Franchises: Universal's Modern Mummy Series. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008)

Unlike the first two movies, which I knew of well in advance of their releases, it wasn't until I was at the theater in early summer of 2008 to see The Incredible Hulk that I even learned a third Mummy movie had been made at all. I saw both the trailer and the poster in the lobby, and from the former, I grasped that, while you still had Brendan Fraser as Rick O'Connell, as well as his son, now an adult, this was a completely different adventure in terms of its setting and main antagonist. And for a long time, that was all I knew, as like the previous ones, I didn't see it in the theater, and didn't hear much about it when it finally came out except that it was bad and proof that the series had run its course. I also assumed that, like just about everything else that summer, it got crushed by The Dark Knight, and didn't do too well, which was why there wasn't a fourth movie in the following years (at least, not in this particular series, but we'll get to that in a few days). Regardless, I was in no hurry to check it out once it hit home media, either, as I still hadn't seen The Mummy Returns by that point and the idea of it being set in another country besides Egypt and dealing with an undead Chinese warlord didn't appeal to me (though, I now realize that was a needed change of pace). Even when I got the first two movies on Blu-Ray in the early 2010's, I opted not to get Tomb of the Dragon Emperor as well, despite it not being any more expensive, as I just didn't care. It wasn't until I decided on this year's theme that I finally watched it... and like The Mummy Returns, I don't think it quite warrants its bad reputation. It's definitely the weakest of the series, for sure, sorely missing 98% of the characters and actors who helped make the previous ones as fun as they were, as well as a lot of the spirit and energy that Stephen Sommers brought, and it also has the most lowbrow and eye-rolling instances of humor. What's more, the Dragon Emperor himself doesn't have nearly the presence of Imhotep or even the Scorpion King, there's still plenty of bad CGI, and as the story plays out, you begin to notice a pattern that's been well worn by this point. But, like the first two, the movie goes at a good pace and is never boring (at 111 minutes, it's much shorter), with plenty of entertaining action sequences, and Brendan Fraser and John Hannah are more than welcome in their reprising of their respective roles.

In Ancient China, as the country is torn apart by civil war, one ruthless king conquers the other kingdoms and becomes an all-powerful emperor. Enslaving those he has conquered, he has them work to build the Great Wall, and buries them beneath it when they die. He also learns to control the elements of fire, water, earth, wood, and metal. But as he grows older, he fears that death will mean the end of his legacy, and sends his trusted second-in-command, General Ming, to find Zi Yuan, a sorceress said to know the secret of eternal life. When she's brought before the Emperor, he decides he wants her for himself. He has Ming escort her to the monastery of Turfan, where she finds the Oracle Bones, an ancient collection of mystical secrets. Returning with it, Zi Yuan casts a spell over the Emperor, who then reveals that he knows she and Ming have become lovers. He has Ming executed, and attempts to kill Zi Yuan, only to realize that, instead of immortality, she cursed both him and his army, turning them to terracotta. Centuries later, in 1946, Rick and Evelyn O'Connell, having served the British government as spies during World War II, are now living in retirement in Oxfordshire. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, their now 22-year old son, Alex, is working on a dig in the Ningxia Province. He and his archeology professor, Roger Wilson, find the Emperor's tomb, and despite several assistants dying from ancient booby-traps, and being attacked by a mysterious young woman, they manage to get his sarcophagus to the Shanghai Museum. At the same time, the British government contacts Rick and Evy to courier a precious gemstone, the Eye of Shangri-La, to Shanghai, where Evy's brother, Jonathan, happens to own a nightclub. They arrive during Chinese New Year, and, despite some lingering tension between Alex and his parents, especially with his father, they accompany their son to the museum to see his find and return the Eye. Once they do, they learn that Wilson is working with a rogue military faction who plan on resurrecting the Emperor, believing he can return postwar China to its former glory. Once he is revived, the Emperor intends to make his way to Shangri-La and bathe in a pool there that gives eternal life, before embarking on a campaign to conquer the entire world. Now, the O'Connells must join forces with the mysterious woman, Lin, whose family have watched over the tomb for centuries, in order to stop the Emperor.

Long before production began on the film, Stephen Sommers had expressed doubts that he would be the one directing a third Mummy movie if it came about. Specifically, while promoting Van Helsing, he said he didn't think he had the energy for it. (You'd think that would mean he wanted to do some smaller movies after three big blockbusters in a row, but remember, his next film as director was G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, which had his biggest budget to date.) Sure enough, at the beginning of 2007, it was made official that Sommers would only act as producer this time. After offering the new film to Joe Johnston, who turned it down to do The WolfMan instead (check in tomorrow for that one), Universal ultimately went with Rob Cohen. While Sommers was a relative newcomer when he did the first Mummy, Cohen had been working in the industry since the 70's. He was instrumental in getting The Sting made in 1973, was producer on films like The Wiz, The Witches of Eastwick, The Running Man, and The Monster Squad, as well as TV shows like Miami Vice, and made his directorial debut in 1980 with A Small Circle of Friends. He switched to directing full time in the 90's, doing Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, Dragonheart, Daylight with Sylvester Stallone (not a bad flick, in my opinion), and, most notably, the first Fast and the Furious and XXX films. Right before Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (which he took on because of his interest in Chinese history and mythology), Cohen directed the massive box-office bomb, Stealth, but this film, despite being the lowest-grossing entry in the Mummy series, still made $403 million on a budget of $145 million. Since then, Cohen has directed Alex Cross, The Boy Next Door, and The Hurricane Heist, with only the second being a success. He's also, unfortunately, been hit with sexual assault allegations, but let's not go into that.

At the beginning of this film, we learn that, after they both served as spies for the British government during World War II, Rick and Evy O'Connell are now retired and living at their large mansion in 1946 Oxfordshire. However, it's obvious both are bored out of their minds with it. That goes double for Rick, as we see he does little more than spend his days doing little more than learning how to fly-fish, when he's not reminiscing about his time in the French Foreign Legion and as an adventurer in general. He's also not on the best terms with his son, Alex, due to the latter's issues with college and Rick, apparently, not being the warmest father in general. All that starts to change when he and Evy are tasked with returning the Eye of Shangri-La to Shanghai, and they decide to drop the veneer of being content with their quiet life and take on the assignment, under the pretense of visiting Jonathan at his nightclub. Upon arriving, they have a tense reunion with Alex, prompting both to try to reconcile with him, accompanying him to the Shanghai Museum to give the Eye to Roger Wilson. And then, they're caught up in the plot to resurrect the Dragon Emperor, with Rick and Evy being forced to go along with it, before attempting to chase him down and stop him when he's first revived, but to no avail. Next thing they know, they're off on another adventure to stop the undead warlord from reaching Shangri-La and obtaining immortality. Along the way, Rick proves to be just as adept a gunfighter as he always was, but he also has a very unsubtle, blunt way of doing things. When they reach a stupa in the Himalayas where a golden tower will point the way to Shangri-La, Rick opts to just blow the Emperor up along with the tower, even though that would trigger an avalanche. This is something else that puts him at odds with Alex, who's willing to trust Lin and the dagger she says is the only thing that can kill the Emperor. But, during the ensuing battle, Rick is gravely injured when he saves Alex from being stabbed by the Emperor's sword, and is only saved when they reach Shangri-La and bathe him in the mystical Pool of Eternal Life. The fear of losing his father helps to bring Alex and Rick together, with both apologizing for how they've been treating each other. And after the Emperor becomes immortal and all-powerful, Rick and the others head to the Great Wall, where he and Evy take part in a battle with the revived Terracotta Army, and in the end, he and Alex fight the Emperor, working together to defeat him.

When I didn't see Rachel Weisz in any of the trailers or TV spots, I thought they'd, perhaps, killed Evy off, and it wasn't until later that I learned the role was recast. The most common reason given for Weisz not returning was because she and Darren Aronofsky had had a child the year before filming and she didn't want to be apart from him, but she herself has denied that; rather, she's simply said she didn't care for the script. In any case, Evy is played by Maria Bello this time around and, I must say, I find it rather hard to buy her as the same character we saw previously. Having written a couple of best-selling books based on the events of the first two movies, Evy, like Rick, is bored with their post-war life of retirement, and finds herself dealing with writer's block while trying to come up with another book. Also, while her own relationship with Alex is a bit better than Rick's, she still hasn't heard from him in a long time, despite having written him three letters in the past month. Like Rick, when they're approached with the task of returning the Eye of Shangri-La to China, Evy, at first, tries to keep up the facade of being happy with retirement. But, they're so desperate for some excitement that they accept when they're told how dangerous a place China is at the moment, and opt to drop in on Jonathan while there. After meeting up with Alex as well, and accompanying him to the Shanghai Museum in order to give Roger Wilson the Eye, Rick and Evy are then forced by Wilson, as well as General Yang and Colonel Choi, to help revive the Emperor. The villains not only use the couple's love for each other to ensure their compliance but Evy's own blood to open the Eye, as it takes the blood of someone pure-hearted. With that, the two of them, along with Alex, Lin, and Jonathan, are along for the adventure to stop the Emperor.

While Brendan Fraser's performance as Rick is still dead-on (by this point, he could play that character in his sleep), Maria Bello's performance as Evy feels worlds away from Rachel Weisz. In fact, in her introductory scene, they seem like they're trying to justify the difference when she's asked if Scarlett O'Keefe, the character in her Mummy novels, is based on her and she answers, "Honestly, I can say she's a completely different person." While, throughout the movie, Evy is still portrayed

as being good with weapons, fighting, and driving during big chases and battles,, and she and Rick are willing to face down the Terracotta Army to the bitter end, she initially comes off as a typically staunch, prim and proper British woman, very unlike how bookish she was in the first movie or downright badass she was in the second. Also, while trying to write a third book, she gets carried away by her imagination and runs around her office in a childish manner, brandishing sword.

