moviegoer is left with the Biblical imagery: "Dust thou art, and unto dust thou wilt return."  There is an epilogue. We find that Jonathan has given Mad Dog Maguire ownership to his night club. He's tired of China. Maybe, he'll just try Peru. After all, the blue diamond should bring him a nice piece of change, and he flashes it at the moviegoer. As for the O'Connells, they are all warmly bonded again, and headed for England and the stately O'Connell manor, where they can enjoy privacy, comfort, and plenty of servants. Evelyn has plenty of material to use in new adventure romances. Dash it all! Life is good!

All rights reserved. Gobigfoot, 2008.

  Brendan Fraser & Jet Li in "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor"

In The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, we come to find Rick and Evie retired in 1946, just after WWII, trying to fill their time outside of their huge English estate. Evie writes about their adventures using a pen name and does talks and readings, reliving the past, while Rick tries to find a hobby, both denying how much they miss the action. Alex O'Connell [Luke Ford] is all grown up and is working on a dig in China with one of his professors, even though he'd been kicked out of University several times [he is, after all, his father's son...]. He uncovers the Tomb of the Dragon Emperor [Jet Li] and brings the sarcophagus to Shanghai, where his mother [Bello] and father [Fraser] happen to fly in on a quick favour for the British government [agreed to out of desperation for some action], and his Uncle Jonathan [John Hannah] happens to own a nightclub - Egyptian-themed, of course...

They all get tangled up with bad guys, led by General Yang [Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, who did a great job with the character] and his army, who were behind the financing of the dig, with the goal of raising the Emperor and his army to restore order and greatness to their beloved China. They also encounter the guardians of the tomb, a young ninja-like warrior [Isabella Leong], as well as an ancient sorcerer [Michelle Yeoh], both of whom have sworn to never let the Emperor be brought back to life, much like the Magi of the first two movies... 

I was hoping for more interaction between Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh after the Emperor was awakened. There were some great, yet quick fight scenes... Most of the effects were good, some still looked a little too cartoonie here and there, but they were pretty good for the most part... and they took the mummy's powers a little too far, in my opinion. Initially, the powers he learned while alive [originally] were pretty cool and fit the story, but then it was like they added more on when he was awakened that weren't necessary and really only distracted from the little connection we had to the characters. There was the prerequisite vehicle chase scene that was pretty good, and the convenient friend who happened to have a plane... and was in Shanghai [played by Liam Cunningham]. He was actually a fun character, 'Mad Dog Maguire.' They could have incorporated him more into the story...  Evie's brother, Johnathan [John Hannah] is the same treasure-hungry, yet goofy stressed-out guy and even his one-liners seemed stale. I should note that Russell Wong makes an appearance as the Emperor's General [I don't know why, but I love that guy...], and also could have been incorporated into the story more.

I had mildly high hopes for this movie. The preview made it look pretty good, and it was directed by Rob Cohen. I thought a change of director and 'venue' [China instead of Egypt], would breathe new life into the franchise. I was wrong. The story was too formula - if you've seen the other two Mummy movies, you know what I'm talking about. This might have been okay if Rachael Weisz was back as Evie, because her chemistry with Fraser was dead on, making their one-liners cute and endearing. Maria Bello just didn't do it for us as 'Evie'. The chemistry between her and 'Rick' was off. She looked a lot older than he did - he just couldn't pass for being a father of a 20+ year old kid... the one-liners weren't clever, cute or funny, they were hokey and too cliché because of that lack of chemistry. All the surprises and key scenes were given away in the preview... I did, however, have a a monumental giggle fit due to one really quick scene involving a couple of yeti... They were the highlight of the movie for me.

