Friday 29 August 2008

The Mummy - Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - Reviewed

There’s been a lot of criticism directed at this film. Personally I didn’t see a problem with it. Okay Rachel Weisz wasn’t available to reprise her role as Evelyn but I thought Maria Bello did an admirable job in the role. Maybe turning young Alex into an adult (with an American accent?) perhaps was the only gripe I had with it!

The action takes place in China, with young Alex taking over as the adventurer, as his parents have retried from the business. But when a group of followers attempt to resurrect a murderous ancient emperor, the O’Connell’s are called up for one last adventure….

The film has been met with lukewarm appreciation from critics. You either like it or you don’t, a bit like Torchwood really! As a package, the film looks amazing and I think moving the story from Egypt to China has breathed more life into the franchise. Although I don’t think they should have moved the story on as much as they did, in terms of years. I would have liked to seen a film (or two?) set during the war, as the O’Connell’s, apparently, worked as spies. I thought that would have been a far more interesting addition to the story.

Jet Li heads the support cast as the Dragon Emperor, with John Hannah being priceless once again as Jonathan. Although I did feel that his accent was slipping far too much into his native Scots one!

Overall its harmless family fun. Some of the scenes are visually breathtaking, the battle scenes in particular. Although there are some parts that could have been done better, this film was no worse than the recent Indiana Jones film, that people love to compare it against! Also, I didn’t think releasing it in the midst of ‘The Dark Knight’ frenzy helped much!

8/10

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