And though she was certainly a loving mother to Alex in the second, here, when she and Rick first meet up with him in Shanghai, she acts all fussy and overprotective, running to and hugging him when they discover he's caught up in a bar fight. She's later aghast when he says he's had "experience with the opposite sex," and asks him to specify how many, but he doesn't, since it's clear she really doesn't want to know. By extension, after meeting Lin, Evy is rather taken by her and Alex's relationship, not only teasing him about his obvious interest in her, which he denies, but showing concern for how mysterious she is and what she may be hiding. In the end, though, she does come to approve of it. Like I said, none of this feels congruent with Weisz's portrayal, especially with how she'd evolved in the second film, and it could be why she opted not to return.

Though presently estranged from his father, when we meet the now 21-year old Alex (Luke Ford), we realize he's become a capable adventurer much like Rick (although he seeks to get out from under his shadow), and also seems to be something of a womanizer like he was as well. Moreover, he speaks Chinese fluently and, while not a professional archeologist, proves he has the makings of one, in how he not only finds a journal leading him to the Emperor's tomb but also expertly navigates its interior to find his actual resting place. However, in doing so, he's attacked and nearly killed by Lin, whom he later runs into at the Shanghai Museum, but then has to work with her in order to save his parents. In the end, they're unable to stop the Emperor from being resurrected, something which Alex, very dickishly, blames his parents for (Rick counters by noting how Alex knew of the Emperor's powers but dug him up anyway), adding more strain to their relationship. It's only during the course of the journey to find Shangri-La that he slowly but surely reconnects with them, becoming terrified at the prospect of losing his father when he takes the Emperor's sword to the back while protecting him. After Rick is healed at Shangri-La, he and Alex make amends, each of them apologizing for their own role in the estrangement. Also, despite denying it, Alex clearly has eyes for Lin, though she's initially reluctant to return them, due to her being immortal and not wanting to watch him grow old and die. Alex asks her, "You're just gonna sit on the sideline for eternity?", then adds, "People can live an entire lifetime in one look. I watch my parents do it every day." In the end, Alex and Rick work together to face the Emperor and defeat him, and he does get with Lin, who lost her immortality when her mother used the Oracle Bones to resurrect all of the Emperor's enemies.

Though it is nice to see John Hannah as Jonathan yet again, the character is more superfluous to the story than ever. He now runs a nightclub in Shanghai, named after Imhotep, and, like before, happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, as both Alex and his parents arrive and get into some family drama there. Jonathan doesn't accompany them to the Shanghai Museum, as he's had more than enough of mummies, but still gets caught up in the chase through the streets of Shanghai when the Emperor is resurrected. And like in the second movie, while there's no reason for him to come along on the journey to the Himalayas and Shangri-La, he does so anyway. As a result, he gets vomited on by an airsick yak, is nearly buried in an avalanche, and, like before, is generally caught up in big battles against the main villain. Also like before, he becomes very interested in the Eye of Shangri-La, which he gets his hands on following the avalanche, and when he sees the place itself, he says, "I could live here. Lots of opportunity... A casino." And he does play a part in the final battle, with him and Rick's friend, Mad Dog Maguire, providing air support, with Jonathan personally shooting down some of the terracotta soldiers. By the end of the movie, he heads to Peru with the Eye, saying he's going somewhere that doesn't have mummies... and, of course, mummies will be discovered there in just a few years.

Initially, like Ardeth Bay and the Medjai in the first film, Lin (Isabella Leong) is a shadowy and mysterious guardian of the Emperor's tomb who's not above attempting to kill Alex to keep him from disturbing it. Despite her prowess at moving around unseen like ninja and fighting, she's unable to stop Alex and has to flee when fired upon by him and Roger Wilson. They meet again at the Shanghai Museum, where Lin has Alex work with her to both save his parents and try to stop the Emperor's resurrection. Despite being equipped with a dagger that's said to be the only thing that can destroy the warlord, they're unable to stop his revival. After he gets away following the chase through Shanghai, Lin tells the others of the Emperor's plans for immortality and world domination, but says little about her own past other than that her family has watched over the tomb for hundreds of years. Knowing the path to Shangri-La lies in the Himalayas, Lin offers to guide them there, but doesn't reveal how she knows all this. Along the way, it's clear that Alex has a romantic interest in her, and the feeling appears to be mutual, but they keep up the veneer of there being none, including among themselves, with Lin going as far as to get a bit defensive and nasty towards Alex. In the midst of the battle to stop the Emperor from finding the way to Shangri-La, Lin actually summons a trio of yetis to help in the battle. And when Rick is badly injured, Lin leads them to the mystical spot herself, where she meets up with her mother, Zi Yuan, the very person who cursed the Emperor in the first place thousands of years before, and has Rick bathe in the mystical, life-giving pool there. It's then revealed that the pool's powers have made both Lin, whose father was General Ming, and her mother immortal, which is why Lin rejects Alex's affections, as she doesn't want to watch him die while she never ages. During the third act, the Emperor, after managing to obtain immortality by bathing in the pool, kidnaps Lin and takes her back to his tomb, where he resurrects the Terracotta Army and prepares to conquer the world. Alex manages to rescue her during the battle, but when her mother, after being stripped of her immortality, is killed by the Emperor, Lin is too sad to take him down with the dagger, leading Rick and Alex to do it. She and Evy, however, do take down General Yang and Colonel Choi.

After cursing the Emperor and fleeing after he stabbed her with a dagger, you learn that, despite her serious wound, Zi Yuan (Michelle Yeoh) managed to make her way to the Himalayas. There, she was discovered by the yetis, who took her to Shangri-La and allowed her to bathe in the Pool of Eternal Life. She then gave birth to Lin and, becoming immortal due to the pool, they watched over the Emperor's tomb for 2,000 years. She also cursed the dagger he stabbed her with to make it the only weapon that can kill him once he's resurrected. By the time of the movie's main story, Zi Yuan has come to regret drawing her daughter into her revenge, though Lin insists she would do anything for her. And seeing the attraction between Lin and Alex, she opts to remove their immortality so the two of them to be together. But, when the Emperor not only manages to reach the pool and become immortal, but also abducts Lin and takes her with him to his tomb to raise his army, Zi Yuan joins the others in journeying to stop him. Using the Oracle Bones, she resurrects those whom the Emperor buried beneath the wall, as well as General Ming, to help in the battle against the Terracotta Army. She also battles the Emperor herself, but he quickly realizes she's no longer immortal and more fierce in his attacks. In the end, she intentionally impales herself on his sword to get close enough to take the dagger off of him and he flings her off the wall. Before she dies, she gives the others the dagger so they can finish him off.

For the third time in a row, the heroes get some assistance from an old friend of Rick's during the latter part of the movie. This time, it's Mad Dog Maguire (Liam Cunningham), who was with him during his time in the French Foreign Legion in 1923, and calls him by the nickname of "Ricochet." They first run into each other at Jonathan's Shanghai nightclub, where Maguire is about to beat up Alex for trying to take a girl he had an interest in, and he says, "Now, son or no son, I gotta give him a beatin'!" It's only due to Rick and Evy's intervention that that doesn't happen, with Rick promising to make it up to Maguire. Later, the heroes hire him to fly them to the Himalayas, and quickly come to regret it, as it's obvious Maguire should not be a pilot, and that his plane is hardly ideal for such a trip, as its engine constantly sputters and backfires. On the way, he tells them, "Well, any self-respecting pilot would land on the valley floor, but I don't have any self-respect, so, uh, I'll put you down halfway up the mountain... 'Course, I can't guarantee any of us will live." Even worse, he then says, "I'd tell ya to fasten your seat-belts, but I was too cheap to buy any!", and laughs about it; Rick nervously laughs as well, then asks, "Why am I laughing?" Sure enough, he does just about kill them when he lands, and we later find out he drinks and flies as well. He stays behind at the plane while the others journey to Shangri-La, warning them when he sees the Emperor, General Yang, and the men arrive nearby. He later aids in their pursuing the Emperor when he flees back to China with Lin, and he and Jonathan take part in the final battle by providing air support. He does so in exchange for Jonathan allowing him and his squad to drink for free at the nightclub, but by the end of the movie, Jonathan offers to give Maguire the nightclub, as he's planning on leaving China.

As powerful and dangerous a villain as Imhotep was, at the very least, he was driven by the relatable motivation of love; Jet Li's Dragon Emperor, on the other hand, was simply a power-hungry warlord who ruthlessly conquered and ruled over Ancient China, then craved immortality so he could hold onto his power for all eternity. He also became infatuated with Zi Yuan when she was brought to him to ensure that immortality, and intended on making her his queen. Upon being told of her and General Ming's relationship, the Emperor threatened to have Ming executed unless she agreed to marry him. Zi Yuan knew he wouldn't keep his promise and he admitted as much, before having Ming killed and stabbing Zi Yuan with his dagger when she resisted him. It's only then that he realized, instead of immortality, she'd actually placed a curse on him and his army, turning them all to terracotta. Centuries later, a rogue Chinese military faction, headed by General Yang, sees to the Emperor's resurrection. Upon escaping Shanghai, the Emperor becomes determined to find Shangri-La and bathe in the Pool of Eternal Life in order to remove Zi Yuan's curse and become all-powerful. He uses the Eye of Shangri-La to find it, and despite the efforts of the O'Connells, Zi Yuan, and Lin, he succeeds in reaching the pool. Once immortal, he abducts Lin, knowing she's Ming's daughter, and returns to the Ningxia Province to raise the Terracotta Army. Said army joins up with Yang's faction, and the Emperor declares his intention to take back China without mercy, as well as to conquer the world. But before he can lead them beyond the Great Wall, where they would be unstoppable, Zi Yuan resurrects Ming and the Emperor's other enemies buried beneath the wall. She then faces the Emperor one-on-one, but when he learns she's no longer immortal, he fatally wounds her and shoves her off the wall. He then comes very close to passing beyond the wall and using his powers to stop those whom Zi Yuan resurrected, but thanks to Rick and Alex, he's finally defeated.