Bottom line... this movie was missing something... it lacked soul. I don't know how else to say it. If you're a big fan of the previous movies, it's worth seeing, but don't go in with high-hopes, just enjoy it for what it is... if you weren't a fan of the other movies, skip it. Either way, if you had to choose and you haven't seen The Dark Knight or Hancock - see one of those instead. I should mention that if we saw this again, we might like it more, as we were constantly distracted by a row of obnoxious teenage boys we ended up politely asking to be quiet halfway through the movie... we'll probably rent it, though, not pay to see it again.

2 1/2 out of 5.

Add'l Info: Released: Aug 1, 2008 • 112 minutes • Rated PG-13 for adventure action and violence • Photo Credit: ©Universal Studios via allmoviephoto.com

Luckily, if it wasnt because of michelle yeoh, Jet Li, John Hannah and Brandon fraser, i almost found the new sequel of the mummy a dissapointment. Eventough the storyline are interesting, where chinese mummies were introduced in a almost convincing way,  i felt a big void of emptiness having to watch maria bello playing Evelyn. She miserably failed to shed off Rachel's stellar peformance as evelyn.

Futhermore, i just can coupe with the illogical potrayal of Brandan fraser as Rick O Connel looking almost as same age as his son!. I personally think that Alex O Connel shouldve been approriately potrayed as in his 17-19 of age, in his teenager. I mean in mummy 3, Alex character is potrayed as in his early 20s. However, his physical appearance lookslike hes in early 30 or probably late 20s. So i found it hard to connect with the character.

Futhermore, the humor part of the movie is quite forgettable and uninteresting. The best mummy movie would be the 2nd sequel. Where we were amazed by the dangerous flesh eater bug and etc. However for this new sequel theres nothing amusing and memorable unless if you find 3 cuddly and friendly yetis are extra odinary :P

Another lacking aspect of this movie is the language chosen, in some part zi juan speak chinese with her daughter, where another scene they both speak in english. She also chants in bilingual. both english and chinese. But i would rather prefer she chants in chinese entirely. She can speak bilingual english or chinese wherever she want. I really like the uniequeness of the character zi juan. She's mystical and mysterious in her own way. The producer didnt dissapoint me at that one. The way she dress and fight almost single handedly save this movie from becoming a total disapointement.

Anyway i enjoy this movie in my own way. I just hope that the team done a better job with this one.

went out today with some friends to watch the much awaited sequel to 2001's hit The Mummy Returns.  i was really looking forwad in seeing this film since they'll be getting out of old "mummies are from egypt" context by exposing other "mummies" outside the pyramids of egypt. 

china, for starters is a good start. it is said that one of the oldest civilization started at the yangzhe river ergo relics of the past can just be dugged out almost everywhere!  the idea of an ambitious emperor seeking eternal life isn't farfetched either.  we all want to immortal, what more if you're the ruler of a vast empire.  a beautiful witch, giving the emperor his wish, and the emperor falling for her beauty is also forgivable.. not to mention the emperor's most trusted friend betraying him in the name of love (enough of the cliches already).  okay so far so good.  now, two centuries passed, the witch now has a daughter... who speaks good english, now that's something.  okay, so british colonizers, traders, or whatever are in the 1947 shanghai, she could've learn from them.  but isn't she supposed to be staying in shangri-la with her mom? or had they been going out of town meeting british men all over since her mom is also fluent with the language?

anyway, what happened to rachel weisz? maria belo did great but i'd rather see a familiar face than a new one.  the fighting skill were great however i must say that when it comes to the "army" battle, this film was cut short compared to its 2 prequels.  i would love to see michelle yeoh and jet li fight with sorcery.  the latter could've also die in a more fancy manner rather than by simply stabbing his heart with some cursed dagger.  anyway, enough of my rants.  i enjoyed it nonetheless.  

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Not many actresses have given strong, emotional performances and kicked major butt in the same film, but fortunately for fans of the "Mummy" movies, Michelle Yeoh is one.

Yeoh, 45, stars in "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor," which opened in U.S. theaters on Friday, the third in a series of box office hits about adventurer Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser) who seems to always run afoul of power-hungry mummies.

