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2008
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THE
MUMMY:TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR
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STARRING:MARIA
BELLO,LUKE FORD,BRENDAN FRASER,JOHN HANNAH, ISABELLA LEONG,JET
LI,JESSEY MENG,RUSSELL WONG,MICHELLE YEOH
BASED
ON THE 1932 FILM THE MUMMY WRITTEN BY JOHN L.BALDERSTON
BASED
ON CHARACTERS CREATED BY STEPHEN SOMMERS
SCREENPLAY
BY ALFRED GOUGH & MILES MILLAR
PRODUCED
BY SEAN DANIEL,BOB DUCSAY,JAMES JACKS & STEPHEN SOMMERS
DIRECTED
BY ROB COHEN
GENRE:ACTION/ADVENTURE/FANTASY/THRILLER
RATED:AUSTRALIA:M/UK:12A/USA:PG-13
RUNNING
TIME:112 MIN
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Set
13 years after The Mummy Returns, the Tomb of the
Dragon Emperor re-unites the audience with adventurer's Rick and
Evelyn O'Connell (Brendan Fraser and Maria Bello, who filled in for
Rachel Weisz and does a good Katharine Hepburn in the process), who
have grown restless in retirement. Their estranged son Alex (dashing
young Australian actor Luke Ford) has followed in his parents footsteps
and in the process unearths the ruthless warlord and master of the
five elements Emperor Han (an uninterested Jet Li), who is based on
real life ancient figure Emperor Qin.
After the emperor and his army are resurrected, the O'Connell's along
with the help of a sorceress (Michelle Yeoh) and her daughter (Isabella
Leong) must band together to save the world from destruction.
Although it has been seven years since the last Mummy
film, director Rob Cohen (who replaced original director Stephen Sommers)
has decided to resurrect the defunct franchise after he saw potential
in the series, and I must admit I do like where his head is at in
regards to the franchises direction. With a new setting, a new ancient
civilization, and a new villain, this should have been the sequel
to the first film.
The problem is that in spite of its new surroundings, Cohen does not
bring anything new to the table: it is still the same big sets, big
effects, big stars extravaganza which has preceded it twice before.
This time out, however, the action sequences are not that thrilling
and its humour falls flat. Also, Cohen's direction is off putting
with his tendency to shoot close with shaky cam, which does not bond
well for a visually extravagant film such as this.
But all of this is done not without lack of trying. Visually, the
effects in this film are extremely impressive, and a climatic final
act does pick up the pace with an entertaining battle sequence. Yet
this big budget spectacle just does not contain the same romp and
spirit which made the first film so entertaining. |
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