Round three of this Indiana Jones-lite franchise has intrepid explorers Rick and Evelyn O'Connell (Brendan Fraser and Maria Bello) taking on that proverbial "one final mission," and winding up in China, where the pair mix it up with all manner of supernatural critters. With its emphasis on bombastic CGI sequences over anything resembling a story, this third Mummy installment is so unabashedly mindless the only possible way to remotely enjoy oneself is to go into it without even so-so expectations. The action sequences are cheesy but plentiful, although the lapses into silliness are sometimes as trying as they are unintentional (a pack of Yetis show up at one point like a cavalry of anthropomorphic pussycats). Even more problematic, Jet Li and Michele Yeoh, two of the Chinese cinema's greatest stars, are completely wasted here; and then there's that lame father-son dynamic supplied by the oafish and charisma-challenged Luke Ford, who plays Fraser and Bello's grown-up son (although he looks more like their brother). What else would you expect from a mummy movie whose titular creature isn't even a mummy? He's some sort of terra cotta statue thingie, for those picking nits, but I suppose The Terra Cotta Statue Thingie Formerly Known as The Mummy just wasn't a catchy enough title.
The Mummy 3: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (PG-13) Stars Brendan Fraser, Maria Bello, Jet Li, Michele Yeoh and John Hannah. Now playing at local theaters. —Lance Goldenberg
This article appears in Aug 6-12, 2008.
