The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

The O'Connell family returns for another breathtaking outing against the furious undead. But this time there is a change of scene.

Emperor Han (Li) of China awakes after the 2000-year-old curse is broken by the now grown-up Alex O'Connell (Luke Ford). The emperor is here to conquer the world and is probably the strongest enemy to date with power to control the five elements, not to mention his formidable army of clay. With some help from a local sorceress (Michelle Yeoh) and the ever-so-unreliable Jonathan (Hannah), can Alex and his parents Rick (Fraser) and Eve (Bello) save the world once more? So forget the pyramids and Anubis and bring on the Great Wall and the terracotta army!

China may not sound like the best substitute for Egypt, but it is certainly interesting and the story works well. The antagonist is based on the real life emperor Qin Shi Huang who unified China in 221 BC and in fact has a tomb that looks like a pyramid. Unsurprisingly, the film follows the same old formula that most of us enjoyed in the first two Mummy films and the tale is as entertaining as ever.

Playing the same character the third time, Brendan Fraser portrays the hero effortlessly while the brilliant John Hannah is there to provide the much-loved comic relief. The film also has some acting talent on the Chinese side and they put forward a performance that can match the opposition.

This instalment is full of great scenery and impressive visual effects. With such a rich setting, director Rob Cohen was able to produce some interesting sequences to keep everyone excited. The attention to detail is also worth praising since quite a bit of effort is required to produce such a change of scene.

This is light-hearted entertainment that should not be viewed too seriously. And for those who have enjoyed the previous two instalments or who just want a break from study in the middle of term, this is the one to watch.

Jeffrey Choi