The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" is a cheeseball film that's hard to love but impossible to hate.
It has too many things going for it: a) actors who take the movie seriously but not too seriously; b) effects that are never so special they forget they're in a mummy movie; and c) a story that's easy to follow.
That last thing never happens in A-grade summer action movies, since A-grade filmmakers always add convolutions in an attempt to lend their movies weight.
"Tomb of the Dragon Emperor," by contrast, is so unapologetically B grade that it takes pains to point out, through an in-joke, that a lead role from the first two "Mummy" films is now played by a different actress (Maria Bello, replacing Rachel Weisz). It also – again, unapologetically – cobbles its story from 50 other films. Screenwriters Miles Millar and Alfred Gough throw in a smattering of Chinese history and call it a movie.
Like most mummy or tomb-raider films, it involves an ancient emperor (Jet Li) who is entombed, reawakened and enraged. Entombment and reawakening can turn even the most reasonable guy cranky, but the emperor showed a temper before going underground.
He summons a sorceress (Michelle Yeoh) to provide him with immortality. When she dares to romance his top general (Russell Wong) instead of the ruler himself, the emperor does away with both general and sorceress. But here's a lesson they don't teach in despot school: Never cross a sorceress who has scruples. Instead of giving the emperor immortality, she curses him.
If the curse on the evil emperor and his army is lifted, they will inflict destruction on the world. So naturally, when the film flashes forward a few millennia, young Alex O'Connell (Luke Ford), son of adventurers Rick and Evelyn O'Connell (Brendan Fraser and Bello), is hard at work unearthing the sarcophagus containing the emperor. He's followed closely by his parents, enlisted to return a magic diamond to China. They are unaware their AWOL son already is in China.
They all meet at the Shanghai nightclub owned by Evelyn's brother, Jonathan (John Hannah), supplier of constant asides that never quite reach funny.
Rick is upset with Alex for falling out of touch and dropping out of college. But soon, everyone must work together, since they've all been duped about the mission.
From here on out, the movie consists almost entirely of action sequences, to varying degrees of success. Director Rob Cohen, taking over the series from Stephen Sommers, returns to his "XXX" days with helicopter shots of snowy mountaintops and a dazzling vehicle-vs.-cliff showdown.
A chase scene through the streets of 1947 Shanghai is ho-hum apart from a vibrant, obviously studio-bound backdrop lit by neon and the orange-red eyes of the emperor, enlivened but still encased in terra cotta. Regardless of advancements in computer-generated effects in recent years, "fire eyes" always look straight out of 1958.
An American daring to play British, Bello does fine in Weisz's role. But there's not much to it, since Evelyn mostly frets about her son and husband not getting along.
With a serious expression that withstands even the silliest setups, Fraser remains well-suited to a role he originated nearly a decade ago. But he's still too boyish to pull off playing dad to Ford, who at 27 is just 12 years his junior. Bello, 41, is believable as Ford's mother, mostly because of the period costuming. In her "Coyote Ugly" vest, she would look like his sister.
Coming across as a poor man's Matt Damon, Australian actor Ford handles himself ably enough in action scenes. But his Aussie accent sneaks through too often. Given that his character's parents are American and English, perhaps Ford is trying to split the difference.
A romance between Alex and a mysterious young woman named Lin ( Hong Kong singer and actress Isabella Leong) is preposterous given the circumstances of their meeting. And I don't use "preposterous" lightly in regard to a film featuring terra-cotta walking dead.
Far more intriguing is the interaction in flashback scenes between Yeoh and Wong. These actors generate more heat with an accidental brush of hands than Leong and Ford do through the entire film.
Yeoh also shows the kids how it's done in a fight scene with Li. This scene marks the highlight of Li's performance, most of which is obscured by heavy makeup and CGI. Then again, it might not even be Li behind the all those effects.
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
2 1/2 stars
CAST: Brendan Fraser, Maria Bello, Luke Ford, Jet Li, Michelle Yeoh
DIRECTOR: Rob Cohen
THEATERS: Century (Downtown Plaza, Folsom, Greenback, Roseville, Stadium), Regal (Auburn, Davis, El Dorado Hills, Natomas, Placerville), UA Laguna, Sacramento Drive-in, Colfax, State Woodland
114 minutes
Rated PG-13 (adventure action and violence)
Call Bee movie critic Carla Meyer, (916) 321-1118.
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