I don't think many would argue that the Emperor is the weakest villain in these movies, with even the Scorpion King being far more memorable, as well as intimidating (at least, when he was actually played by Dwayne Johnson). For one, not being a big martial arts guy, Jet Li is not somebody I've ever really cared about, and while he's certainly got the skills and the moves, he's far from an intimidating. He's so damn short, for one thing. They try to film and edit around him in a manner

that makes him come off as imposing but it never works for me. For another, I never really get the sense that the Emperor is a powerful threat. We are shown and told of how ruthless he was in his conquering of Ancient China in the prologue, as well as how he enslaved his enemies and then buried them beneath the Great Wall, craved immortality in order to continue his rule forever, and cruelly killed General Ming, despite his bargain with Zi Yuan, which he admits he wouldn't

have kept. But when he's resurrected, instead of wreaking havoc while on the path to restore his body and gain immortality at Shangri-La, he does very little of note, except seriously wound and almost kill Rick. He's said to have powers over the Wuxing elements of fire, earth, water, wood, and metal, but does very little with it except use them to escape Shanghai during the chase and deal with the heroes and the avalanche they create at the Himalayan stupa. Even when he reaches the Pool of Eternal Life and not only becomes immortal and

regains his human form, but is also granted major shape-shifting powers, the Emperor still doesn't do much of note. He's now able to turn into monsters like a massive, three-headed dragon and a big, furry, horned creature, and could easily use these and what other powers he has to tip the scales of the final battle in his favor, but he only uses them now and again, as well as his control of the elements. And even though he could also easily use them to kill Rick and Alex, he instead opts to fight the former hand-to-hand simply because Rick challenges him to do so. Finally, as I laid out up above, the Emperor is just a very one-note villain, and as such, is very unremarkable.

Like Imhotep, the Emperor goes through various forms throughout the course of the story. During the prologue, we see him go from being fairly young to an older man, with typical Chinese facial hair, and after he has Ming executed, we see the effects of Zi Yuan's curse, as clay leaks from his eyes and then his entire body. He's totally engulfed in it, and random fireballs hit him and bake the clay, turning him into a statue. When he's resurrected, he remains in this form for much of the

movie, often breathing in a loud but shallow manner, and as powerful as he is, the clay can be shot off to reveal a badly burned corpse underneath. The Emperor is able to use his power over the elements to repair this damage when it occurs. Upon reaching Shangri-La and bathing in the pool, he reverts back to his young human form from the very beginning of the movie, but now with shape-shifting powers. While there's likely no limit to the amount of forms he could take, we only see a couple, namely the aforementioned giant,

three-headed dragon (I'm sure it's meant to be a Chinese dragon, but whenever I see a flying, three-headed dragon, I'm going to think of King Ghidorah), which he immediately turns into in order to abduct Lin and fly her back to China, and that horned, furry, oni-like monster. He's also not only able to raise his Terracotta Army, but animate and control horses made of it as well, one of which become flesh-and-blood after he does.

Unlike Baltus Hafez, General Yang (Anthony Wong) has a clear motivation for setting in motion the events which lead to the Emperor's resurrection: a staunch patriot, Yang believes he's the only one who can restore order in postwar China and bring it back to its former glory. He also wishes to serve as the Emperor's general, and promises not to betray him the way Ming did thousands of years ago, a promise he does keep. Other than that, Yang is still a pretty "meh"

subordinate for the Emperor, although he does stick with him throughout the journey to Shangri-La, and the two of them are the only ones of their group to return from the Himalayas alive. Colonel Choi (Jessey Meng), Yang's second-in-command, doesn't have much of a role, as the two of them travel to Shanghai to ensure the Emperor is resurrected but she escapes during the chaos afterward. It's hinted that she and Yang may actually be lovers, as during the climactic battle, the two of them are crushed to death by huge gears

within the Great Wall, with Yang ordering Choi to save herself but she refuses and deliberately dies with him. And Prof. Roger Wilson (David Calder), Alex's mentor and supporter in his excavation of the Emperor's tomb, initially seems to be just rather callous and overeager about the fame and fortune that would come from it, given how dismissive he is of those who die from the tomb's booby-traps. But when we're back in Shanghai and Rick and Evy deliver the Eye of Shagri-La, Wilson is revealed to be working with Yang, though his only motivation appears to be money. He also arranged for the O'Connells to bring the Eye (though why them specifically, I don't know), and while Evy's blood is used to unlock it, Wilson forces Rick to open the Emperor's sarcophagus at gunpoint. After saving his parents, Alex comes very close to shooting Wilson, but he ultimately suffers a much worse death when he tries to escape with the Emperor and Yang, only for the former to decapitate him.

If there's ever a fourth film in this series, they need to seriously up their game in terms of the screenwriting, as things were really getting stale by the time this one came along. While I do think moving the story to China was a much needed change, as yet another one in Egypt would've felt especially repetitive, I feel like they cheated because the Dragon Emperor and the Terracotta Army don't feel like mummies. Instead of having been buried alive and/or actually mummified, they were turned into clay statues by Zi Yuan's sorcery,

and the army remains as such, despite the Emperor himself managing to lift the curse and regain his human form. I guess, since we often get glimpses of the Emperor's crispy corpse beneath the clay, they're trying to say he was "mummified" by the clay engulfing his body and then being magically hardened, but that's not on the same visceral level as what Imhotep, his priests, and Anck-su-namun were put through. In fact, the resurrected General Ming and all those whom the Emperor buried beneath the Great Wall are truly feel like mummies

to me. And the filmmakers seem to realize they're cheating, as the Emperor and the army are constantly referred to as mummies, as if they're trying to justify it. Also, the Emperor's powers, especially when he gains the ability to turn himself into monsters, and the notion that he already had some of them before he became undead, make it feel as though the series is becoming more and more removed from what it was originally about. The same goes for the presence of sorcerers like Zi

Yuan and yetis. As much as I kind of like the yetis, these were the last things I expected to see in a Mummy movie. It's not that I don't buy their existing in a world where powerful, undead creatures exist, but rather, they don't feel like they belong in a movie in this franchise. Ergo, I guarantee that, if you'd changed the protagonists and removed the moniker of The Mummy, you would never think this had any connection to the first two movies. It might've been better if they'd set the film in Peru and dealt with the mummies that were discovered there, as teased at the very end, instead of trying to turn the real-life figure of Emperor Qin Shi Huang and the actual Terracotta Army into mummies.

While I can give the movie credit for trying to be its own thing without too many callbacks to the previous ones (earlier drafts featured a number, like Hamunaptra, the Book of the Dead, and the puzzle key appearing in the prologue, the Emperor's powers being similar to Imhotep's, and Imhotep himself even being revived to help battle the Emperor, something Arnold Vosloo hated), the story structure is very similar, especially to The Mummy Returns. Besides the typical plot of the O'Connell family getting drawn into the

resurrection of an ancient evil and the fight to defeat it, you have a chase through a city following the villain's revival (which itself takes place in another museum), a faction of people who worship him and who see to it that he returns, the villain spending much of the film on a quest to reach a certain destination in order to achieve his goal, using a special item to find it (Shangri-La even looks like the Oasis of Ahm Shere), one of the main characters coming close to being killed off, only to be revived, the heroes acquiring the

assistance of an old military friend of Rick's, mostly during the third act, and the climax is split between a grand-scale battle in the desert and a face-to-face battle with the big bad. Also, the mythology in the story can sometimes be either confusing or contrived, with the Eye of Shangri-La being the biggest offender of the latter. At least in the previous movie, the Bracelet of Anubis was established in the prologue, and we could surmise that the Scepter of Osiris was among the treasures 

the heroes rode off with at the end of the first movie. The Eye, however, just comes out of nowhere as a way to find Shagri-La, with its only backstory being that it was smuggled out of China in 1940 by... someone. I also especially don't get how the Pool of Eternal Life works. If bathing in it has given Zi Yuan and Lin everlasting life, does that mean that Rick is now immortal after he was bathed in it? Or is it like the Holy Grail in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, in that it only cures

the fatally injured rather than make them immortal? Also, while I can go with it giving the Emperor immortality, as well as lifting the curse and restoring his humanity, why does it give him those shape-shifting powers? Can it only do that for him specifically? Finally, why would the Terracotta Army be invincible once they pass the Great Wall? That, again, is pulled totally out of thin air.

The writing of the characters isn't that great, either. I've already gone into how Rick is still a cool adventure hero, and I do like Zi Yuan, though that's mainly because Michelle Yeoh is always awesome, but as I've also said, Evy doesn't feel right in how she's written, the Emperor himself is not that great a villain (he was much more ruthless and monstrously dictatorial in earlier drafts, but they toned him down, probably for the rating), and his subordinates don't have much to them, either. But, it's with Alex that I feel the script has the most

issues. One, you never get much of a feel of what exactly caused his relationship with his parents to sour, save for talk of him dropping out of college and Rick not being the warmest father. A little more elaboration would've made Alex's fear of almost losing his dad and their reconciliation afterward more effective. Second, Lin being his love interest? Whatever. They spend so little time during the first act that doesn't consist of them either fighting each other or attempting to save

Alex's parents, and then, suddenly, during the trek through the Himalayas, Evy's talking about Alex being attracted to her (which was all just a few instances of belligerent sexual tension and totally one-sided on his part), and he and Lin get into a real argument when they try to keep up this veneer of there being nothing between them. Then, suddenly, when they reach Shangri-La, Lin tells Alex they can't be together because of her immortality, as she's seen her mother mourn her father for over 2,000 years, and Alex gives her that schmaltzy quote about his parents... whom he hasn't seen in a long time until just recently. They didn't even come close to earning that, and you feel nothing when the Emperor abducts Lin and rescuing her becomes an added incentive for Alex during the climax.