In this newest version, Michelle Yeoh portrays a Chinese sorceress, Zi Yuan, who puts a curse on an ancient emperor only to see him rise from the dead after 2,000 years to seek vengeance.

Zi is one of a group of people, including O'Connell, who must put the emperor back in his grave, and she uses not only her fists, but her wits and poise, as well.

"It's a small, but important role," Yeoh told Reuters. "She was so much about being one with the world and Mother Nature, and there was a certain amount of understanding in her that you could see behind her eyes."

In the world of martial arts movies, there are few actresses who let fists fly as well as Yeoh, and even fewer who have earned respect in Hollywood as a top actress. Yeoh rose to prominence in Hong Kong action flicks, and she gained wide recognition from U.S. audiences as a Bond girl in 1997's 007 spy flick, "Tomorrow Never Dies."

She then displayed both her acting and her fighting skills in Ang Lee's Oscar winner "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." In recent years, she has taken straight acting roles in dramas "Memoirs of a Geisha" and science fiction flick "Sunshine."

"I don't plan to go out and do action or not do action," she said. "(My choices) are about the right director or the right character."

Yeoh said that as she grows older, she understands her body will not be able to do what it once did with kick boxing and stunts. She also no longer thinks about specific training regimens for any particular role, as much as she makes exercise and stretching part of her daily routine.

"When you're a teenager you could do a lot more crazy things and your body recovers faster," she said. "But the sense of endurance and protecting your body is not there. So, you just learn to deal with it."

Yeoh has also taken on more challenging roles and plumbed ever deeper parts. In "Memoirs," she played an older geisha who mentors a younger woman in a role that required a great sense of understanding of human nature.

Her ability to move beyond roles as an action heroine seems to have paid off because while this third "Mummy" movie has failed to win over many critics -- it scores a poor 11 percent positive on film review Web site rottentomatoes.com -- Yeoh's performance has been seen as one of its few bright spots. "Best of all is Michelle Yeoh, who radiates integrity in every role she takes on and who holds our attention as a powerful sorceress," wrote Los Angeles Times critic Kenneth Turan.

Michelle Yeoh Bio and Photos

タイトル： The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
キャスト： ブレンダン・フレイザー、ジェット・リー、ミシェル・ヨー、イザベラ・リョン、ジョン・ハナー、ラッセル・ウォン

実際に、映画を見て、感想がありますが、今の日本語まだまだですから、やっぱり英語の方がいいだと思います。だからこれから英語で書いています。

I went to this movie with quite high expectations, and I guess this is always a recipe for disaster. The high expectations were due to the 2 previous installments in the franchise which I had watched and enjoyed. They were pretty well paced and the element of suspense was kept well.

Unfortunately, I can't really say the same for this 3rd movie, or threequel. There were more misses than hits and I left the theatre disappointed and a little disgusted. Here are some of my grouses:

1) Evelyn "Evie" Carnahan - Rachel Weisz was perfect as Evie, the clumsy but endearing Egyptologist. She made being a librarian sexy. I like it that Rachel Weisz played her as a little scatterbrained, totally engrossed in antiquities, yet able to hold her own against the mummy. The chemistry between her and Brendan Fraser's Rick O'Connell was really sizzling, which I really can't say for that between BF and the new Evie (Maria Bello). I understand that it is always difficult to step into a character that has been fleshed out by another actor, but I just don't buy MB's explanation that her Evie is different from RW's, a supposed older and wiser version. It's like the whole essense of Evie is no longer there. This new version is boring and not funny and defintely not endearing. She seems so much older than BF and the chemistry is so lacking, it is difficult to see that they are supposed to be so in love. I got so irritated everytime she came on screen, I would inevitably roll my eyes. I read with disappointment that MB has signed on for 3 more Mummy movies. Well, I guess I probably won't be watching anymore.

