Product ReviewsThe Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (DVD, 2008)

The Mummy - Again

I rate this movie only as good and not excellent for a few reasons- firstly, this 'mummy' is not the one we're used to seeing, played by the ever-excellent Arnold Vosloo, secondly, it was not central to Egypt (for which the current-culture mindset, Egypt is THE place for mummies) and thirdly, Evie is not the Evie we know and love, played by Rachel Weisz, but a new one played by Maria Bello- who I will applaud because she got the accent and attitude down PAT, but if you're like me, you like seeing the familiar faces, it helps when speaking about franchise sequels as you look for what you know.

Having said that, this movie is action-packed, so much so that I daresay the story seems to be overly derivative, but maybe that's just me. Of all of the Mummy movies to date, including the Scorpion King spin off, this one is the one I like the least.

I'm a huge Jet Li fan, huge- but I am not so sure that doing a mummy movie using ancient Chinese lore as the basis was such a great idea. If anything, I find that I like the movie less because of the lack of Egyptian influence. Had they just named it Tomb of the Dragon Emperor and left Mummy off of it, I might not feel as slighted. Or they could've marketed it as another Hong Kong action flick- I would've appreciated it more, I think.

I guess as a creature of habit, I think Mummy, I'm looking for something familiar yet exciting and I didn't get that with this installment. It was nice to see the kid all grown up but with the new Evie, new mummy type and new surroundings, it seemed like it should've been called something else.

As you can tell, I was not all that pleased with the movie, but I must say that on its own technical merits, it was a decent action movie with a lot of explosions and more than a few overly ludicrous segments (Yeti? Intelligent and discerning yeti?) but it was decent. I'd recommend it simply because as action movies go- there was a lot to be had in this one. Fans of the Mummy series may not take to this one so well.Read full review...

SECRET TO ETERNAL LIFE OR LIFE LESSON?

Features actors: brendan Fraser, Jet Li, Maria Bello.
Running time: 1 Hr. 52 min.

The dragon emperor and his army are taking over anything and everyone that they can.When the emperor hears of a witch who knows the secret to eternal life, he sends General Ming to seek her and bring her back.The emperor soon realizes that the witch is not what he expected and wants her all to himself.But when a love affair between General ming and the witch Zi Yuan, the emperor is furious and first has her cast a spell to make him live forever.The spell in Sanskirt a old language the emperor doesn't understand.When the emperor betrays the witch he soon realizes the trick was on him and the spell that was cast will stop him and his army and turn them into stone.Flash forward to present day Rick & Evely are retired but secretly miss their journeys & mummies!Their son Alex disovers this secret tomb in the desert along with the 2,000 year old curse.Ale'x new friend and love interest Lin seems to know a lot about this curse and has a unique dagger.When Rick & Evelyn are asked to return the eye of Shang ri-La to China they accept.Only to learn the eye can bring back the emperor and the army!!Many followers of the emperor will stop at nothing to get him back.It's not up to the O'Connell family to get rid of the mummies once again.It's a race to the Gateways of Shang Ri-La to stop this emperor from rising his army.Hopefully with the help of the Yeti snowmen can help delay this!

Would recommnd to rent.Sad to see that the beautiful Rachel Weiz was replaced by Maria Bello in this one.Hope this helps you decide.please click YES at the bottom!Thanks for taking the time to read this! :)Read full review...

Disappointing NOT funny and BAD casting~ SAD~

PLOT: THE O'CONNEL FAMILY IS BACK~ NOW ALEX IS AN BITTER ADULT AND WE LOST RACHEL WEIZ TO MARIA BELLO AS A BADLY BADLY CAST EVIE AND FRASER IS BACK~ AS THEY DEAL WITH THE RISE OF A CHINESE DRAGON EMPEROR~ AVERAGE and that is being generous~ only becauase the Special Effects keep us watching to the end~SAD~

WHY DID THEY BOTHER? THIS SAD~ FOLLOW UP TO THE GREAT FIRST TWO IS HERE~ THEY MADE EVERY MISTAKE~ WHY NOT BRING BACK RACHEL WEIZ OR AT least Cast a good actress in her role? Maria Bello WAS simply BAD as Evie~ Brendan Fraser as the more mature but bored Rick O'Connell drug into the search for the Dragon Emporer their son ALEX now an adult also BADLY cast and bitter to everyone about him Angry at his lack of fame and his parents success he digs up the DRAGON Emperor for fame~ the good casting her is Jet LI who between special effects and his own character stands out~ The O'Connals are off to China to prevent the NEW dug up MUMMY by son Alex who wants to take over the world~ does this plot sound familier~ ? only this one is NOT funny OR fun~ instead of some fun scares we see way too many back to back over done special effects and that leaves no time for humor or plot We feel like we are in a VIDEO game here~
the anger between Parents and SON are not anything we care about and the Maria Bello has you very disappointed. the one good thing is the special effects do keep you glued to the end~ what made the first two fun and successful is the excellent O'Connell Chemistry~ and the humor that emerged at the scarest of times. Too bad they did not hire Stephen Sommers to direct this one HE IS UNCREDITED AS A WRITER so they used his basic idea and some one else sadly messed it up~ Fraser looks bored and unhappy at times and we feel SAD that they messed up a series we loved so much~ I GIVE IT A 6 OUT OF 10 FOR ACTING, A ONE OF OUT OF 10 FOR CASTING EVIE SO BADLY AND A 8 OUT OF 10 FOR SPECIAL EFFECTS~

IF YOU FOUND THIS REVIEW HELPFUL PLEASE REMEMBER TO VOTE~Read full review...

Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - I miss my Mummy!

Purchased this DVD on Ebay after seeing the previews on TV. Some of the special effects are superior to the first two Mummy installments, and the movie is fast-paced and entertaining. Maria Bello does a capable job of replacing Rachel Weiz as Brendan Frasier's wife from the earlier films. They have added a son for Brendan's character who seems more of a hindrance than a foil for his actions. Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh are always professional, but don't get enough screen time and character development, but this film's existance is based on slam-bang action. A great film for wowing guests on your large screen TV, but not a classic. Good for several viewings and then to be entombed in your media cabinet! None of these big-budget films hold a candle to the original Universal's Mummy with Boris Karloff - a classic that endures!Read full review...

Could Have Been Better!

Not the same or even close to the first 2 Mummy movies..First of all a different Actress is playing Evie..second this film has nothing to do with Egyptian Mummies so why keep the word Mummy in this film?? Little Alex is all grown up and out to make a name for himself well outside his Mommy and Daddys' shadows..he unearths a Chinese Mummy The Dragon Emporer played wonderfully by Jet Lei..in comes Mommy and Daddy to save the day..the new Evie lacks warmth and depth..bring back our Evie please..adventure, comedy and a little bit of romance makes this movie a fun ride for Mummy Fans if only they hadn't left Egypt and hired a new Evie..I give this film 4 out of 5 barsRead full review...

This Mummy should have stayed in his crypt.

Its the same story as the previous ones and most of the stuff in the movie were taken from them as well. I love Brendan Fraser but he didn't look happy to be there and with how the story was set up, you can't blame him for looking miserable. He has no chemistry with Maria Bello, who was just awful (She's no Rachel Weisz, that's for damn sure.) and he has even less chemistry with his own son played by Luke Ford, who has the charisma and the charm of a brick, not to mention the fact that he looks just as old as both Fraser and Bello. Fraser has more chemistry with John Hannah, who is a welcome distraction from the lousiness of the film. The movie itself is just a flat headed mess of bad visual effects with no soul. Jet Li lacks the menacing presence of Arnold Vosloo from the previous films but that problem is more than less on the shoulders of the director, who was in my opinion more concern with the style of the film than any substance it could have had and because of that, Jet Li and most of the cast got the short end of the stick and it shows.

They should have ended it with the second film but instead, we have a movie that manages to make even "The Scorpion King" look as good as Iron Man or Dark Knight.Read full review...

3rd in the series is very good!

As always, Brendon Frasier is perfect, but Rachel Weisz is severely missed! The chemistry is not the same with the new Evie, but the movie has great special effects and a good story line to take your mind off of missing her. Rick and Evie are "retired" both bored out of their minds when the opportunity to get back in the game comes along. They both jump at the chance and are off on another journey that involves their son, too. It's good to see that the "aging" Mom and Dad can still teach the son a thing or two, and the son shows what he's made of. Of course, Jet Li is superb! Loved the movie!Read full review...

Follows the same pattern as all the other Mummy movies.

The Mummy: tomb of the Dragon Emperor is the fourth movie in the Brendan Fraser Mummy series (well, 5th if you include The Scorpion King Movie).

This movie sees some changes to the cast as we have a grown up kid for the O'Connells and a change in the actress that plays Eve (I miss RRachel Weisz).

The movie follows the same pattern but this time we are dealing with a Chinese Mummy instead of an Egyptian Mummy.

O'Connells accidentally wake up Mummy, go on epic journey to defeat Mummy, Run into some problems, then Defeat Mummy. Meh.

This is one of those popcorn movies where you go to watch the special effects not the story line. To me the cutest part was the animation on the Yeti's. :)

3/5 Not bad but not spectacular. A great way to burn a Saturday afternoon at home.

Latsyhrc
Tamarack CollectiblesRead full review...

the mummy w/jet li

it was good , I liked the first mummy movies better , jet li didn't fit the evil bad guy role I think he was not evil enough looking .
But it was worth watching . The special effects were good but everything was predictable .Read full review...

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The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

I bought this movie because I love The Mummy series. It was good to see Rick OConnell back in action. I didn't find the movie as good as the previous ones. It seemed tired and reaching. At the same time; I did find other parts a lot of fun. I miss the 'original' wife; and think the movie would have been a lot better if Rachel Weisz had been recast. All the actors were good; but it didn't seem to have the same chemistry. It was also strange to find them retired; when they looked as young as their son. I did like the original plotline; it could have been tightened up and strengthened. It had a lot more potential. I still enjoyed the movie; and will watch again. Looking forward to the next movie.Read full review...