In ancient China the warlord Qin Shi Huang conquered the surrounding kingdoms, learnt magical powers and was declared emperor; that wasn't enough though
he wanted immortality. To this end he summons Zi Yuan, a sorceress, who has the power to make him immortal. She casts a spell then he kills his friend and closest ally, who is also Zi Yuan's lover. It then turns out she has cursed him and his army; he burns while his army turns to terracotta.
In 1946 Alex O'Connell, the son of Rick and Evelyn, the protagonists in the original two film, is searching for Qin Shi Huang's tomb. He finds in and, after surviving a number of traps, excavates it. Its contents are then taken to Shanghai. In an apparent coincidence Rick and Evelyn have been asked to transport the 'Eye of Shangri-La' to China. They are reunited with Alex just as they all learn that they have been betrayed; General Yang, a rogue military commander, has plans to use the eye to raise the emperor from the dead so that he can rule not just China but the whole world. The Emperor is brought back to life but is still effected by the curse; if he is to be free of the curse and raise his army the Emperor must travel to Shangri-La something that the O'Connell's, along with Lin, a beautiful Chinese woman who is charged with guarding the tomb and has the only weapon that can kill the emperor, and Rick's brother in law, Jonathan Carnahan, are determined to stop.
This the third of the Mummy movies was entertaining for the most part; I liked how the action had moved to a new location even if it was probably motivated by a desire to make money in China. The action is almost non-stop and for the most pert it is pretty exciting. Introducing Rick's son added a sense of danger as at one point it looked as though Rick was going to die and pass the baton as series protagonist to Alex. The cast did a solid enough job although I missed Rachel Weisz, in the role of Evelyn; Maria Bello wasn't bad in the role but I think it would have been better if she had been an entirely different character. Luke Ford was a good addition as Alex and I enjoyed Isabella Leong's performance as Lin. Michelle Yeoh impressed as Lin and Jet Li was okay as the Emperor sadly most of the time he was hidden behind CGI so felt somewhat underused. As well as action there was plenty to laugh out; some of the gags were more groan inducing than laugh out loud funny but that didn't matter. Overall this isn't a must see film but it is solid enough and while there is a lot of action it is of the type that can be enjoyed by most ages.
In 1946 Alex O'Connell, the son of Rick and Evelyn, the protagonists in the original two film, is searching for Qin Shi Huang's tomb. He finds in and, after surviving a number of traps, excavates it. Its contents are then taken to Shanghai. In an apparent coincidence Rick and Evelyn have been asked to transport the 'Eye of Shangri-La' to China. They are reunited with Alex just as they all learn that they have been betrayed; General Yang, a rogue military commander, has plans to use the eye to raise the emperor from the dead so that he can rule not just China but the whole world. The Emperor is brought back to life but is still effected by the curse; if he is to be free of the curse and raise his army the Emperor must travel to Shangri-La something that the O'Connell's, along with Lin, a beautiful Chinese woman who is charged with guarding the tomb and has the only weapon that can kill the emperor, and Rick's brother in law, Jonathan Carnahan, are determined to stop.
This the third of the Mummy movies was entertaining for the most part; I liked how the action had moved to a new location even if it was probably motivated by a desire to make money in China. The action is almost non-stop and for the most pert it is pretty exciting. Introducing Rick's son added a sense of danger as at one point it looked as though Rick was going to die and pass the baton as series protagonist to Alex. The cast did a solid enough job although I missed Rachel Weisz, in the role of Evelyn; Maria Bello wasn't bad in the role but I think it would have been better if she had been an entirely different character. Luke Ford was a good addition as Alex and I enjoyed Isabella Leong's performance as Lin. Michelle Yeoh impressed as Lin and Jet Li was okay as the Emperor sadly most of the time he was hidden behind CGI so felt somewhat underused. As well as action there was plenty to laugh out; some of the gags were more groan inducing than laugh out loud funny but that didn't matter. Overall this isn't a must see film but it is solid enough and while there is a lot of action it is of the type that can be enjoyed by most ages.