And the humor. We've not only gone into full-on cornball and slapstick, with Rick getting a hook in his neck when he's fly-fishing and then shooting the fish in frustration, Evy wanting to get intimate with him, only to find he fell asleep while waiting for her, the yetis celebrating like they scored a touchdown after one kicks a bad guy over the paifang, and one of the undead accidentally knocking another's head off when he turns with a shovel, but we're more lowbrow than ever. During the Shanghai chase, Jonathan's backside gets set on

fire, and when he realizes it, he yells to Rick, "Spank my ass! Spank my ass!" When it's over, and they return to Imhotep's, Rick puts some his ice to his crotch. Upon arriving at the Himalayan stupa, Rick and Alex pull out their weapons and talk about the advantages of Rick's revolver and Alex's Walther P38. Rick says about the Walther, "Looks pretty anemic compared to the peacekeeper," and Alex says, "Well, it's not about size, Dad. It's about stamina." Really rolled my eyes at that one. But I

think the worst is when, inside the plane during Mad Dog's Maguire landing in the mountains, a yak in the back with Jonathan gets airsick and he pulls out a vomit bag for her. When they finally do land, we see that the yak blew chunks all over Jonathan, who says, "The yak yacked," followed by the yak letting out a nasty belch. Yeah, you thought the humor about the train restroom in the second movie was grossly immature. And what's  

more, Jonathan later actually kind of hits on that yak, whom he calls Geraldine, pouring his heart out to her about how hard it is to be him, adding, "If I'd met a girl like, Geraldine... you know, hardworking, you don't say much... You're a little bit hairy but, I don't mind that."

Visually, the movie isn't nearly as appealing as the first two. Instead of the bright, golden Egyptian sunlight and vivid colors that made them so pleasing to the eye, this one has a much more desaturated, muted, brownish color palette, definitely a product of the period when that visual style was the norm. The scenes set in the Himalayas do have a nice, icy blue-white look to them, with the nighttime scenes there bathed in a rich blue, and I guess the brownish look to the rest of the movie does fit better with the scenes set in

the deserts of the Ningxia Province, but those bright colors are one thing I do miss about the Egyptian setting (even Van Helsing looked more appealing). Also, Rob Cohen and his cinematographer, Simon Duggan, often go handheld, with the camera slightly but noticeably shifting around, sometimes even in the big wide shots of the battle scenes. That's yet another modern day movie trope I don't care for, and another is that a fair number of the action scenes, 

especially the hand-to-hand fights, are shot a bit too close-in and kinetic in their editing; thankfully, it's not done too egregiously, but I had a harder time following the action than I did in the last few movies. One thing I will give Cohen is that, like Stephen Sommers, he gets plenty of beautiful money shots of the landscapes and horizons, both the totally natural ones and those digitally augmented.

During the movie's opening, we see the Dragon Emperor's initial kingdom, which is actually little more than a very large village set amid three enormous, mountain-like mounds, with his small throne-room and living quarters at the center of it. But once he manages to conquer all of China, we see the construction of the Great Wall, which has big, wooden gears and a large room within it with lines of serpent-shaped torchieres, a rotating machine in the center, and at the end of the chamber, a staircase leading up to an altar, where

we see the mystics teach him how to take command of the elements. We also see that the walls contain the buried corpses of his enslaved enemies after they died and became useless to him, and this place serves as the setting for the final confrontation with him. He now has a massive throne-room within a much larger palace, the centerpiece of which is a big model of his kingdom. Zi Yuan's initial home is revealed to be on a cliffside, filled with all sorts of herbs, baskets,

kettles, and other objects she uses in her sorcery. And we see the interior of the monastery of Turfan, specifically the library where Zi Yuan finds the Oracle Bones, which is a vertical room where the walls are lined with shelves containing ancient books and scrolls, and the center of which is a pedestal housing the Bones, which General Ming finds can be opened through the use of a key which Zi Yuan takes from the shelves. Much of the film was actually shot in China, with the Emperor's

palace being constructed at Hengdian World Studios, but there was still some stuff shot on location not only in England (specifically Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire for Rick and Evy's big, luxurious mansion) but also in Quebec, like the Riviere-du-Nord for the scene at the beginning where Rick is attempting to fly-fish.

Speaking of Quebec, the Cite du Cinema in Montreal was where the scenes set in the Himalayas were shot, on soundstages dressed to make it look as if the characters are traveling through snowy, mountain passes and settling down at a long abandoned settlement for the night. The stupa that serves as the gateway to Shangri-La, lying beyond a rope-bridge extending across a chasm, was shot in the studio's courtyard. There's a bit of action that takes place at the front of the building and within its walls, but its most

significant section is the golden tower in the center courtyard, where the Eye points the way to Shangri-La. This location is definitely among the most memorable and well-designed sets in the film, but it wasn't so nice for the actors, as they had to wear heavy winter clothing when it was actually shot in blistering summer heat. All we really see of Shangri-La itself is the inside of a cavernous tunnel housing the Pool of Eternal Life, which glows a magical blue and sparkles on its surface, and lies at the center of some pillars with a canopy above it,

to the right of an enormous statue that seems to have been built to be lying on its side, lined with a number of candles. There are also smaller, golden statues scattered throughout the place. Zi Yuan has her own private chamber up in the cavern, where Rick is taken to rest after being immersed in the pool. We do get one shot of the place beyond the cave, which is a very lush, beautiful paradise, surrounded by the snow-capped mountains.

The interiors of the Great Wall were also shot at Cite du Cinema, while the interior of the Emperor's tomb was at Montreal's ADF stage. The immediate interior has the first of many booby-traps, with two spiked panels coming together in order to trap an intruder in the center, and a pair of dragon-like statues before the two flights of stairs that lead deeper down into the tomb. One of the steps has a panel that, when stepped on, opens up several large ones in the ceiling, allowing in sunlight and illuminating the enormous main chamber housing

the Terracotta Army; those panels are also where the soldiers climb out once they're resurrected. This place is booby-trapped as well, with a step in the floor that sprays acid up at anyone unlucky enough to step on it, and another which activates a set of gear-powered, dragon-shaped crossbows that fire arrows, as well as a razor-sharp, flying disc. The Emperor's actual resting place is beneath this room, found by moving a large, feng shui compass in the correct position. Initially, they believe he's in a sarcophagus on the back of a chariot being driven

by a terracotta statue, but it turns out that he is that very statue, and the terracotta horses he's driving can be revived along with him. But while this major setpiece was shot in Canada, many of the scenes set in Shanghai were actually done there, specifically at Shanghai Studios, where they created 1940's era city streets for the chase sequence, as well as made the place up to look as though it were taking place during Chinese New Year. This is where we get to see Jonathan's

nightclub, Imhotep's, which is steeped in Ancient Egypt, from the architecture to how the dancers and singers are dressed (originally, they were going to be wearing body-paint akin to that of Anck-su-namun). And finally, there's the Shanghai Museum, where the Emperor is resurrected. While I'm sure the interiors were done on a set, perhaps in Shanghai or at Shepperton Studios, according to the movie's filming locations page on IMDB, they did shoot a bit at the actual Terracotta Warriors

Museum in Shaanxi. They definitely shot all of the scenes taking place in the desert on location, such as the site of the Emperor's tomb near a section of the Great Wall, the centerpiece of which is this really big statue of his head and torso, General Yang's campsite, and the large battlefield where much of the climax is set, which was actually a training area for the Chinese army.

Like with the previous movies, it's nice to see the period setting, with the old-fashioned cars and clothes (Rick gets to sport a very nice 40's-style suit, coat, and hat at several points), and it's also interesting to see a tiny bit of postwar England in the opening, even if it's portrayed in a bit of a stereotypical manner, and Shanghai and the country of China as a whole during the second act. While it's never explicitly stated, this was during the period of the Chinese Civil War, and General Yang and his subordinates could be viewed as a

rogue faction of the Kuomintang, lending more credence to their wish to resurrect the Emperor. What's more, you gotta love how the covers for Evy's two books are done in that classic, B-adventure art style, hearkening back to the movies that inspired this series. In fact, it's interesting how, when you think about it, these three movies have spanned the timeline of Universal Horror's Golden Age, with The Mummy being set in the 20's when it began, The Mummy

Returns in the 30's, when it was reaching its first peak, and this one, which marked the end of the series (possibly) is set in 1946, the very year when it ended. (Originally, it was supposed to be set in 1940, and would've delved into the tensions between China and Japan at the time.) All we need now is one set in the 50's to coincide with the sci-fi boom of the era.

Unlike Imhotep's undead priests, the mummified warriors, or even the pygmy mummies, the Terracotta soldiers are very fragile and easy to take down with either gunshots or blades. The only edge they have, aside from their sheer numbers, is that cutting or blowing off their heads are the only ways to put them down, as their severed torsos can still attack. The same also goes for the undead army of the Emperor's past enemies, who seem to be even more fragile, and whom the Emperor can manipulate through his control over the elements.

However, my personal favorite creatures in the movie are the yetis, whom Lin calls to aid in the battle at the stupa. While I still can't fathom that they're in a Mummy movie, and the CGI isn't the best, I can't help but like these guys. I especially like their look, as they're the typical white-furred, humanoid creatures that yetis are often depicted as, but have kind of cat-like faces. I also like how they're firmly on Lin's side, that she can communicate with them, and that they never act

threateningly towards the other heroes just because they're strangers. In fact, one of them even seems rather curious of Jonathan when he comes across him. They're said to be very noble creatures all in all, as they found Zi Yuan when she was seriously injured after cursing and escaping from the Emperor and brought her to Shangri-La, where she was able to heal and give birth to Lin. What's more, they shield the humans from the avalanche and help carry Rick to Shangri-La when he's badly injured. Still, that "touchdown" moment they have is so corny.

