On Screen / Linda Cook

Movie review: Third 'Mummy' needs buried

By Linda Cook | Friday, August 29, 2008 | () comments

Brendan Fraser returns to the screen in “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor”. (Universal Pictures) Buy this Photo

“The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor”

½ star

Running time: one hour and 51 minutes

Rated: PG-13 for violence

Stars: Brendan Fraser, Jet Li, Maria Bello, John Hannah, Michelle Yeoh, Luke Ford and Isabella Leong

Director: Rob Cohen

Screenwriters: Alfred Gough and Miles Millar

When a script stoops low enough to involve yak vomit as the focus of a joke, that should be a red flag to the studio that it might be a good idea to hold off on production.

Nonetheless, here on the big screen is “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor,” a boring mess of a movie that pales in comparison with the two previous “Mummy” shows. Brendan Fraser returns as Rick O’Connell, the mummy fighter.

First, though, don’t look for a mummy here. I’m serious. Why anyone thought it was a good idea to include the word “mummy” in a picture without one is beyond explanation.

What you do have is an ancient emperor who has turned to stone. The setup, which goes on for what seems like centuries, is that Emperor Han (Jet Li) wanted to vanquish his final foe, death, so he asked a witch (Michelle Yeoh) to share the secret of eternal life with him. When she falls for his right-hand man, he kills her lover. But she, in turn, puts a curse on the emperor and his soldiers, all of whom turn to stone.

Now it’s 1947, and Alex, the son of Rick (Brendan Fraser) and Evelyn (Maria Bello replaces Rachel Weisz) O’Connell, has become an explorer. Alex discovers where the emperor and the soldiers are buried, and the whole family is on hand when the emperor springs back to life. Even Jonathan (John Hannah), Evelyn’s brother, and Alex’s girlfriend, Lin (Isabella Leong), are on hand for all the chaos that ensues when CGI effects cut loose in a fantasy tale.

Anyone who has seen the current “Indiana Jones” movie is liable to think this is a knockoff, even though it probably is coincidence. Here’s an adventurer with a son in roughly the same era of history, so it’s hard not to think of Indy.

For all that’s going on, what with computer-generated abominable snow people, skeleton armies and the emperor’s soldiers running around, this is just not entertaining. Fraser takes a back seat to everybody and everything else, so even his screen time isn’t up to snuff.

Maybe “The Mummy” movies are popular enough to spur Hollywood to use this sequel to make some box office bucks in a flagging economy. That’s the only reason I can think of to include this sub-par offering in the franchise.

It doesn’t belong on the big screen. It should be buried on a DVD rental shelf.