Rob Cohen – apparently destined to make movies with the word “Dragon” in the title (see the much more entertaining DRAGON:THE BRUCE LEE STORY and DRAGONHEART) – does an anonymously efficient job taking over from Stephen Sommers for this belated third MUMMY movie. Which means to say that it’s largely interchangeable with the other two CGI-driven sub-Indiana Jones adventure movies – though, in fairness, it ranks a couple of shades above the dismal, rushed THE MUMMY RETURNS in quality terms. Cohen’s ability to stage frenetic, CGI-dominated action just like Sommers is repeatedly undone, however, by a miserably lame and uninventive script (by the creators of SMALLVILLE) which is content to trot out variations on plotting, one-liners and character banter reheated from the earlier films in the franchise.
Jet Li cuts a typically iconic figure as the eponymous figure – a tyrannical emperor cursed back in the day by duplicitous sorceress Michelle Yeoh but revived in the 1940’s to resume his world-domination dream thanks to the antics of the cocky, grown-up son of our hero Brendan Fraser – now living in Hollywood’s version of “Oxfordshire, England”. (Yep, you guessed it, there’s a prim n proper butler on hand). The grown-up son is played by new cast addition Luke Ford, whose singular lack of charisma and personality is remarkable to behold. Why didn’t they save money and attach some strings to a corpse instead?
Poor Brendan Fraser is now married to a completely different woman masquerading as Rachel Weisz’s character. (We’re assuming she read the script and scampered promptly). Maria Bello, a very capable actress given the right role (c.f. A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE) embarrasses herself here with an abysmally forced English accent apparently crafted by listening endlessly to Volumes 1 through 10 of Julie Andrews’ Audio Guide To Speaking With A Proper Posh English Accent. The moment in which Bello reacts with a stilted, stiff cry of “Oh no” to a moment of peril is perhaps a low point in a long history of MUMMY movie low-points. In any event, the script contrives a way for The Woman Formerly Known As Rachel Weisz, Fraser, Ford and a gratuitously tagging-along John Hannah (back from the first two) to stand in the way of Li’s mission to destroy mankind in an escapade that takes them from the Himalayas to Shanghai.
Some of the uber-expensive action set pieces peppering this over-extended romp (an explosive chase through downtown Shanghai, a climactic battle between the skeletal undead and Li’s Terracotta warriors) are spectacular but, as with much of THE MUMMY and all of THE MUMMY RETURNS, there’s never any sense of danger, fear or even genuine threat. When the pic ropes in bonafide monsters – including Yeti and three-headed giant serpents – the reliance on CG gives them a slick, borderline-cartoonish sheen that’s a long way from being menacing. There’s a real lack of suspense and genuine excitement here – factors also, sadly, (and ironically) lacking in this summer’s belated new INDIANA JONES installment.
Fraser, also fun in this summer’s better JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH 3-D, is as endearing as ever : he, Li and a dramatically under-used Yeoh rise above the wispy material. They deserve better, though even an actor of Fraser’s likeable stature cannot rescue a truly risible ending. A $150 million adventure flick signs off with two (two!) skin-crawling cheesy romantic unions and a literally spelled-out, deeply rubbish gag about the farcically ill-fated Hannah’s next stop.
– Steven West
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
