Okay, the movie I have really been waiting for this summer. Opening day, 4 p.m. I'd cut out of work early to see this one because I didn't want to wait until the 7 p.m. showing. I'm at the Scera theater, hungry because I skipped lunch and didn't have time to grab something before the show. The lights go down, the movie starts....
And I forgot all about my rumbling stomach.
Okay, yes, there are moments of true hokey-ness....that's what makes these movies so much fun to watch. There are moments of stilted acting....I can live with that. On the whole; two freaking thumbs up.
The biggest difference is Rachel Weisz did not reprise her role as Evie, apparently not wanting to spend several months in China away from her young children. Maria Bello took up the mantle and ran with it in a fairly different style, but done very well. Once I stopped watching to see if she tried copying any Evie "mannerisms" and just settled into the movie I really began to enjoy her performance. Frankly, she was great, considering the characters of Rick and Evie are now a little more sidelined to make way for the newest adventurer; an all-grown-up son Alex. On a side-note I wasn't as impressed with the actor playing Alex, wavering between a very distinct American accent and then sounding a bit British (you may recall our original Alex definately had a thick British accent going on in "The Mummy Returns") but it was more of a mild distraction than a serious flaw.
As for the movie, it seemed a little contrived how everyone just managed to run into one other in Shanghai but the movie addresses that a little later on....if you're a bit confused, just wait, there's usually an explanation coming (except the relationship between the modern day Chinese general and his female assistant--I have no clue what the heck was happening there).
The opening segment as to who the bad guy is and why he's so evil runs a bit long, but is very interesting. Extra points should be awarded for the original idea of how the terra cotta army came to be (yes kids, there really is a terra cotta army that was found in China). The Yeti (abominable snowmen) are a bit of a stretch but no worse than the pygmy warriors in Mummy Returns. The special effects are absolutely amazing, there are some very well choreographed fight sequences (though more kung fu would not have gone amiss) and John Hannah as the incorrigible Jonathan is, as always, a complete riot...you enjoy every minute he is on screen.
My only wish is that they could have found a way to bring Oded Fehr into the mix to help kick some Chinese Mummy butt.
Overall rating is excellent....my readers may disagree but I enjoyed this even more than "The Dark Knight" and will not only be buying this one when it comes out on DVD but I will also be seeing it once again before it leaves the theaters.
1 comment:
This is good to know because I too have been looking forward to this one- for the same reasons as you. I hope there's some good Brendan Fraser scenes.
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