by Thomas Ferguson

Move over Professor Indiana Jones!  Your crystal skull has been cracked by adventurer Rick O’Connell and his family of tomb raiders.

Brendan Fraser reprises his role in the third installment of the very popular The Mummy franchise, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. This time around, an ancient Chinese Emperor (Jet Li) is unearthed by Rick’s ambition son Alex ( Luke Ford). This discovery could prove both lucrative and give bragging rights for this Prodigal Son, secretly searching  for his father’s approval. In the middle of this rivalry is mom and wife Evelyn ( Maria Bello-replacing Rachel Weitz from the first two installments) who believes Rick needs to step up before they lose their son.

Unfortunately, they could lose him at the hands of Emperor Han, who has powers beyond imagination. Cursed by Zi Juan, an ancient witch (Michelle Yeoh), Han wants revenge on her and her daughter Lin (Isabella Leong) who have dedicated their lives protecting Han’s tomb. Making sure no one has the opportunity to resurrect the Emperor and  his army of soldiers. As you have guessed already, they failed. Now, Rick  and company must stop the Emperor before he can make it to a fountain of everlasting life. If successful, Han will become immortal and even more powerful.

This was a fun ride from start to finish. Epic battles, interesting story line, romance, humor...all the things needed for a good solid two hours of entertainment. Everything I loved about the first two installments made their way into this new installment.

I enjoyed the Chinese influences and mythology. What a unique spin on the mummy concept. I also enjoyed the casting. Fraser has laid dormant for a few years, but he sure has made a splash this summer. With both this blockbuster and Journey to the Center of the Earth , he proves his star has not fallen. The addition of Bello proved a risk worth taking.

Weitz became a mainstream star with the original movie and I hope this will do the same for Bello. Li and Yeoh are masters of their craft and they certainly delivered here.  Ford and Leong were both nice additions to the already stellar cast.

My only complaint here would be some of the dialogue, mainly with Evelyn’s money hungry brother Jonathan (John Hanna). His banter was delightful and refreshing in the first two installments, but I found it a bit stale this time.

There is only so much cheese I can take before I begin to whine!