The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor [Blu-Ray]

Reviewed by:
Eric Alt

The Skinny: Round 3 of the Mummy business finds Brendan Fraser with a new wife (Maria Bello, stepping in for contractually un-obligated Rachel Weisz), a son with rapid aging disorder (Luke Ford), and a new undead villain (this time it's Chinese!).

The Good: The movie does play better on TV than it did in the theater—somehow it's easier to ignore that nothing happens for the first 40 minutes or so. The rest is a mess of special effects that look sharp in Blu-Ray, but do little to sastify your need for, well, something cool and interesting.

The Bad: In case you hadn't guessed, the movie is by far the weakest entry in a franchise that, let's face it, wasn't exactly firing on all cylinders to begin with. Fraser might have been able to sell the "bumbling, aging action hero" thing if he looked in any way, shape or form older than he did in the first two, and if his son hadn't aged from 9 to 35 in the span of one flick. Also, Bello's British accent is horrible.

Best Extra: For such a mediocre movie, they at least load up the Blu-Ray disc with a slew of (mostly HD) features and docs. "Preparing for Battle with Brendan Fraser and Jet Li" is worth a look if only to make you question why you aren't watching a better Jet Li movie.

Buy, Rent, or Ignore: Sadly, this one can pass by unnoticed for the most part. You've got better things to spend your money on.