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A while ago, I did a list of movies that I felt got unfairly blasted on release. This movie was on that list, and I've even said that I prefer this movie to The Mummy Returns. And to make sure I didn't just put on my rose-tinted eyewear that day when I made that list, I decided to give it another watch. And man... This movie REALLY doesn't present itself very well at first. The overall plot in the beginning is fine, but the way it's executed is just... Bad in many of the details. For example, the beginning prologue is overly narrated. (Needs more show, less tell.) Jet Li's performance is just a tad too stiff. (Yes, I know he's a hardass commander, but regardless, the acting needed just a bit more improvement here.) The CGI is also not very good. (Which, sadly, continues throughout the rest of the film.) There's big holes in the plot, and etc.
But this movie is the opposite of The Mummy Returns. That movie had a strong beginning, but began to falter more and more as it reached its conclusion. Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, on the other hand, has a weak beginning and gets progressively better. Mind you, it doesn't fix everything wrong with itself by the movies conclusion, but even so, the movie still shows off some thrills and good times. There is one other thing though. Much of the original cast for The Mummy does not make a return for this film. This was apparently due to Stephen Sommers being interested at first but then deciding not to go forward with this film as he felt doing a third movie in any series is incredibly hard to do and he just wasn't up to it. This decision ultimately led to a cascading effect in the casting. Rachel Weisz dropped out due to script disagreements and Oded Fehr dropped out because he felt there was no point for his character to be there in the film.
Funnily enough, Luke Ford, cast as Alex O' Connell is, I think, the actor MVP of this movie. He's both written well and does a great job in realizing his character and he also seems to pull together the other characters in every scene he's in. Don't get me wrong. Brendan Fraser and Maria Bello (as Evy) do a great job as well, or at least, as well as they can, but Luke Ford's character really adds a lot of freshness to these proceedings that you wouldn't otherwise expect.
In conclusion, I get much more now why people didn't like it, but I still definitely stand by my original statements. The Mummy Returns is overrated, and Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is underrated, even if it's still not quite the standout it could have been.
But this movie is the opposite of The Mummy Returns. That movie had a strong beginning, but began to falter more and more as it reached its conclusion. Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, on the other hand, has a weak beginning and gets progressively better. Mind you, it doesn't fix everything wrong with itself by the movies conclusion, but even so, the movie still shows off some thrills and good times. There is one other thing though. Much of the original cast for The Mummy does not make a return for this film. This was apparently due to Stephen Sommers being interested at first but then deciding not to go forward with this film as he felt doing a third movie in any series is incredibly hard to do and he just wasn't up to it. This decision ultimately led to a cascading effect in the casting. Rachel Weisz dropped out due to script disagreements and Oded Fehr dropped out because he felt there was no point for his character to be there in the film.
Funnily enough, Luke Ford, cast as Alex O' Connell is, I think, the actor MVP of this movie. He's both written well and does a great job in realizing his character and he also seems to pull together the other characters in every scene he's in. Don't get me wrong. Brendan Fraser and Maria Bello (as Evy) do a great job as well, or at least, as well as they can, but Luke Ford's character really adds a lot of freshness to these proceedings that you wouldn't otherwise expect.
In conclusion, I get much more now why people didn't like it, but I still definitely stand by my original statements. The Mummy Returns is overrated, and Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is underrated, even if it's still not quite the standout it could have been.