2) Alexander "Alex" O'Connell - Frankly, I'm not impressed by Luke Ford's Alex. He lacks the charisma that Brendan Fraser has. I guess he didn't inherit it from his reel dad. I read somewhere that he's supposed to be pretty famous in Australia. Well... His acting is still pretty bland and I just don't see him as a lead actor or someone who is able to carry a film. But my biggest critique is this - he couldn't even get the few simple lines in Mandarin right. Yes, Mandarin is a difficult language to learn, with its tonal values something that Caucasians find difficult to grasp, although I do have Caucasian acquintances who speak it perfectly. But back to LF, if you're going to be acting as a character who is supposed to be fluent in the language, you should at least get those few lines you have right, especially since they are so many cast and crew who are fluent. What, too cheap to get a voice/dialect coach? If Isabella Leong (who incidentally reminds me of another half-Portugese beauty Michelle Reis), who couldn't speak any English before the show (so I've been told), could get her English lines PERFECT, and mind you, they weren't simple lines but long dialogue, then why couldn't LF? I mean listening to Isabella deliver her lines, you would think that she grew up in North America and has been speaking English from birth. It just means one thing to me, the work ethics are just different. I guess same with MB, if he is returning for subsequent issues, I don't think I'll be forking the ticket price.

3) The Dragon Emperor - Nah, I don't have anything against Jet Li. Although he takes the title role, I thought his role here was pretty small and without bite. The only exciting part was the sparring between him and Michelle Yeoh's Zi Yuan. I know JL is not known for his acting, but I doubt he was stretched much in this film. But my problem is not with JL or his protrayal of the Dragon Emperor, but with the producers, director and script-writers, specifically the director. I read in an interview that he is an Eastern philosophy scholar and has deep respect for Chinese history, but I don't really see it here. The mummy story seems like a mishmash of myths and half-baked romantic ideas of the East. I know that there is supposed to be an element of suspension of disbelieve here but mixing Qin Shi Huang's terracotta warriors with the legend of Shangri La and throwing in some Yetis, that's just too much disbelieve for me to suspense. It's like the writers were keen to show off what they know about Far Eastern history so they threw in everything they knew into one movie. The shape-shifting by the emperor (ala animagi in Harry Potter) felt like another cheap thrill CGI. Just because he's Dragon Emperor doesn't mean he must literally be a dragon, a three-headed monster at that. Sigh...

Perhaps I'm taking it too seriously and not watching it as just another summer swashbuckling blockbuster, to be enjoyed for the moment and forgotten after you've stepped out of the cinema. But I can't help but compare it with 2 other movies that I've watched this year (well, actually 2 other movies I've watched at the cinema since I did watch a few others at home). They were probably more worth the ticket prices in my opinion.

The first is Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Like the Mummy series, I also enjoyed the initial Indiana Trilogy. In terms of plot, this is even more incredulous - aliens? But, the chemistry between the cast, so lacking in Tomb, was present here and Shia LaBeouf seems a more credible successor than LF. I think given the many similarities, comparison of the 2 films is inevitable. And Tomb just comes up short. And despite his age, Harrison Ford still oozes charisma and I do look forward to more adventures of his (geriatric) Indy.

タイトル：Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
キャスト： Harrison Ford, Shia LaBeouf

The other movie, Kung Fu Panda, also mixes Far Eastern history and philosopy, but perhaps because it's animation, I guess I'm more forgiving. The laughs are better here (than Tomb), without doubt. Which is also one of my grouses against Tomb. The original Mummy films had quite a few humourous moments, not restricted to the comic relief provided by John Hannah's Jonathan Carnahan. In Tomb, John Hannah's screen time was quite limited (what a shame) and not quite as funny. And that leads us to another problem. Too many characters (don't forget they've got Anthony Wong and even Russel Wong!), big names (well they are to me), but playing bit roles. And there's not much comedy. I mean the scene where MB's Evie waltzes into the room in her nightie trying to seduce BF who was snoring in the armchair, I just wonder if I were supposed to laugh at it? But it's not even funny - too predictable and frankly out of place/sequence. In the end I just rolled my eyes.

