The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

Starring Brendan Fraser, Maria Bello, and Jet Li
Directed by Rob Cohen
Rated PG-13

If you're feeling nostalgic for stupidity, however, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is for you. This is a big, dumb summer movie, and when you look at the type of material around it in theaters this year, it really stands out, like the six-foot-tall fifth grader who already needs to shave. Yes, Tomb of the Dragon Emperor has been held back a year or two.

Of course, why should the franchise change its course now? The first Mummy, released at a time when we enjoyed mindless fluff, was exactly that - a silly concept with some good effects and a bit of the ol' blockbuster magic. It's not a great film, but it was a perfectly fine diversion, surprising, even. The second movie was moronic and the visual effects were lousy. Also, things like this usually aren't as fun for us the second time. That's just our nature.

So it would be difficult to give a third Mummy movie the gravitas of Gotham City out of the clear blue. Instead, adventurers Rick and Evelyn O'Connell (Brendan Fraser and Maria Bello, taking over for Rachel Weisz) travel to China where their now fully-grown son (Luke Ford) has unearthed one of the great archaeological finds ever: The Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Legend has it that the Emperor (Jet Li) was cursed by a wizard (Michelle Yeoh) for his bloodlust, and he and his entire army was transformed into statues. Like everything else, there's a loophole: The Emperor can be awakened through a series of convoluted steps, and if he is, he'll show the world no mercy.

So by the time he is awakened, we're pretty hungry for some action. After all, if anyone appears more uncomfortable by Maria Bello's presence and her flimsy accent than Bello herself, it's Brendan Fraser, who comes off like a guy going on his first date years after a divorce left him shattered. He never has the connection with his leading lady that he did in the first two movies, and that makes watching their scenes just as uncomfortable for us.

The action and visual effects, the entrees in a movie of this type, are just OK. Some effects look a lot better than others, and anytime a movie needs to call on a pack of Yeti to bail out the heroes...well, I don't really need to finish that thought, do I? Jet Li makes an effective villain, and I could've used more of him and his vendetta against Michelle Yeoh. In truth, this movie would have worked much better as a Scorpion King-style spinoff, without Brendan Fraser or Maria Bello in it at all.

But then, of course, it might not be the trip down memory lane in good ol' Dumbville this movie clearly is. Unfortunately for The Mummy series, a lot of us have moved out of Dumbville, leaving no forwarding address.