The Mummy - Tomb of the Dragon Emperor: Movie Review

The Mummy - Tomb of the Dragon Emperor: Movie Review

Cast: Brendan Fraser, Maria Bello, Jet Li, John Hannah
Director: Rob Cohen

Rating: 3/10
De La Soul once remarked that three was the magic number.
When it comes to the Mummy 3, Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, the third time is definitely not the charm.
This latest (and hopefully last) instalment in the franchise finds Brendan Fraser's Rick O'Connell and Maria Bello's Evie O'Connell in 1946, retired from the archaeology game after twice defeating an Egyptian mummy.
Only this time, they're struggling with retirement - Evie's writing novels of derring do and how she and hubby beat the mummy; Rick on the other hand is trying his hand at fly fishing (although resorting to the gun when it doesn't go how he wants); and Evie's brother Jonathan (John Hannah) is now running a bar in China.
But trouble has a way of finding the O'Connells as their son Alex (newcomer to the franchise Luke Ford) manages to unearth Chinese emperor Han (Jet Li) during a dig.
Emperor Han was poised to gain immortality and take over the world with his army of warriors until he was cursed by Michelle Yeoh's Zi Juan and turned to stone.
Trouble is Alex uncovers a whole heap of problems for the world once Han's resurrected via betrayal, double crossing, a magical jewel and some blood&can the mummy be defeated a third time? Well, have a guess...

The "charm" with threequels is that you know the characters, their quirky ways and don't have to worry about the back story and a director can just get on with it.

The "problem" with threequels, is ultimately many appear to have run out of plots and rely on old favourites, bigger bangs and explosions to hide the gaping holes in the story.

I think my problem with this film is that I had a distinct feeling of déjà vu early on and subsequently lost all interest.
However, I was impressed that Maria Bello's appearance as Evie (Rachel Weisz sensibly declined reprising her role) was explained away in a throwaway (but savvy) line about how the Evie of her books was a different person to her; but, the malaise appeared to have spread to the rest of the cast with Brendan Fraser looking like he's simply going through the motions and John Hannah's bumbling fool has a reduced role and seems surplus to requirements.

Although I can pinpoint exactly the moment I mentally checked out of this film - it was when Lin (Zi Juan's immortal daughter and potential love interest to Alex) issued a cry for help in the Himalayas and it was answered by a crack squad of CGI yeti....

There are some attempts at showing the strains of retirement on the O'Connells with the father/ son relationship being difficult (though ultimately resolved through a love of guns) and with Rick and Evie's relationship struggling to survive the banality of a normal life after the thrills of being thrown together in their quest to defeat Arnold Vosloo's Imhotep Mummy in the earlier films.

But if you want to leave your brain in neutral, discard any rational thought, then the Mummy 3 is bigger, dumber and louder than its predecessors.

Sadly though, I'd side with the opinion that it's time this franchise was as dead and buried as the mummies (and ancient plots) they dug up to make it in the first place.

Hellboy 2 - The Golden Army: Movie Review

Hellboy 2 - The Golden Army: Movie Review

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army
Starring: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones

Director: Guillermo del Toro
Rating: 7/10
Ahh, sequels.
They're a curious beast - for every Empire Strikes Back and Two Towers, there's a Grease 2, Speed 2 or Matrix Revolutions waiting in the wings to sully the memory of the brilliance of the first film.
So it's a relief for me, as a comic book geek, to report that despite the multitude of plaudits for director Guillermo del Toro in the four years since the first Hellboy, this latest outing Hellboy 2: The Golden Army continues to build and improve on the original film.
However, that's not to say it's without fault.
As the film opens, Hellboy (played as wonderfully as ever by Ron Perlman) is battling domestic demons - rather than the usual fairytale ones.
Since the first film, ole Red has shacked up with his girlfriend, the pyrokinetic Liz Sherman (played by Selma Blair) and is fighting the paranormal with the help of the undercover organisation he was recruited into.
But, he's finding it difficult to live with the love of his life - and he is in constant conflict with his boss (an outstanding performance from Jeffrey Tambor) who is trying desperately to keep their world saving activities quiet rather than have their behaviour publically splashed across the media and exposed.
Things take a turn for the worse when Prince Nuada (played by Luke Goss of Blade 2 and UK boyband fame) starts his quest to seize control of a mythical army which could destroy the world.
And so, Hellboy has to put to one side the problems of his own little world so that he can start trying to save the real world.
In some ways, director Guillermo del Toro has done a great job with the second film; he's built on the wonderful visual effects displayed in the first film four years ago.
The fantasy world is wonderfully realized through a myriad of delightfully weird on screen creatures (as you'd come to expect from the man who won such plaudits for Pan's Labyrinth). Del Toro has made the fantasy world and its inhabitants feel so normal that you actually forget to look at whether it's CGI or live action models.
But, at the same time, somewhere, he seems to have lost his way a little.
The plot of Hellboy 2 is, at times, slow and weak - and those in charge of writing it seem to have jettisoned some of the chances which could have seen some real meat for Perlman's Hellboy character.
During one spectacular action sequence, when faced with a creature intent on destroying part of downtown New York, Hellboy is tormented by the fact that this creature he has to kill is the last of its kind.
He agonises over whether to destroy it and protect the human world which is starting to despise him or acknowledge his true nature as an outsider and let it kill everything in its path.
Another weak point is the ending of the film - it's a major disappointment that after a dazzling fight scene and with our heroes facing insurmountable odds, it's almost as if del Toro decided it would be easier to throw together a weak ending; and what should have been a highly emotional denouement is simply a damp squib.
Although having said that, there are plenty of hints that another film is on the way - with Hellboy's future looking pretty bleak - as well as the entire human race.

Comic book geeks and teens will love Hellboy 2 - but others may struggle to find the kind of mass appeal that other films like Spiderman 2 and The Two Towers proffered up to the masses.