What Was Wrong With The Mummy 3?

A lot was wrong with the movie. In its production and promotional stages, I did have a feeling that The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor wasn't going to be entertaining and thrilling. The trailer wasn't very catchy, and the public details about the film itself raised some eyebrows of The Mummy fans.

1. No Rachel Weisz

I was disappointed in hearing that Rachel Weisz wasn't going to reprise her role as Evie. She and Brendan Fraser were so compatible with their roles. She knew how to act ditzy and intelligent at the same time, and she knew how to exude humor in her role.

I have never heard of Maria Bello before this film. She has talent, but I would not have traded Rachel Weisz for her. She managed to almost sound like Rachel Weisz, but I noticed something stiff in her tone. It almost felt forced, whereas Rachel was so natural.

2. No Oded Fehr

This was a given when news came out that the setting for the new movie was ancient China. Didn't the film makers know that Oded Fehr brought a lot of charm to the previous The Mummy movies? Casting him out was a loss on their part.

3. China and Chinese mummies

When I hear the word "mummy", I immediately think of Egypt. China would be so far out from my mind. India would've been closer, perhaps. But China?

The Chinese emperor, or the Dragon Emperor (Jet Li), didn't even become a real mummy. The emperor and his army just happened to become terracotta figures. Their insides weren't taken out and they didn't undergo mummification. They were more like sand warriors to me (and even as sand warriors they are way down below the dog warriors of Anubis in The Mummy Returns).

4. Alex O'Connell looks like his just his father's age

Just who did the casting for this film?

I do not doubt that Luke Ford would have clinched the role of an adventurer. But to be the 18-year-old adventurer son of Brendan Fraser and Maria Bello was not a good role for him. For starters, he doesn't look 18. There would've been no problem if he looked 18 even though he is in reality 27 years old. But he looks like Brendan Fraser's buddy instead of his son.

There should've been no shortage of younger actors fit for the role. What were the casting directors thinking?!

5. Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh

I love them. They're great martial artists and great performers. But I didn't like their performance in The Mummy 3. They were both stiff. Maybe it was because of their roles (Chinese nobility and honor and all that), but I would have liked to see some more spirit in their actions.

It was said that they choreographed their sword fight scene. After I saw it, I wished Jackie Chan was a part of the movie. He could'v helped with the action choreography because that one-on-one was lame.

6. Jet Li's No Dragon

Leave the dragon to the Lee and not the Li. Jet Li does not exude the menace of a dragon, much less a three-headed one.

7. Bad 3D effects

The dragon was bad, and the skeleton army was more than messy. The yeti were cute and I would love to cuddle up with them. But to rate the special effects in its totality, I'd give it 2 out of 5 stars. The dragon transforming back into Jet Li had a lot to do with my rating.

8. Lame Humor

The third film just didn't get into the level of previous The Mummy movies when it comes to humor. In The Mummy 3, it felt like the humor and the punch lines were injected forcefully. Even Brendan Fraser's facial expressions and intonations couldn't make me snicker even a little.

9. The Pace

It was so obvious that the director for the third film was not the director of The Mummy and The Mummy Returns. Stephen Sommers can make you enjoy the ride of the movies. Rob Cohen, on the other hand, shifts from one scene to another like he was trying to squeeze the movie in two hours. Hey, we can handle more than two hours of screen time (just look at the box-office hits of The Dark Knight and Spiderman).

Really.
If ever I want to watch mummy movies, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor won't be on the list.