Kung Fu Panda had more funny moments, the really ha-ha funny moments. It was practically a laughfest, yet, they managed to sneak in some "moral of the story" thingy into it without being cheesy, and they didn't misappropriate too many Far Eastern philosophies, at least not to me. It was entertaining, which I couldn't say for Tomb.

タイトル：Kung Fu Panda
キャスト：Jack Black, et. al

You can say I'm not surprised that Mummy 3 has received negative reviews and has been panned by critics. It's not difficult to see why. Seems like some of their criticism are pretty much how I feel.

For The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

For Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull &
Kung Fu Panda

"I may have made a terrible mistake."

The Mummy 3: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor could have been a really good popcorn movie but it really doesn't amount too much.

The problem with the movie is it's script: while it's got some twists and some really cool ideas they're poorly executed.  The story comes across loose and disjointed, characters get lost in the action
and nothing is as exciting as it should be.Brendan Fraser is surprisingly able as a lead  and even though he's got some clunky one liners, he's a both believable and fun to watch. Maria Bello is functional as the leading lady but watching her in the movie I can see why Rachel Weisz dropped out; her character isn't really given much to do. Luke Ford is given a large chunk of the action sequences and while he's a serviceable
action star, his scenes with Isabella Leong are terribly boring and lack a spark of interest.

One of the movie's biggest mistakes is casting Michelle Yeoh and Jet Li and then wasting them with only a few minutes of screen time. What's even more confusing is the fact that even though Jet ist still one the best martial artists in the world and his fight scenes are ruined with choppy editing.  Same goes for the CGI effects, I'm sure they spent lots of money on the effects but they're not very good.

The score for the film is actually pretty good and it manages to enhance the more dramatic moments of the movie. The costumes and set pieces are actually very well done and really would have made a good movie better. In the Mummy 3, the awesome sets are just awesome sets. What the film does have going for it is that it's got a sense of humor and doesn't take itself too seriously.

I wouldn't recommend paying to go watch the Mummy 3 but I would recommend watching it on TV when it comes out. I really wanted this movie to be good but there are just too many mistakes and flaws.

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 In terms of the technical merits of the film, it was at best an average action film.  Plenty of fighting, gun shots, explosions, and other special effects fill the screen.  The movie even tends to have some developed themes to the script. The writers and director of the film do not take themselves too seriously. I think of the three mummy films, this one was not as well done as the other two but definitely a fun movie to watch and worth viewing. 

However, the film is not real artful in presenting the product.  The acting is mechanical and devoid of true emotional connection.  The movie does more “telling” the story then showing the story. You really don’t feel the emotion of the conflicts depicted on screen, but really get told they exist, or if shown, shown mechanically. The movie does have a lot of interesting puns, some entertaining, some fall flat. They even have the actress playing Evelyn (Maria Bello, 2nd actress playing role) stating “I’m not that person.”  The funniest moment for me was the Yeti putting up arms for a field goal after kicking a soldier head through some posts of some sort.  

The film of course relies heavily on special effects. The most interesting was the three-headed dragon. The most impressive special effect to me was the avalanche with the evil emperor mummy walling it with a wind for a short period.  There are some instance though that the special effects are not real clear.  Twice the evil emperor mummy transforms itself into some form of beast, but it is not real easy to figure out what he is supposed to be.  Overall, though the film was fun and enjoyable and if you enjoyed the other movies, you should enjoy this one.

Now that the technical merits have been examined, now time to explore the themes of the story.  I will of course examine things, as always from a Christian perspective.  This movie, like most Hollywood movies contains themes that can be related to Christian theology and symbolism, but it is clearly coming from a non-Christian theme.  The movie displays a magical and mystical view of the supernatural with magic being a force used for either good or evil.  And I don’t want to dwell on that fact any further, since there are more interesting theme dynamics to examine.

