I enjoyed "The Mummy", written and directed by Stephen Sommers, immensely. It was funny, witty, ludicrous and action-packed. The sequel, the appropriately titled "The Mummy Returns" was even more ludicrous and action-filled, although the wit had abated somewhat. But I still enjoyed it. And the third effort...? The ingredients are there - a mummy (of sorts) an ancient curse, ancient love, bad guys, good guys, exotic locations and general all-round silliness. But this film isn't nearly the accomplishment the first film was, nor does it have the sheer brazen showiness of the second. If anything, it's a rather rushed, haphazard mess of a film. The film whizzes along at break-neck speed, so busy trying to cram in spectacle it rushes through the script and allows a great deal in terms of plot and character to fall by the wayside.
Which is a pity, because the concept is a promising one. The film commences in Ancient China, detailing how the Dragon Emperor (Jet Li) conquered nearly all of Asia. He was a master sorcerer too, but realising that death will rob him of all his power, he sends his trusted General, Ming, to find a witch who is rumoured to know the secret to eternal life. Ming finds the witch, named Zi Juan (Michelle Yeoh) and it's clearly a case of love at first sight. Unfortunately, when the Emperor sees her, he decides he wants her for himself, ordering that no other man should ever touch her (sound familiar?) Ming and Zi Juan go to find the secret of eternal life, and succeed, but their love overcomes all other scruples. They return, and Zi Juan makes the Emperor immortal ... only for the Emperor to have Ming brutally killed for disobeying his orders about Zi Juan. She in return curses him and his army, and they turn into the Terracotta warriors, standing motionless for eternity.
A few thousand years later, in 1946, Alex O'Connell is grown-up, and unbeknownst to his parents is away from college and leading an excavation in China, hoping to find the Terracotta Army. Jonathan Carnahan (John Hannah) is actually running a successful nightclub in Shanghai (called Imhotep's, no less). Rick (Brendan Fraser, the only other actor from the original film) and Evie O'Connell (Maria Bello) have settled down in England, and are slowly dying of boredom whilst their son has all the adventures (and is apparently too busy ever to visit) But a request for help from the Foreign Office sees them heading off to China, and you know it's only a matter of time before the inevitable happens ...
I can't fault the acting, to be honest. Fraser does what he does best - fighting, wisecracking and kissing with aplomb. Maria Bello isn't nearly as wide-eyed and ditsy as Rachael Weiz was in the role, but she's likable enough and totally convincing in the action scenes. Michelle Yeoh is good as usual, Jet Li makes a convincing baddie, Luke Ford is far less annoying than the kid in "The Mummy Returns" and John Hannah is totally charming as usual - my only regret is we didn't see more of him. The main fault lies in a hurried pace and slightly weak script - the romantic sub-plot between Alex and a warrior named Lin feels tacked on and quite a few characters seem superfluous.
But happily, this film has all the madcap charm of its' forebears, and, weak script aside, is actually lots of fun. This isn't quite enough to redeem its flaws, but hey, I've seen worse. If you're ready to be entertained without being overstretched mentally, then take a chance.
Which is a pity, because the concept is a promising one. The film commences in Ancient China, detailing how the Dragon Emperor (Jet Li) conquered nearly all of Asia. He was a master sorcerer too, but realising that death will rob him of all his power, he sends his trusted General, Ming, to find a witch who is rumoured to know the secret to eternal life. Ming finds the witch, named Zi Juan (Michelle Yeoh) and it's clearly a case of love at first sight. Unfortunately, when the Emperor sees her, he decides he wants her for himself, ordering that no other man should ever touch her (sound familiar?) Ming and Zi Juan go to find the secret of eternal life, and succeed, but their love overcomes all other scruples. They return, and Zi Juan makes the Emperor immortal ... only for the Emperor to have Ming brutally killed for disobeying his orders about Zi Juan. She in return curses him and his army, and they turn into the Terracotta warriors, standing motionless for eternity.
A few thousand years later, in 1946, Alex O'Connell is grown-up, and unbeknownst to his parents is away from college and leading an excavation in China, hoping to find the Terracotta Army. Jonathan Carnahan (John Hannah) is actually running a successful nightclub in Shanghai (called Imhotep's, no less). Rick (Brendan Fraser, the only other actor from the original film) and Evie O'Connell (Maria Bello) have settled down in England, and are slowly dying of boredom whilst their son has all the adventures (and is apparently too busy ever to visit) But a request for help from the Foreign Office sees them heading off to China, and you know it's only a matter of time before the inevitable happens ...
I can't fault the acting, to be honest. Fraser does what he does best - fighting, wisecracking and kissing with aplomb. Maria Bello isn't nearly as wide-eyed and ditsy as Rachael Weiz was in the role, but she's likable enough and totally convincing in the action scenes. Michelle Yeoh is good as usual, Jet Li makes a convincing baddie, Luke Ford is far less annoying than the kid in "The Mummy Returns" and John Hannah is totally charming as usual - my only regret is we didn't see more of him. The main fault lies in a hurried pace and slightly weak script - the romantic sub-plot between Alex and a warrior named Lin feels tacked on and quite a few characters seem superfluous.
But happily, this film has all the madcap charm of its' forebears, and, weak script aside, is actually lots of fun. This isn't quite enough to redeem its flaws, but hey, I've seen worse. If you're ready to be entertained without being overstretched mentally, then take a chance.
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