Rating of
2.5/4
Third Time Not as Charming for The Mummy
Chris Kavan - wrote on 08/03/08
The mummy franchise always seemed like a half-hearted, albeit with its own charm, attempt at reworking the Indiana Jones movies with more humor, lots of action but couldn't quite capture that heart.
The third installment of the franchise moves away from those stuffy Egyptian mummies and brings out a fresh Chinese mummy/statue in the from of Jet Li playing the titular Dragon Emperor. He controls fire, ice, wind, earth, metal - you would think he could use these powers to better effect, but it would make for a very short film (not to mention all our heroes would be, well, dead). Still, the occasional fireball or icy patch manages to keep the good guys on their toes.
Speaking of good guys, Brendan Fraser doesn't seem old enough yet to hand off his headlining hero role to a younger man, even if it is his son. Maybe the Mummy is following Indiana Jones too closely. The old man still manages to get in some good one-liners, and can throw a mean punch, but there's not really anywhere for the character to go, aside from a little father-son bonding.
Luke Ford makes a decent addition, though I can't say much stands out about him either. Maria Bello, taking over from Rachel Weisz, has a similar minimal impact. John Hannah is still the scared, treasure-loving comedic interest. Helping along is Michelle Yeoh and Isabella Leong, who both would have been better served with larger roles (as would have Jet Li).
But, really, the most important reason for watching a Mummy film isn't for the acting or story (you know, ancient evil awakens to ruin world, etc. etc.) but for the effects. In this aspect, The Mummy delivers. Some people may scoff at CGI yetis running amok, or a man transforming into a three-headed dragon and other beasts, but I say bring it on. Likewise the grand finale battle between legions of undead and clay statues is great, if not a bit too Army of Darkness for my taste.
So the Mummy doesn't break any new ground. It's a fun summer film: lots of action and effects but little else. It's fun but forgettable, but as movies go, you could do worse.
