Teen critic: China locale for 3rd ‘Mummy’ aids appeal
by Marcel Adamczyk on Aug. 05, 2008, under Calendar, Family
Marcel Adamczyk, 14
The “Mummy” series rises from a seven-year-long slumber in its third installment of “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.” This time the adventure takes a new direction, heading east to the sands and snowy peaks of China.
Early into the movie we are told the tale of the Dragon Emperor’s (Jet Li) fate.
Searching for immortality, the ruler finds a sorceress named Zi Juan (Michelle Yeoh) who he knows can grant him the power. She agrees to help him and casts the spell on the emperor. Immediately after, he threatens to kill Zi Juan’s lover if she doesn’t agree to become his empress. She refuses and curses him and his army to spend eternity in stone.
Two thousand years later, Rick O’Connell (Brendan Fraser) and his wife Evelyn (Maria Bello) are entering retirement. Little do they know that their now adult son Alex (Luke Ford) had just discovered the Dragon Emperor’s tomb during an archeological dig in China.
After seeing the first two “Mummy” movies, I got a bit tired of the idea of undead Egyptian mummies. But this movie gave the series new flavor by setting it in China, a unique place to film a mummy movie.
On top of that, the mummy in this one is different than what fans became familiar with in the last stories. Instead of merely controlling the sands of the desert, our new mummy shoots fire and shape-shifts, making him even harder to take down.
If you’re looking for the action-packed scenes the series is known for, this one’s still got them (gun fights, explosions, car chases – you name it).
“The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” is a movie that has managed to retain the adventure of its prequels while giving itself a new look. If you’re a fan of the series, get off the couch and out to the movie theater ’cause you’ll definitely enjoy this one.