Rob Cohen doesn't overindulge in the CGI nearly as much as Stephen Sommers did on The Mummy Returns and Van Helsing, but it's still used far more than it really needs to be and, while certainly more advanced than in the first two movies, it doesn't look much better. I feel like a broken record in saying this yet again but it's the truth: when the digital effects and mattes are used to augment the real environments or create wholly digital ones, or to create big, sweeping battles, it looks really good, but the digital creatures don't look real at all. The

Emperor's monster forms especially look like video game graphics, with the image of him sprouting three heads from the pool coming off nearly as bad as the CGI Scorpion King. It should be noted that, instead of ILM, the effects were handled by Rhythm and Hues Studios and Digital Domain, but that doesn't matter, since not even ILM, arguably the best visual effects house in Hollywood, could create great CGI in those previous movies with Sommers, even when they had a lot of time in which to do so. Also, like I said with Van Helsing,

there's no reason why they couldn't mix in makeup, animatronics, and suit-work in with the digital effects of these creatures, especially for close-ups of their faces, limbs, and such (the only practical effects in the movie, to my knowledge, are the acid-burned face and hands of the one guy who dies in the tomb, and the ugly corpses they find strewn throughout it). They could've easily done that for the Emperor when he's in his undead form, as he's mostly a walking Terracotta figure, with

only sporadic glimpses of his fried corpse underneath, and they could've done that with makeup. I've read that the reason why he's digital for a good chunk of the movie is because of Jet Li's hectic filming schedule, and he only plays the Emperor when he's flesh and blood; i.e., he didn't do any motion capture. In that case, I have to ask: if it's someone in makeup or a suit, who's going to know it's not actually Li?

Like the first two movies, as well as Van Helsing, the opening plays around with the Universal Pictures logo; in this case, "UNIVERSAL" disappears and the camera pans around to the back of the globe, where the country of China is indicated, first with kanji and then in English writing. It zooms in and, as a man on horseback rides towards a large settlement, a narrator (who, unlike Ardeth Bay before her, is not an actual character in the story) tells us, "Long ago, a mythic

battle between good and evil played out in ancient China. The country was torn by civil war, with many kingdoms struggling for land and power. But one king had a ruthless ambition to make himself emperor by the sword." We're then introduced to that king, as the man on horseback rushes into his throne-room and delivers him a message. After reading it, he tells his men to prepare for war. That night, a pair of assassins, hired by the other kingdoms to stop his impending conquest, break

into his sleeping quarters and prepare to kill him as he rests in the middle of the room. But, suddenly, he uses his foot to knock his dagger up into midair, catches it, grabs another sword, and stabs them both at the same time. Another assassin dives from the ceiling (how did he get in there?) but the king rolls away and the two of them engage in very kinetic hand-to-hand combat with their blades. The king easily outmatches the assassin, kicking him through a section of wooden wall, catching his wrist when he goes for a stab, forcing his own

knife into his flesh, and slamming him against a pillar. Soldiers pour in to the king's aid but he quickly removes the knife and tells them that he's unharmed. When his back is turned, the assassin pulls out a smaller knife but the king whips around and flings his dagger at him, striking him in the chest and killing him instantly. He declares, "We attack tonight!", and throws the smaller knife into a dirt model of the other kingdoms for emphasis. We then see the carnage he unleashes, as another kingdom is shown in flames and under siege from

his forces, with people being either enslaved or executed on the spot, and while books are burned, all as he coldly watches and gives orders from horseback. The narrator says, "The country was his. He was now emperor of all under heaven."

We next see his enslaved enemies being forced to build the Great Wall, with the bodies of those who've died being flung into the trenches with the workers, before they're later buried beneath the wall. Inside the wall itself, the Emperor is taught how to control the elements of fire, water, earth, wood, and metal, but then, as he stands in his throne room, the narrator says, "He was master of millions, but like the lowliest peasant, he could not stop growing old... He needed to defeat his last

enemy: death itself." Thus, he has General Ming seek out Zi Yuan, and upon finding her and bringing her before the Emperor, he tells Ming that she is to be his and his alone. But, when Ming and Zi Yuan are sent to the monastery in Turfan to search for the key to immortality, you can see their growing relationship. Zi Yuan finds a wooden cylinder on the shelves, which contains an object that Ming realizes is a key to a table in the center of the library; using it, they find the Oracle Bones.

But before they return, the two of them consummate their relationship, which doesn't go unnoticed. Once they've returned, Zi Yuan, after the Emperor promises her anything she desires, and she says she wants to be with Ming, reads from the Bones. She casts a spell over the Emperor in Sanskrit, which he doesn't understand, but as he feels it working, he assumes she's giving him the immortality he wants. When she's done, he leads her out to a balcony overlooking the main yard, where all of his troops are gathered. There, Ming is

revealed with all four of his limbs chained to horses surrounding him. The Emperor promises to let him go if she becomes his queen but Zi Yuan knows he won't keep that promise. The Emperor proves her right, as he orders Ming executed, the horses going off in different directions and pulling him apart. He takes out his dagger and grabs Zi Yuan, stabbing her in the side when she resists him. He sneers, "Now, join General Ming in hell," and she staggers back inside the palace.

But then, the Emperor learns what it actually was that she cast on him. Clay begins to seep out of his eyes, which grow black, and he staggers inside. Zi Yuan takes the Oracle Bones and escapes with them, telling the Emperor that she placed a curse on both him and his army. Clay then oozes out of his body from every orifice, and he even starts vomiting it up. He runs to his mystics for help, but he's hit by fireballs that come out of nowhere and engulf him in flames, as the clay covering him is

baked and hardened; outside, the same thing begins to happen to his soldiers. Once he's turned into a terracotta statue, Zi Yuan rides off with the Bones, past his equally petrified army, as the narrator states, "The curse must never be lifted, or the Emperor will rise again to enslave all of mankind. On that dark day, there will be nothing and no one to save us."

In contrast to the previous movies, following that prologue (which is longer than the two before it), it takes a bit to get to some real action. After some slapstick with Rick attempting to fish, only to hook himself in the side of his neck, get another hook caught up in a tree branch, which then breaks beneath him when he climbs up to get it, and finally decide to shot the fish, and Evy performing a public reading of one of her books, we cut to the Ningxia Province, where Alex is introduced, as the

Emperor's tomb is excavated. Shortly after Roger Wilson arrives, the workers excitedly announce that they've found the entrance. Following a comedic scene involving Evy getting carried away while trying to come up with an idea for a third Mummy novel, and finding that Rick fell asleep while waiting for her so they could be intimate, the tomb's opening is blown open. Alex, Wilson, and some other members of the campsite head in, the first two narrowly avoiding a deadly booby-trap

right past the door. Moving on, they draw their guns when they see a figure around a corner up ahead, but when the person doesn't move a muscle, they walk around to investigate. Alex inspects the figure and finds the initials "C.B." on his shirt. He realizes it's Sir Colin Bembridge, who went missing while searching for the tomb seventy years before. He removes the hat to reveal a mummified corpse, whose head falls off and whose torso is stuck to the wall by daggers. They then move on down some steps, when Wilson steps on one that

opens up a number of panels in the ceiling, bringing down large torrents of sand that they have to dodge. The sunlight comes through the openings and illuminates the Terracotta Army, as it stands in an enormous chamber beyond. Awe-inspired, they walk among the statues, marveling at them, when Chu Wah, one of the workers, steps on a panel that sprays an acidic gas in his face. Alex runs to his aid, as he screams in pain while his flesh begins melting, but unbeknownst to him, another booby-trap is activated, this one involving mechanized

dragon statues that shoot arrows down at them. Chu Wah promptly dies from the acid, and Alex and the others then have to flee the arrows. While he and Wilson manage to avoid them, as well as a flying, razor-sharp disc that comes out of nowhere, the other men with them aren't so lucky and are killed instantly. Wilson tells the distraught Alex that he can't do anything for them and that this kind of thing goes with the territory.

After collecting himself, Alex is able to piece together where the Emperor himself is. He pours some water into a large feng shui compass to see where the dial points, and they then realign the edge of the compass to the match the dial. Suddenly, a huge opening activates beneath them, and Alex falls in, hitting a statue and landing amid some bones on the floor, while Wilson manages to avoid falling. Down below, Alex looks up to see some nasty, ancient skeletons in front of him and

gets to his feet. Whipping out a flashlight, he inspects the statue, finding it to be a terracotta figure of a man on a chariot being driven by four horses. Realizing the man is meant to be the Emperor, he realizes they've found his resting place and tells Wilson. But as soon as Wilson hears him, he's knocked unconscious by a kick to the back of the head. Alex inspects the statue and the corpses around it closer, while calling to Wilson, unaware of a figure who slips down behind him via a rope.

Or, at least, he seemed unaware, as Alex immediately ducks when the figure tries to stab him with a knife, and he whips out a gun, only for it to get knocked out of his hand. He tries to disarm the attacker, and manages to get some punches in, but is knocked back. He dives to the floor, grabs his gun, and fires at the attacker, as they climb across the statue and duck behind it. In firing, he hits a pulley rope up above that then snaps, leading to a couple of large, wooden weights along the wall slowly moving downward. The would-be assassin

attacks again, showing off some amazing physical prowess as they knock Alex to the floor and pin him, holding the dagger to his throat. Alex's head hangs over the edge of the platform, threatening to be sliced off by the descending weight. He pushes the arm holding the dagger up and rips off the attacker's mask, revealing it to be a woman. She continues holding him in place as the weight descends, but he manages to grab a nearby pot and wedge it. He knees her, knocking her head into the weight, and then knees her off him, before rolling

away just as the pot gets knocked loose. He gets to his feet, and sees that the woman is about to throw her dagger at him. Wilson then fires on her from above and she beats a hasty retreat, climbing up and out of the chamber and escaping amid the Terracotta Army. Seeing that she's gone, Alex decides not to bother with her, and he and Wilson get to work on removing the Emperor.