I think the movie all boils down to a central theme of being when we are reconciled and work together, even if coming from different perspectives, we can defeat evil.  This was really made evident in how they defeated the evil emperor. Rick (Brendan Fraser) initially states that the plan is to divide and conquer.  In the process of fighting the evil emperor, the special dagger that needs to go through the mummies heart to kill him, breaks in two.  Rick and Alex (Luke Ford) come together from different angles and reconcile the knife in the heart of the mummy, resulting in the mummy’s death and defeat. This scene encapsulated the varied themes of the movie into the central theme of ultimately coming together.

 The coming together and reconciling is important in the movie.  Rick and Evelyn at the start of the movie are missing each other and basically living in their own separate worlds.  They also are alienated from their son, who isn’t telling his parents what he is up to.  Everyone is doing there own thing.  When they come together for this adventure, they rediscover what they have in common and ultimately reconcile around those common elements, which ultimately is based on their love for each other, but also the similar ways they interact with the world.

As such, the movie also points out the need to be true to ourselves. We need to be doing that which fulfills how we are wired and created.  When we step back from our place in this world it can lead to dissatisfaction and ultimately conflict and isolation.  Rick and Evelyn came alive when they were back in the action versus being retired and holed up in their mansion.  

The movie does put a lot of emphasis on love.  The movie has love betrayed by the evil emperor resulting in the death of his general.  There is love restored between Rick and Evelyn, and there is the new love being formed between Alex and Lin (Isabella Leong).  Amidst these relationships also runs the theme of the value and importance of sacrifice.  The writers designate that the pure in heart sacrifice for those they love. Evelyn was willing to die for her husband.  Rick received a fatal wound for his son, Alex.  Lin and her mother sorceress Zi Juan (Michelle Yeoh) have their immortality sacrificed for a spell to raise those the Han Emperor (Jet Li) unjustly killed building the Great Wall. So by their sacrifices the writers designate the characters as good, pure in heart.

Of course as in any movie with mummies, resurrection is also a theme.  The movie has Han Emperor resurrected by water from a fountain in Shang-ri-la.  There is  Rick being spared from death by same fountain.  There is the resurrection by spell bring back  those wronged by the Han Emperor. There is also the immortality of the sorceress and her daughter.  The resurrections are generally limited to their tasks.  The emperor would become permanently immortal and set to take over the world. The resurrected wronged time ends when the evil emperor is defeated.  The sorceress and her daughter lose immorality in completing task to stop the emperor.  We don’t know the effects of the water on Rick other then keeping him from death.  Actually the movie does also draw from passing on of purpose from father to son, which is a fairly common theme connected to resurrection, that our lives and purpose carry on through our children.

So you have themes of reconciliation, love, sacrifice, resurrection, and purpose. These themes all taken from a standard secular view.  The movie shows love is epitomized through the romantic relationships as well as passing on of through our children.  The secular view is also seen in the reconciliation of coming together under the common bond of purpose, which is that of fighting evil in the film. 

These messages are positive and uplifting and definitely being cause for reflection, but it misses the boat when compared to Christian beliefs. Evil has been defeated through Jesus at the Cross and no need to fear some mummy coming to life to conquer the world. Christians believe there will be on last great political figure intent on taking over the world and who will be defeated when Jesus returns.  My mother  felt a connection to the resurrection of the Saints related to the resurrection of the oppressed and unjustly killed.  However, the resurrection of the Saints will not be just a bunch of flesh rotted corpses and skeletons but with new bodies. 

As a Christian, love is vitally important but love doesn’t stop at those we care about. Love doesn’t stop and burgeoning romance.  Love is to be displayed toward all and not a love that looks out for own needs but matches what is shown in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a (NIV) 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.