If someone were to have asked me about this film prior to my having seen it this evening, I would have replied that director Rob Cohen may not be the greatest in Hollywood, but is pretty reliable for entertainment value. See The Fast and the Furious, xXx and Stealth for example. Fun, action packed, nothing more. My one major mistake in that logic is forgetting that the director's last foray into the world of fantasy was the woefully abysmal Dragonheart. Needless to say, I now advise anyone to avoid all Rob Cohen films with the word "dragon" in the title at all costs.
We begin with the obligatory Mummy prologue which as it happens is as good as it gets. It pumps the juices and readies you for a thrill ride that never comes. We learn that an evil Emperor (Jet Li) was encased in molten rock back in ye olde China by a sorceress who plans to leave him there for all eternity. Then we flash forward to London 1946, in which we find retired adventurers Evie and Rick O'Connell increasingly desperate to get out there for more action, while their son sets about predictably unearthing the aforementioned Emperor over in China. In a twist of contrived fate, Jonathan, Evie's brother (once again played as irritating toff by John Hannah) happens to have a night club in Shanghai, prompting everyone to meet up for a spot of Mummy reviving. Chaos ensues and Jet Li spins around quite a bit, while not being the least bit intimidating.
Maria Bello, so wonderful in such films as The Cooler, A History of Violence, and even Coyote Ugly, puts in the worst performance of her career, turning even the most cringeworthy portions of the script into excruciating torture, her nasal Brit accent like nails on a blackboard. Dick Van Dyke beware, she's trying to nick your throne. The rest of the cast struggle with a screenplay that must have been produced by a 'type genre here' kind of script generating software. Only Brendan Fraser comes out mildly unscathed, while his director blows things up around him as messily as possible, chucking in everything from crappy CGI yetis, flawed fantasy logic and some poorly judged humour. I'll be happy never to have to hear John Hannah yelling for Brendan Fraser to spank his arse ever again, while the Yak incident hits rock bottom so hard that it's a wonder anyone on set wasn't hit by the flying shrapnel. The soundtrack blares over the pointless one liners, pillaging from both the previous scores, saying nothing new or memorable, and while the sound may be hard to make out, Cohen's Bourne-infected camera tries very hard to make each set piece harder and harder to see. These films are inspired by Indiana Jones and 40's serials, and part of their charm is their style of old school cinematography, so the jerky MTV camera here is jarring to say the least.
While the film may have it's small moments, overall it's a waste of time and talent. The change of setting is not enough to give this franchise anything particularly new, since it continues to follow the same beats of it's predecessors religiously every step of the way. The first two movies may have had their short comings, but both were still highly entertaining Jones rip-offs and quite obviously a labour of love for their creator Steven Sommers. This is just another blockbuster off the factory line for Universal, in no way a challenge for the disappointing but infinitely more enjoyable Indy IV. My advice? Go and see The Dark Knight again.
We begin with the obligatory Mummy prologue which as it happens is as good as it gets. It pumps the juices and readies you for a thrill ride that never comes. We learn that an evil Emperor (Jet Li) was encased in molten rock back in ye olde China by a sorceress who plans to leave him there for all eternity. Then we flash forward to London 1946, in which we find retired adventurers Evie and Rick O'Connell increasingly desperate to get out there for more action, while their son sets about predictably unearthing the aforementioned Emperor over in China. In a twist of contrived fate, Jonathan, Evie's brother (once again played as irritating toff by John Hannah) happens to have a night club in Shanghai, prompting everyone to meet up for a spot of Mummy reviving. Chaos ensues and Jet Li spins around quite a bit, while not being the least bit intimidating.
Maria Bello, so wonderful in such films as The Cooler, A History of Violence, and even Coyote Ugly, puts in the worst performance of her career, turning even the most cringeworthy portions of the script into excruciating torture, her nasal Brit accent like nails on a blackboard. Dick Van Dyke beware, she's trying to nick your throne. The rest of the cast struggle with a screenplay that must have been produced by a 'type genre here' kind of script generating software. Only Brendan Fraser comes out mildly unscathed, while his director blows things up around him as messily as possible, chucking in everything from crappy CGI yetis, flawed fantasy logic and some poorly judged humour. I'll be happy never to have to hear John Hannah yelling for Brendan Fraser to spank his arse ever again, while the Yak incident hits rock bottom so hard that it's a wonder anyone on set wasn't hit by the flying shrapnel. The soundtrack blares over the pointless one liners, pillaging from both the previous scores, saying nothing new or memorable, and while the sound may be hard to make out, Cohen's Bourne-infected camera tries very hard to make each set piece harder and harder to see. These films are inspired by Indiana Jones and 40's serials, and part of their charm is their style of old school cinematography, so the jerky MTV camera here is jarring to say the least.
While the film may have it's small moments, overall it's a waste of time and talent. The change of setting is not enough to give this franchise anything particularly new, since it continues to follow the same beats of it's predecessors religiously every step of the way. The first two movies may have had their short comings, but both were still highly entertaining Jones rip-offs and quite obviously a labour of love for their creator Steven Sommers. This is just another blockbuster off the factory line for Universal, in no way a challenge for the disappointing but infinitely more enjoyable Indy IV. My advice? Go and see The Dark Knight again.