After that, Rick and Evy are tasked with bringing the Eye of Shangri-La to Shanghai, and at Jonathan's nightclub there, they meet up with Alex when Rick has stop Mad Dog Maguire from beating him up for taking his woman. General Yang and Colonel Choi are then introduced at their outpost in western China, and they prepare their troops for the Emperor's impending resurrection. The next major scene takes place at the Shanghai Museum, when Alex brings his parents there to see

the statue of the chariot carrying the Emperor's sarcophagus. Alex goes to find Wilson, only to discover that the woman who attacked him in the tomb is hiding within the museum. Wilson meets Rick and Evy himself and Rick, after playing around with him for a bit, gives him the Eye. Once he has it, Yang and Choi show up, and Wilson pulls a gun on the O'Connells, before giving Yang the Eye. He searches Rick and removes his revolvers and a couple of knives, while Yang tells Evy he 

needs her to open the Eye. Evy goes for a knife she has hidden in her stocking and tries to fling it at Yang when he backhands Rick, only for Choi to grab her from behind and disarm her. Wilson puts Rick at gunpoint and makes him climb up to the sarcophagus, intending on making him open it. Despite Yang's threat, Evy refuses to read the inscription on the Eye, and Wilson threatens Rick with the gun to force her. Despite Rick telling her that they'll kill him anyway, Evy translates the

inscription, which says that only a drop of blood from a pure-hearted person can open it. Yang then says that Rick was right and points his gun at him, only for Evy to grab his arm and force it down, playing right into their hands, as she proves to be the pure-hearted person they need. Wilson tells Rick to open the sarcophagus and he begins jamming a crowbar beneath its lid. Meanwhile, above the exhibit room, Alex finds the woman, whose name he learns is Lin. He also learns of the danger his parents are in. While Rick goes on

trying to open the sarcophagus, Choi whips out a blade to cut Evy's hand. She attempts to resist, but thanks to Choi's skill and strength, and Rick being unable to do anything because of Wilson, she puts her in an armlock and cuts her finger. Her blood drips onto the Eye, which glows red internally, and the many tiny, ceramic snakes wrapped around it become real and slither away. The jewel itself becomes like a blossoming flower, opening up to reveal the lovely, glowing blue elixir from the Pool

of Eternal Life within. Wilson makes Rick get on with opening the sarcophagus, and he manages to remove the lid and knock it down to the floor. Yang climbs up to the sarcophagus while holding the Eye, preparing to revive the Emperor. He tells Wilson to kill Rick.

But then, Alex and Lin, who'd climbed onto a balcony outside their vantage point, swing in on ropes, the former knocking Wilson down, while Lin hits Yang, causing him to fall back and splash the elixir on the statue atop the coach. Rick dives to the floor and slides across it towards his revolvers, while Evy fights with Choi, managing to grab her arm and stop her from shooting her, and Lin, removing a dagger, does an unnecessarily showy flip into the sarcophagus and stabs it into

the corpse there. Evy manages to climb onto Choi's shoulders, put her into a headlock with her legs, bash the top of her head with her elbow, and flip her into some junk against the wall across from them. Alex, meanwhile, pins Wilson to the floor, knocks his gun out of his hand, grabs it, and turns it on him. While Wilson pleads for his life, Lin discovers that the corpse in the sarcophagus is a decoy. Alex asks where the Emperor is, and gets his answer when the statue of him cracks open and

a pair of hands shatter the face from the inside. The terracotta horses come to life, and begin stomping the floor and rearing up while neighing. Then, with a big explosion of dust and clay, the Emperor bursts out of the statue. Rick kicks a gun across the floor to Evy, while he points both of his revolvers at the Emperor and grumbles, "Here we go again." They both fire upon him, destroying sections of the clay, but he retaliates by blowing fire out of his mouth, forcing Rick to fall back over a table. Yang gets to his feet and fires upon Evy, then turns to the

Emperor and tells him that he will serve him and help him gain immortality, to which the Emperor says, "If you are lying, you will burn." He repairs the damage to his face and, as Yang climbs aboard, prepares to escape with his chariot. Wilson attempts to climb aboard as well, telling the Emperor to take him too, but the Emperor decapitates him with a swing of his red-hot left hand. Rick and Evy fire on him as he tries to escape, only for Yang to return fire. Alex runs in, slips under the coach, and grabs onto its underside, followed promptly by Lin. The Emperor smashes his chariot out of the building, through the large iron gate at the head of its driveway, and onto the streets of Shanghai.

Rick and Evy run out of the museum and flag down a truck. Rick pulls the driver out, throws some money into the air to keep him from complaining, and while Evy takes the wheel, he hangs onto the side and climbs onto the back; unbeknownst to them, the truck is carrying fireworks. As the Emperor makes his way through the streets, he comes across Jonathan, who dives on the other side of his parked Rolls Royce, while one of the chariot's spiked spokes slashes straight

across its other side. After he sees what's happened to his nice car, Rick and Evy come by and pick him up, with Jonathan commenting that they're like "mummy magnets." While Alex and Lin attempt to turn the Emperor around, Rick and Jonathan decide to use the fireworks in the back of the truck. Rick pulls out an enormous rocket with a dragon's head on its end, aims it across the cab's roof, and Jonathan lights it up. It flies across the street at the chariot but the Emperor leaps and kicks it, causing

it to veer off ahead of him and hit the underside of a trolley down the road. A massive explosion of fireworks rocks the street, sending passersby running and forcing the trolley's occupants to abandon it. While the Emperor rides straight through the destruction, Rick, on the truck, sees that Jonathan's backside is on fire and tries to put it out. Up ahead, while trying to climb up onto the chariot, Alex falls and slides across the road, but grabs Lin's hand and then, the two of them manage to climb up the back. Evy, in an attempt to catch up

with the Emperor, drives straight through stands on the streets and even through a stone wall, horrifying Rick and Jonathan. As reckless as this is, it pays off, as they get ahead of the Emperor on the one street. Rick pulls out his guns and starts shooting, while Yang returns fire, but has to reload after one shot. Rick gives Evy some shells and then, jumps onto the left-most terracotta horse. He hangs onto its side and fires back at Yang, but when he runs out of bullets, he climbs atop the horse and cuts it loose from the others. He finds it

hard to control, as it falls back and gets behind the chariot. Rick tries to get Alex to join him, but when Alex refuses, he yells, "Alexander Rupert O'Connell, you get on the back of this horse this instant!" The Emperor then uses his influence over the horse to make it go wild, sending Rick on a crazy ride that leads to the horse being decapitated by a crane extending across the street from the back of a truck. Not that that stops the horse from continuing to gallop, though.

Jonathan joins Evy in the truck's cab, when the Emperor drives up beside them, uses his power to levitate the lid off one of the wooden crates, revealing the fireworks, and uses his fire to ignite them. On the back of the chariot, when Alex insinuates that he should be the one to go for the Emperor, saying he has more experience with mummies, Lin puts out her dagger, saying it's the only thing that can kill him. Thus, Alex provides covering fire, as Lin climbs along the side of the

chariot, but he quickly runs out of bullets. Yang fires straight at Lin, causing her to fall back, while the Emperor rips off his own clay face and flings it at Alex, knocking him off the back of the chariot. He grabs onto a pair of chains hanging off its back and attempts to climb back up, when Lin reappears to help him. Alex is perplexed after seeing Yang shoot her, but she insists he missed. Before they can continue their assault, Yang detaches the back of the chariot, causing them both to fall into the

sarcophagus, and the Emperor uses his power to spin the wagon around in the middle of the street, flinging the sarcophagus off and sending it sliding. Both they and Rick, still riding on the headless horse, crash into the seating section of an outdoor play performance. Rick jumps off the horse, which leaps right over Alex and Lin, and grabs onto a banner. As if there weren't enough chaos, the wagon ends up heading right for Evy and Jonathan, who are out of control due to the fireworks going off in the back of the truck. They dive out of it

before the vehicles collide, causing another explosion of fireworks that lights up the streets of Shanghai. Seeing this, the Emperor and Yang continue on without any more hassle, and the latter finds that the Eye is still in the chariot with them. After that, the heroes head back to Imhotep's to rest, emerging from a cab with their clothes charred and steaming. Jonathan asks Rick to get the cab fare, but Rick growls, "Do I look like I have a wallet?"

After surmising they need to head to the Himalayas, the heroes enlist Mad Dog Maguire to fly them. However, the sorry state of his plane and his crazy way of flying soon has them regretting that decision, especially when he goes in for a landing. He heads down much faster than necessary, scraping the side of a mountain with the plane's wing, skids wildly along the snowy slope below, and nearly goes off the edge of a cliff, with the plane tilting to where its tail is sticking almost

straight up. Rick yells for no one to move, and then, the plane falls back into place, as the rotors gradually come to a stop. Maguire, who had a crazed smile on his face the whole time, lets go of the control and looks back at his passengers with a confident chuckle. Following a cutaway where Yang tells the Emperor why he revived him, and deciding they need to journey to Shangri-La to cure him of his curse, the heroes make their way through the mountains to reach the gateway.

