Product Description

Brendan Fraser, Jet Li, Maria Bello, John Hannah, Michelle YeohDirector: Rob Cohen

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3798 in DVD
• Brand: Blu-ray Action & Adventure
• Released on: 2008-12-01
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .26 pounds
• Running time: 111 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The third film in the The Mummy series freshens the franchise up by setting the action in China. There, the discovery of an ancient emperor's elaborate tomb proves a feather in the cap of Alex O'Connell (Luke Ford), a young archaeologist and son of Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser) and his wife Evelyn (Maria Bello, taking over the role from Rachel Weisz). Unfortunately, a curse that turned the emperor (Jet Li) and his army into terra cotta warriors buried for centuries is lifted, and the old guy prepares for world domination by seeking immortality at Shangri La. The O'Connells barely stay a step ahead of him (climbing through the Himalaya mountains with apparent ease), but the action inevitably leads to a showdown between two armies of mummies in a Chinese desert. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor has a lot to offer: a supporting cast that includes the elegant Michelle Yeoh, Russell Wong, and Liam Cunningham, the unexpected appearance of several Yeti, and a climactic battle sequence that is nightmarishly weird but compelling. On the downside, the charm so desperately sought in romantic relationships, as well as comic turns by John Hannah (as Evelyn's rascal brother), is not only absent but often annoying. Rarely have witty asides in the thick of battle been more unwelcome in a movie. Rob Cohen's direction is largely crisp if sometimes curious (a fight between Fraser and Jet Li keeps varying in speed for some reason), but his vision of Shangri La, in the Hollywood tradition, is certainly attractive. --Tom Keogh

Synopsis
Filled with spectacular action and sharp banter, THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR finds the dashing Rick and Evelyn O'Connell (Brendan Fraser and Maria Bello, who took over for Rachel Weisz) called upon for another world-saving adventure. The film opens in 50 B.C., when the ruthless Dragon Emperor (Jet Li) seeks to conquer one last enemy, death, and become an immortal ruler. But when the Emperor betrays an obliging sorceress (Michelle Yeoh), he and his army are cursed to spend an eternity in statuesque limbo. Fast forward to 1946, when Rick and Evelyn are struggling to adapt to their self-imposed retirement. But the fates have other plans, and soon the O'Connells are crossing paths with their somewhat estranged son, Alex (Luke Ford). While enthusiastically carrying on the family's tomb-raiding traditions, Alex has unwittingly brought the Dragon Emperor back to life. With the world in peril, the O'Connells must overcome their differences to prevent the Dragon Emperor from gaining immortality for himself and his army. Along the way they're joined by a mysterious young woman (Isabella Leong), a wily pilot, and a trio of Abominable Snowmen. Jumping from Shanghai to the Himalayas to the Chinese desert, director Rob Cohen (THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS, DRAGON: THE BRUCE LEE STORY) takes audiences on a breathless adventure that continues THE MUMMY's love of quick wits, close calls and big battles. The result is a spirited romp that proves evil is no match against a family united.

Customer Reviews

Oh dear....!
The third entry in The Mummy series Brendan Fraser returns as Rick O'Connell and the film begins when his son discovers an ancient emperor's tomb. Rick and his wife Evelyn are also asked to take an ancient object to China where they meet up with their son while they're there. However the emperor is awoken and this take the O'Connell family as well as Evelyn's brother John to the Himalayas to stop the emperor from getting to Shangri La to become immortal.

I'd read a lot of negative reviews absolutely crucifying this movie before seeing it but I really enjoyed the first two in the series so thought it was worth a rent, well now that I've seen it all I can do is add to the negative reviews as this film was pretty terrible. More than anything else the acting in this was awful - almost unbearable. I can put up with a bit of corny acting when watching a family action film as that is generally expected...just look at pretty much any other Brendan Fraser film (apart from Crash)...but the performances from Maria Bello (who took over from Rachel Weisz) and from Luke Ford is truly appalling and how these two ever graduated from acting school, never mind got the roles for this film, is beyond me as they are possibly two of the worst "actors" that I've ever seen. The storyline is poor and completely un-original and predictable. The action is ok but nothing near how exciting and memorable it was in the first two films. The yeti creatures that help them are laughable, the emperor is rubbish and the actual Jet Li isn't hardly in it (he's CGI for about 80% of the film).

Overall this is one of the most disappointing and rubbish films I've seen in a while and I definitely won't be buying this to finish off the trilogy. Instead I'm going to forget that I ever watched this mess and hope that they don't make any more. I'd definitely recommend avoiding this one and I only give it 2 stars as the picture quality on this Blu Ray version is very impressive, otherwise a 1 star rating would be generous.

The Mummy 3 is good but not as enjoyable as the 1st 2 films.
Brendan Fraser is having fun and is a good laugh to watch as normal. I miss not having Rachel Weisz as Fraser's wife because her replacement is'nt as sexy and the chemistry between them is lacking. There are two action scenes that went on a bit to long for me which were the chase and the final battle. I like the Yeti which helped are heros maybe because they reminded me of the Hothwompers from Empire Strikes Back. There is plenty of humour and action to enjoy with a good story about a very deadly resurrected Dragon Emperor played by Jet Li, who has an unstoppable legion of 10,000 warriors! Overall The Mummy 3 is an enjoyable action film which left me a little cold because it seems to be trying to hard and Rachel Weisz was missed. Still worth buying if you liked the others and if there is a Mummy 4 to be made please bring back Rachel Weisz.

Modern Day Monster Movie
This is another of those movies I've watched recently that has so many bad reviews, but when I've actually watched it, can't really see what all the fuss is about.
I think the biggest problem seems to be Brendan Fraser, there's just too many critics out there who hate the guy. It seems any of Brendans latest movies have him as the first stumbling block (Journey to the Center of the Earth/Inkheart), but myself, he does what he does, an action light hero for kids/family viewing.

OK, so to the film.
The first thing you notice that does take some getting used to is that Rachel Weisz has been replaced by Maria Bello. It took me about half the movie to get used to her, but that's not her fault, more I think that Weisz had made such an impact with the character in the first 2 movies. Also, there son Alex is now grown (Luke Ford) and is a mix of his Dad's adventurous spirit and his Uncle Jonathon's ignorance. But again, I'm not sure it's his fault I took so long to get used to him or more to the point that you kind of expect all heroes these days to be perfect and making mistakes just should'nt happen.
There's no Arnold Vosslo this outing as other than him being finished off in Mummy 2, thuis film takes place in China, with the Mummy being played superbly by Jet Li, a Warlord who conquered all he saw until he was tricked conquering the last goal-immortality by a witch played by Michelle Yeoh.
Of course after the Warlord is imprisoned for millenia along with his now Terracotta Army, he's accidentally released and the fun starts.

I think for me and my family, we enjoyed it so much as we'd been watching old Ray Harryhausen movies, and after those this just seemed the modern day equivalent. Simple classical stories interspersed with great monsters (abominable snowmen, 3 headed dragons etc) and one sided bad guys that you just know will not make it to the final credits.
What more do you want from a family movie?

Picture and sound are excellent though not stretching the format much. It's nice to see al the fiery detail in Jet Li's body as it cracks and moves exposing the fiery substance beneath, but the scenery did'nt really 'pop'as it did in The Forbidden Kingdom, the previous Blu Ray I watched.