Your enjoyment of this film will depend almost entirely on your attitude when you enter the cinema. If you want a classy action drama, or expect even a modicum of self-respect, you will be very disappointed. If you go in expecting a very silly but entertaining action film, you are likely to enjoy this film immensely.
I went to the cinema with the latter attitude. After seeing the first two films (albeit a while ago now), I expected a ridiculous, but amusing plot and lots of action. The film was no more far-fetched than the first two films, just as funny and just as action packed. I came out of the movie feeling suitably entertained. It wasn’t the best film of the century, but I think it achieved its aims, and I certainly enjoyed it.
Rick O’Connell (Brendan Fraser) is the bored, retired hero, who can fight his way out of so many different scenarios. Evy (Maria Bello), his wife, is equally bored with their retirement, and is trying in vain to write a sequel to her two famously successful novels; the Mummy and the Mummy Returns. Meanwhile, Evy’s brother, Jonathan (John Hannah) has a night-club in Shanghai, and their son Alex (Luke Ford) is also in China, raising the mummy of the movie: the Chinese Emperor (who incidentally has superpowers), played by Jet Li. Isabella Leong also joins the cast as Lin, charged with protecting the Emperor’s tomb, her job later becomes to chase the Emperor with a cursed weapon: the only one that can kill the undead Emperor.
All these characters are superb, well acted creations that were believable in their roles without taking themselves too seriously. They made the witty one-liners with a straight face, but the characters seem to realise that they’re in a movie at the right moments, so that it doesn’t become melodramatic. The onscreen interaction between all the characters is seamless. While there was never any question of realism, the characters made it seem almost plausible. I also liked the fact that while Evy and Rick have been married for quite some time, they are still very much in love. They took their assignment because they were bored of mundane life, but the excitement wasn’t necessary for renewing their love. It was a nice touch.
The plot erred on the side of the predictable: at any point you can tell immediately the outcome of their current predicament, just by realising you’re not far enough into the film for them to win yet. However, you can still be emotionally invested enough in the fantastic characters to actually care what happens to them, and I was still engrossed in the action, wondering about exactly how they would get out of whatever scrape the plot had put them in.
The film moves too fast for you to really care that it doesn’t make that much sense. The characters and the constant action kept me entertained without getting too repetitive, and I didn’t mind the predictability; perhaps there was something behind Brendan Fraser’s eyes that let me know that the character also knew the plot was predictable. He didn’t care, in fact he seemed to be having a lot of fun… which made it more amusing to watch.
I would have preferred if the actress that played Evelyn in the first two films could have returned, although Maria Bello did do a great job, and she had very good onscreen chemistry with Brendan Fraser. I also found the special effects used when the Emperor was cursed hilarious: it looked something like a man made out of chocolate. These are my two main criticisms.
This film probably got bad reviews because the critics have been to so many action films that they realise they’re mostly the same. They are probably bored by any film that doesn’t cross lines into new areas of innovation and excitement. I’m not a professional critic: I’m just a normal moviegoer, with a love of silly movies. In a book, I might expect better… but I very much enjoyed the Mummy III. It was never meant to be taken seriously, and as such, it is a very entertaining film.
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