Meanwhile, Maguire, who stayed behind at the plane, spots Yang's plane when it lands nearby and he warns the others via a radio. After spending the night at an abandoned settlement, they reach the gateway the next day, and Rick and Alex unpack their respective arsenals and compare guns. Rick also informs Jonathan that their backup plan is for him to blow up the golden tower, using the dynamite Evy and Lin are setting there, so the Emperor can't use it to find Shangri-La. Alex doesn't agree with that plan, feeling they should

pick the Emperor off with long-range weapons and use Lin's dagger to finish him. Everyone then gets into positions, as the Emperor, Yang, and his men approach. The Emperor tells Yang to prove his worth to him by clearing a path to the tower, and Yang, after handing him the Eye, has his men open fire on those hiding within the stupa. Evy manages to shoot one of the men and send him plummeting down the chasm, but then has to duck back when they return with AR fire. Two men wielding rocket launchers appear and fire, blasting away some of

the wall, revealing the tower. Rick tells the others to retreat and runs for it, as they fire again, destroying more of the temple. Yang makes his way across the rope bridge extending across the chasm, followed by his troops, and they prepare to continue their bazooka assault once they're on the other side. Rick and Alex quickly unload upon them, causing them to misfire and hit the ground in front of them, blowing one guy off into the chasm.

The heroes are forced to fall back into the center of the stupa, as the soldiers follow them. Much to his chagrin, Jonathan is told to light the dynamite, while Rick covers him. The others open fire on the soldiers, but Jonathan, panicking about being caught in the crossfire, runs for cover, dropping his lighter. Rick's Tommy gun then runs out of ammo, and Yang brings in more men. Rick, immediately running out of ammo for the Walther Alex gave him, takes cover with Evy, who finds she has one

last round. Then, Lin runs under the paifang and yells up into the mountains in some unusual language. That's when, to everyone else's shock, three yetis come running down. Lin tells one of them that the soldiers are evil and he and the other two attack. They ambush them by jumping from the roofs, then grabbing and throwing them against the walls. Yang orders his men to shoot them, but the yetis easily trounce them by either crushing or slamming them. Jonathan takes the opportunity to 

crawl back over to the dynamite, while Rick is forced to resort to fisticuffs. He throws his rifle at one soldier's legs, then fights with him for his gun, managing to shoot another soldier in the struggle before disarming and knocking him back. He jumps down, manages to knock the assault rifle out of another soldier's hands, and when the man pulls out a large knife, Rick gets him into an arm-lock, wrenches the knife loose, and stabs the man in the back. He takes his discarded gun. Lin uses her martial arts skills on one man, when Evy picks off

another who comes close to shooting her when she isn't looking. Another soldier comes for them, and Evy grabs Lin's hand and swings her around, allowing her to kick him right in the face. A yeti jumps down behind the man and, before he can crawl away, kicks him right over the paifang, much to his and another's delight. Inside the temple, Alex is ambushed by Yang, and though he manages to disarm the general, Yang proves more adept at hand-to-hand combat with his own martial arts skills. He grabs Alex's arm and puts his foot up to

his neck. But before he can kill him, one of the yetis lowers down outside the window behind Yang and grabs him. He holds him up and roars in his face, but Yang retaliates by actually smacking him. Aggravated, the yeti throws him across the courtyard, through a doorway, and down a long flight of stairs on the other side. But after he tumbles out of sight, the Emperor himself appears and makes his way up the stairs.

Jonathan finds his lighter and lights the fuse to the dynamite. He becomes ecstatic that he did it, then remembers exactly what he did and goes to run, only to come across a curious yeti. After trying to convince him that he's on his side, Jonathan runs to the side to get away from the dynamite. But then, the Emperor enters the stupa and Rick and Alex fire upon him. In retaliation, he grabs an icicle hanging from the roof and creates a line of thick, ice spikes that shoot up towards them, forcing both

them and the others to retreat. The yetis attempt to face him but he emits a loud, sonic wail that sends them running as well. He then douses the fuses with the snow, much to Jonathan's frustration, as he yells, "I hate mummies! They never play fair!" Holding the Eye, the Emperor climbs up the golden tower, but Rick climbs up the other side to intercept him. Alex attempts to distract the Emperor, but a massive fireball from his hand forces him to retreat. Both he and Rick reach the

top, and Rick fires desperately at him, but the Emperor creates a coating of sheer ice around the tower, sending Rick slipping down. He then runs when the Emperor shoots a fireball at him, and the Emperor puts the Eye atop the tower. It emits a blue beam of light up through the mountains, bouncing back and forth across the peaks until it reaches the top of one across from him. Seeing that he now knows the way to Shangri-La, Alex hops down, whips out another bundle of dynamite and a grenade, attached to a rope, and prepares to throw

it, presumably to create an avalanche and block the way (I really don't know what his plans is). Spotting him, the Emperor pulls out a sword and flings at him, but Rick pushes him out of the way, flinging the explosives forward, and the sword goes through his back and comes out the left side of his torso. Just as Alex realizes what happened, the bundle explodes, and as he tries to help his dad, the vibration sends an enormous avalanche right at them. Seeing it coming, the Emperor uses his power to freeze it in midair, but while he's

distracted, Lin leaps at him with the dagger. He quickly flings her to the ground, allowing the avalanche to continue down towards the stupa. Alex yells for someone to help him and Rick, while Evy helps the disoriented Lin, when a yeti jumps down and shields both of them; another does the same for Rick and Alex. The avalanche engulfs the stupa, blowing the Emperor back and causing him to lose the Eye, and also blows Yang back, forcing him to grab onto the rope bridge to save himself.

Once everything has settled down, first the yetis emerge from the chunks of snow and ice gathered around the top of the golden tower, and then they help those they shielded, pulling them up to the surface. Evy and Lin hear Alex's muffled cries for help and follow it to its source. They try to dig him and Rick out, when the yeti that shielded them breaks through the snow and then, the others realize how badly injured Rick is. Evy says they need to get him to Shangri-La and, thus, the yetis aid them in carrying Rick up the mountains and to

the tunnel in the cliff sending to the sacred place. Once they see the Pool of Eternal Life, Alex runs towards it, only to be met by Zi Yuan, who pulls a blade on him. However, Lin stops her and, after mother and daughter reunite, Alex begs for her to help Rick. She does, and we next see Rick after he's been bathed in the mystical water, as Zi Yuan heals his stab wound. He gasps sharply and groans, and opens his eyes briefly, before losing consciousness again. Zi Yuan says he needs rest and they take him to her chamber. Meanwhile,

back at where the stupa once stood, Yang climbs up the destroyed rope-bridge, when the Emperor emerges from the ice below him. He says, "Where are you going, General? Our destiny awaits." Things slow down for a bit, with Alex learning of Lin and Zi Yuan's connection to the Emperor, and Alex and Rick reconcile when the latter awakens. Then, when they least expect it, a fireball comes flying through the tunnel and forces Lin and Zi Yuan to dive away from each other as it explodes

right in front of the pool. The Emperor and Yang enter, the former grabbing his dagger and smashing the clay off his torso and face with its hilt. As he walks to the pool, he forces both women to stay down with his power, and also tells Zi Yuan that Lin is his. He enters the pool and dives beneath the water. Within seconds, his head emerges, restored to its human form, followed by two more on either side. He then transforms into a huge, three-headed, fire-breathing dragon as he emerges from the pool.

He blasts fire at the O'Connells, as well as Zi Yuan, as they run for cover. He corners Lin, grabs her, and heads back through the tunnel, knocking Alex aside when he tries to save her; Yang quickly runs after them and jumps onto the Emperor's back. After crawling through the tunnel, he jumps and takes to the air with a large pair of wings. Zi Yuan says the Emperor is heading back to his tomb to raise his army, and they rush to pursue him, with the help of both the yetis and Maguire.

They chase after him in Maguire's plane, and when Maguire sees the dragon, he asks Rick if he should stop drinking. In the next cut, they're back in China, with Rick, Evy, Alex, and Zi Yuan heading out on foot, while Jonathan stays in the air with Maguire. As they prepare, Zi Yuan says that she will resurrect all those the Emperor buried beneath the Great Wall to help in the battle. Meanwhile, the Emperor arrives at the small campsite Yang's forces have set up near his tomb. As the heroes watch from nearby, he drops Lin on the ground and

Yang orders his men to take her prisoner. Up on the sidelines, Rick realizes that Alex isn't beside him like he was a few seconds ago, and sees through his binoculars that he's sneaking into the camp to save Lin. The Emperor lands on his statue above his tomb and reverts back to his human form. He looks behind him and, unsheathing his sword, yells, "Awake!" The enormous panels in the tomb's ceiling open in the sand and the entire Terracotta Army marches out and heads towards the campsite. The Emperor's horse also emerges from below the

statue, shedding its clay exterior to become an actual horse. Elsewhere, Rick and Evy take up positions nearby, while Zi Yuan heads to the altar beneath the Great Wall with the Oracle Bones. As she sacrifices both her and Lin's immortality to raise them up, the Emperor addresses his troops: "Today you awake to a world in the grip of chaos and corruption!... I will restore order... I will retake what is mine! I will crush any idea of freedom! I will slaughter without mercy! I will conquer

without compassion! I will now lead you past the Great Wall! Once you cross, you will be indestructible! I raised you for one purpose: to enforce my will on the entire world!" With that, all of his troops, both the living and the terracotta, declare, "Long live the Emperor!" Zi Yuan finishes her incantation and an enormous fissure opens in the ground in front of the Great Wall, from which emerge the now undead throngs of the Emperor's victims, led by General Ming; seeing this from his

vantage point, the Emperor knows it's Zi Yuan's doing and, now on horseback, tells his troops to prepare for battle. Rick and Evy find themselves surrounded by the undead army, and are nearly attacked by Ming, but manage to talk him down by mentioning Zi Yuan. With that, they all rush into battle with the Emperor's forces.

