“The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” is but a shadow of the franchise’s former greatness. Whereas the original Mummy film unabashedly followed the adventure film formula – and did it so well that the film was an unmitigated success – this installment follows its own “Mummy” formula to an unremarkable and unsuccessful end. The truth is, not only is the formula growing old and tired, so are the actors. Not even the introduction of Maria Bello as Evelyn (formerly portrayed by Rachel Weisz) or Luke Ford as Alex can infuse the franchise with a freshness or, at the very least, a newfound vigor. That’s not to say that Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is awful. It’s just not very good, either.

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Overview

The Mummy Returns is a failed attempt to recreate the enjoyment and success of the original Mummy film. The truth is, this movie suffers from just about every pitfall that plagues the typical sequel. There is very little that works in this film. For the most part, we move from one pointless action set piece to another in a plot that is barely sustainable under the oppressive weight of contrivance and implausibility. About all that the film once had going for it was its preponderance of digitized special effects. But now, seven years later, the effects look very much dated (and obvious). About all that’s left to enjoy are a few brief moments from familiar characters, and a few, relatively sparse, scenes which manage to create a semblance of adventure and suspense.

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Overview

The Mummy is a classic period adventure film that is wonderfully action-packed, funny, and epic. When it debuted in the weeks just prior to release of The Phantom Menace in 1999, there was little hope that The Mummy would withstand the juggernaut of George Lucas’ much anticipated (and hyped) prequel trilogy. But nearly a decade later, The Mummy has not only withstood the test of time, but it has also spawned its own myriad of sequels – the third of which is due in August 2008. But in going back to the beginning, it’s clear that while the movie has a magic all its own. And despite being cliché, the film manages to be the best cliché it possibly can be.

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The third Mummy film, titled “The Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” is set to be released August 1, 2008. A new trailer has just been released.   The voice over reads: “After 2,000 years, a mystery lost to time is about to be unearthed … and a legendary evil will be awoken …”

Click below to view it:

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