The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor Review

Written by: alex1176   

Right before "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace" was released in May of '99, genre director Stephen Sommers' re-telling of the classic Universal horror film "The Mummy" opened to big business. It was silly fun (at least most critics felt) and was followed by a sequel in 2001 which wasn't as good. This latest (and hopefully last) installment picks up many years after the second film and features an all new mummy villian, but hero Rick O' Connell (Brendan Fraiser) does return.

"Tomb" was directed by Ron Cohen who helmed "Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story" for Universal in the early 90's. He once again shares his love of kung-fu cinema by casting Jet Li as the Dragon Emperor and Li's veteran screen movie partner Michelle Yeoh as his main rival. Overall, it's a movie that is pure special-effects extravaganza, but perhaps contains a bit too much action. As it came to an end, I was actually beginning to tire of all the video game-like violence.

However, if you enjoyed the first two films, than this one will entertain you from beginning to end. It was produced by the original's director Stephen Sommers, so it contains all the action you'd expect, but not enough horror. I'd give it a 7 out of 10. The acting is fine for this material and you'll rarely look at your watch since the pic has a fast pace. Story-wise, it's about the same as the previous "Mummy" movies despite the script being written by "Spider-Man 2" scribes Alfred Gough and Miles Millar.