Meanwhile, Alex sneaks into the camp, knocks out two guards, and enters the tent where Lin is being kept. Rick and Evy rush to the head of the undead army, as the Emperor charges through his legions of terracotta archers, ordering them to fire. Rick and Evy take cover before they fire up into the air, and their arrows rain down on the opposing army. Though many of them get hit, the fact that they're already dead means it makes no difference, with many of them pulling the arrows out. Recognizing Ming among the undead, the Emperor shouts,

"Death to General Ming!", and leads the charge; Ming himself does the same for his army and the two otherworldly forces charge at each other, as Rick and Evy open fire from where they've taken cover. Many of the terracotta soldiers do fall and shatter from the gunfire, before the two armies reach each other and engage in hand-to-hand combat. The Emperor himself rides amid the chaos, taking out several undead who come at him, and heads for the Great Wall, where Zi Yuan is waiting for him; at the campsite, Alex and Lin

manage to kick some soldiers off their motorcycles and commandeer them. The Emperor leaps off his horse and sprints right up to Zi Yuan. The two of them engage in sword-fighting and both prove to be quite skilled and agile, with Zi Yuan doing impressive flips and managing to slice off a bit of the bob of hair the Emperor has. But, at one point, the Emperor slices her across her midsection, and she lands and touches the wound to find her hand covered with blood. Seeing this, the Emperor sneers, "You are no longer immortal." He becomes

more ferocious in his fighting, but Zi Yuan still gives him a run for his money. But, in the end, he manages to disarm her, and she catches his blade between her hands. She spots the cursed dagger in its sheath on his belt and impales herself on his sword in order to grab it. He shoves her off the wall, unaware that she grabbed the dagger, and smiles evilly, knowing she's mortally wounded. Rick and Evy are forced to fall back, as the terracotta soldiers reach their cover. As they blow

them away from all sides, Rick yells, "I... really... hate... mummies!", and Evy comments, "It seems the feeling's mutual!" One soldier whose legs were blown off crawls towards them, but Rick takes care of him with a swing of his assault rifle, sending his head flying. They run further up onto a rise and the wall, blasting more soldiers until they run out of ammo and are forced to use some discarded swords they find. As they fend them off from both sides,

Rick says, "Next time I say we've been in tougher scrapes than this, I mean this!" While Evy does well with her sword, Rick immediately loses his, but manages to grab a spear from one soldier and put it to good use, at one point impaling two at once and decapitating them.

That's when Maguire's plane, as well as another, piloted by his men, come flying in, with Jonathan gunning a number of the soldiers down with a machine gun, yelling, "Die, you mummy bastards! Die!"; Maguire actually chastises him for that statement, yelling, "There is no call for bad language!" Seeing this development, the Emperor transforms into an enormous, hairy, horned monster and charges through the armies, knocking a number of undead out of his way. He then leaps up and grabs one of the planes, sending it to the

ground and causing it to mow through a number of undead. Stuck on the wall, with more terracotta soldiers approaching, Rick and Evy prepare for their last stand, when Alex and Lin come by on the motorcycles and fire on the soldiers. Rick and Evy join up with them when the path is clear, while the Emperor reverts back to his human form and walks inside the wall. Lin spots her mortally wounded mother nearby and runs to her, followed by the others. She reaches her and, as she cradles her head in her arms, Zi Yuan, with her last bit of strength,

gives Lin the dagger and tells her to pierce the Emperor through his heart. She then says, "You must live and... fight on," before dying. As Lin cries over her fallen mother, Evy takes the dagger and gives it to Rick. He and Alex then head to deal with the Emperor, who walks past the gears within the wall's interior. Out on the battlefield, Choi drives by and picks up Yang, telling him that the O'Connells are planning to attack the Emperor. Reaching the underground altar, the Emperor lights

up the torchieres on either side of the pathway and walks up the steps. Rick and Alex use the one motorcycle to reach the wall, with Rick driving while Alex provides support on the back end with a Tommy gun. He asks Rick what the plan is and he answers, "Divide and conquer!"; to that, Alex asks, "No offense, but isn't that a little short on detail?" As they continue on, Yang and Choi chase after and fire upon them, aided by some other troops in a jeep behind them. Up above, after he and Maguire cement their deal about the latter's men drinking at Imhotep's for free, Jonathan drops a literal bomb, blowing up one of the jeeps commandeered by the soldiers.

Atop the altar, the Emperor attempts to use his power to pull the undead back to where they were buried, only for Alex to come in behind him and stop him with several well-placed shots from his Walther. He tells him, "I dug you up, and I'm gonna put you down." Up on the surface, as the undead get back to fighting, the enraged Emperor jumps at Alex, transforming in midair, and backhands him, sending him flying against the wall. Rick gets behind the Emperor and jumps on his back with the dagger, but gets flung off easily, despite managing

to stab him and stick the dagger in him. While he's distracted, Rick runs to Alex, when the Emperor, turning back to his human form, pulls out the dagger and flings it at Rick. He runs and dodges it, but it hits the front of a statue and breaks in half. Further back, around the wooden gears, Evy and Lin are ambushed by Yang while trying to join back up with Rick and Alex. Yang slams Evy against one of the gears and attempts to strangle her, but Lin kicks him in the back. The two of them battle, with him putting her in a choke-hold against

the wall, but she kicks him in the crotch and manages to knock him to the floor. Lin climbs along the gears to rejoin Evy, who runs up behind Yang. Lin gets in front of him and does a flying kick, knocking him between two large gears behind him. Choi shows up and grabs his arm, trying to pull him out. He tells her to let go but she answers, "Never," and the two of them are crushed together between the gears. Back in the altar room, Rick challenges the Emperor to stop using his powers

and, "Fight like a man!" But when he runs at him, the Emperor easily outclasses him, laying into him with a number of powerful and agile punches and kicks. Meanwhile, Alex suddenly dives into the water around the edges of the pathway, having left a division symbol in the dirt, beside one half of the dagger. The Emperor kicks Rick hard enough to send him sliding across the floor, where he sees the symbol. Knowing it means, "Divide and conquer," he grabs the half of the dagger and sheaths it, and

fights the Emperor again. This time, he manages to hold his own, employing some of his personal fighting tactics to catch the Emperor off-guard, like headbutts and knees to the gut. He goes to stab him with the broken dagger, but the Emperor grabs his wrist and the two of them struggle for control. That's when Jonathan, having climbed onto the altar behind him, jumps down and stabs him in the back with his half of the dagger. With the Emperor stunned, Rick jams his half through his chest, the two of them coming together inside and piercing his heart.

Rick pulls the dagger out, as the Emperor collapses to the floor and Alex joins his dad. Evy and Lin find them, as the Emperor's body begins to melt and disintegrate from a flame that flares up from within him. Rick tells him, "Now, you can rule... in hell," and he and the others run for it, as flames and lava erupt from the Emperor's body, before he explodes in a massive fireball. Up on the surface, the Terracotta Army collapses, shattering and then turning into dust, which is blown away. Knowing what it means, Ming declares, "The Emperor is

dead!", and he and the remaining undead cheer triumphantly. The others emerge from the wall, and Lin and her father share one knowing look before Ming and the others disintegrate into a massive cloud of dust themselves and blow off across the desert. The movie then ends with the heroes, including Maguire and his men, enjoying a night of dancing and celebration at Imhotep's, while Jonathan, with the Eye of Shangri-La in his possession, slips out and takes a cab to the airport. Unbeknownst to him, mummies will soon be discovered in his intended destination, Peru.

Though it's not on the level of Jerry Goldsmith and Alan Silvestri's scores for the first two movies, the music by Randy Edelman, who often works with Rob Cohen, is still pretty damn good. However, I've read that sections of it, mostly for the bigger action scenes, were redone by John Debney, who had scored The Scorpion King (and went on to do Cohen's next film, Alex Cross). Regardless, it's a pretty grand and sweeping collection of music, delving into the Chinese and Middle Eastern sound just as much as the first did for Egypt. The most memorable part of it is the main theme, which you hear in pieces throughout the movie, but it's during the first part of the ending credits that you hear it in all its grandeur, coming off as big, rich, and majestic, as well as adventurous (speaking of the credits, they're very memorable in and of themselves, being a digital calligraphy of images and scenes from the movie, with inkblots and brushstrokes to boot). You also hear a more low-key version near the end of the credits, and both versions are awesome. The Emperor himself has a bombastic theme that sounds like a redone version of Imhotep's leitmotif from the first movie, the music for the action scenes does help make them thrilling, and some of the music for the mystical and more poignant moments, like during Zi Yuan's death scene, do their job well. And there's some nice swing music heard during the scenes at Imhotep's. Speaking of which, while there are a few songs listed on the soundtrack, likely as background music, the one that sticks out is My Sweet Eternal Love, sung Helen Feng, and with lyrics written by Cohen himself. It's this slow and rather lovely number, heard both during the final scene at Imhotep's and the latter part of the ending credits, that does come off as something you would've heard sung in clubs back then. It's a lot better than that song that played over the ending credits of The Mummy Returns, I can say that.

While The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is unlikely to be referred to as the best of the series by anyone (unless you're Roger Ebert, who said exactly that), like the similarly maligned second film, it's not nearly as bad as its reputation would have you believe. It does have more than its fair of problems, such as a number of sorely missed cast members and characters, some characters not being written that well, the story feeling like a repackaging of what we've seen before, especially of the second one, some eye-rollingly corny and lowbrow humor, some convoluted and contrived mythology, the Dragon Emperor himself not being a great villain at all, a visual and directing style that's not as appealing as those of the previous movies, a lot of bad CGI yet again, and an overall feeling that the series has gotten far away from what it was originally about. All that said, Brendan Fraser is still awesome as Rick O'Connell, John Hannah is still funny as Jonathan, Michelle Yeoh is great, as always, there's really good production design and well-shot imagery, the action sequences are fun, the music score is pleasing to the ear, and not only is the movie the shortest of the three but it goes at a good pace and is never dull. So if, like with The Mummy Returns, you never checked out Tomb of the Dragon Emperor because of its dubious reputation, I would advise giving it a watch, especially if you need an easy way to kill two hours.