ACF 130: The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor set for August 1, 2008 Opening

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Directed by Rob Cohen
Starring Brendan Fraser, Jet Li, Maria Bello, Michelle Yeoh
August 1, 2008 release date

I got some P.R. material on this upcoming flick some time ago. I've been holding off writing about it until the time seemed right, and that time is now. Why?

Well, last week I saw a TV spot about it for the first time. More importantly, on Sunday I saw a trailer when I went to see Kung Fu Panda (which, incidentally, is terrific fun).

I greatly enjoyed The Mummy (1999) and The Mummy Returns (2001), as well as The Scorpion King (2002), a spin-off starring Dwayne Johnson (when he was still being billed as The Rock) and the talented and always enjoyable Kelly Hu.

I'd been cautiously hopeful about Mummy 3 (if you will) and now that I've seen the trailer, I'm really psyched about it. And the reason that I think readers of this blog should be interested is the Chinese theme, which is evident in the film's title, and two of its stars.

Long ago, a sorceress (Michelle Yeoh) put a curse on the Han Emperor (Jet Li) and his warriors, who have lain forgotten, entombed in clay as a vast, silent terra cotta army. When the ruler and his minions are awakened from eternal slumber, it falls on explorer Rick O’Connell (Brendan Fraser) to save the day.

This film marks the second time that Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh have starred together in a film. (Although she initially did have a small role in Jet Li's Fearless, it wasn't really part of the story proper and reportedly was cut to bring the running time down to under two hours.) The pair were seen together in Tai Chi Master (1993), a great martial arts flick directed by Yuen Woo-ping with nearly non-stop action. I'm really looking forward to them appearing together again.

(Worth mentioning here is the fact that Dragon Dynasty is putting out a dynamite DVD of Thai Chi Master on July 29th. I'll be reviewing it prior to the street date.)

Another good indication about Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is the fact that China's censors want changes in Mummy 3 before giving the o.k. for its release in that country, this according to VarietyAsiaOnline.com. Anything that the Chinese Communist leadership has problems with is probably going to be o.k. or better in my book.

For updates and features on the film, check out director Rob Cohen's production blog.

And of course there's the official film website, which includes the trailer and teasers.