The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is a 2008 American martial arts adventure film that follows The Mummy and The Mummy Returns. It was released on August 1, 2008 in the United States. The film was directed by Rob Cohen, written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, and produced by Stephen Sommers (director of the previous two installments), Bob Ducsay, Sean Daniel, and James Jacks. This film's plot was much lighter than the previous films and ignored the series' original formula (being a tribute to the original 1932 Universal horror film which involved mummies in Egypt).

The story has Rick O'Connell's (Brendan Fraser) son Alex (Luke Ford) discovering the tomb of The First Emperor of China, Emperor Han (Jet Li). This leads Rick and his wife Evelyn (Maria Bello) to travel to China, where an evil Chinese general causes the resurrection of the Emperor. The Emperor then tries to break an ancient curse set on him by the witch Zi Yuan (Michelle Yeoh) so he can use his magical powers to bring his army back to life to conquer the world.

While the Emperor character is actually based on Qin Shi Huang of The Qin Dynasty, and The First Emperor Of China, the Emperor's dynasty in the film is fictionalized as being The Han Dynasty.

Plot

In 221 B.C, China is torn by civil war. A ruthless warlord and king named Han (Jet Li) rises to make himself emperor of the provinces and unite China. He conquers his enemies and becomes the first emperor of China, The Dragon Emperor. As his first act as Emperor, he orders the construction of the Great Wall Of China, burying his former enemies beneath it and cursing their souls to hold it up for all eternity. The Emperor's mystics teach him supernatural mastery over the Five Elements (Fire, Water, Earth, Wood and Metal). Years pass, and Emperor Han begins to grow fearful that all he has accomplished will be lost upon his death. He hears of a witch, Zi Yuan (Michelle Yeoh), who is said to know the secret of immortality. Han sends his right-hand man, General Ming Guo (Russell Wong), to find Zi Yuan and bring her to the palace. Ming finds Zi Yuan and they fall in love, resulting in jealousy from the Emperor, who desired Zi Yuan for himself. After Zi Yuan supposedly casts the immortality spell on the Emperor in Sanskrit, a language he does not understand, he has Ming drawn and quartered and wounds Zi Yuan. She then reveals that she had foreseen this and has cast a powerful curse on Emperor Han and his army. The Emperor is gruesomely burned alive and imprisoned within a shell of terracotta, as are every last one of his men, transforming them into the Terracotta Army. A wounded Zi Yuan escapes to parts unknown.

In 1946, 13 years after the events of The Mummy Returns, the now-Americanized Alex O'Connell (Ford), son to Rick (Brendan Fraser) and Evelyn (Maria Bello), locates Emperor Han's tomb with the financial backing of Professor Roger Wilson (David Calder), an archaeology professor. There, three assistants are killed by various traps (corrosive gases, arrows and a razor disk). Alex is then attacked by an unknown woman, but succeeds in bringing the Emperor's coffin to Shanghai. Meanwhile, the British government entrusts The O'Connells to take the Eye Of Shangri-La back to China as a good faith gesture to the Chinese. It is revealed that Wilson is in league with a nationalist paramilitary group led by General Yang (Anthony Wong Chau-Sang) and his second-in-command, Choi (Meng), who see the Emperor as the only one who can bring order and greatness back to China. The mysterious woman from the tomb attacks the mummified Emperor in his coffin, which turns out to be a decoy. By accident, the magical fluid within the Eye lands on the statue of the carriage driver, which is revealed to be the actual body of the Emperor. The Emperor is quickly brought back to life, although he remains trapped in his terracotta form (which often chips away, revealing the charred, undead corpse-creature beneath, but quickly reforms as per the curse). Han accepts the service of Choi and Yang but kills Wilson by searing decapitation. The unknown woman from the excavation site tries to kill the Emperor with a magical dagger, the only weapon that can kill him, but is unsuccessful in doing so.

The unknown woman reveals herself to the O'Connells as Lin (Isabella Leong), and agrees to help them. Along with Evelyn's brother Jonathan Carnahan (John Hannah), the group travel to a tower in the Himalayas that will reveal the path to Shangri-La when the Eye is placed on top of it. With the help of three Himalayan Yeti summoned by Lin, the group hold off the soldiers under Yang, but are ultimately unable to prevent the Emperor from learning the location of Shangri-La. He also tries to kill Alex to keep him from starting an avalanche by throwing a sword at him, but Rick jumps in the path of the sword, saving his son. The avalanche triggered by Alex allows them to reach Shangri-La before Han and meet with Zi Yuan. It is revealed that Lin is Zi Yuan's 2000-year-old daughter, rendered immortal due to the power of the magic waters of Shangri-La. The magical dagger which Lin carries is the same dagger that the Emperor used to try to kill Zi Yuan two thousand years ago, with a powerful curse placed on it by Zi Yuan herself. After Lin vouches for the O'Connell's, the ancient witch quickly heals Rick's wound. Zi Yuan also reveals that she would have died if she was not saved by a Yeti. Zi Yuan warns Alex that if the Emperor is allowed to drink from the Pool of Eternal Life, he will not only be able to raise his army, but be granted the power to transform into ancient and fearsome Chinese animal spirits. Alex and Lin have grown attached to each other but Lin pushes the relationship away due to her immortality; after watching Zi Yuan mourn General Ming for centuries, she does not want to fall in love with Alex only to watch him grow old and die.

The Emperor attacks them in Shangri-La and takes the dagger, breaks free of his terracotta form and vows that Lin "will be his", in order to pay for her father's disloyalty. He then bathes in the waters which restore his human form and youth, replenishes his powers, and giving him the ability to shapeshift. He transforms into a gigantic three-headed dragon (a tribute to King Ghidorah), kidnaps Lin and flies to his tomb where he raises the Terracotta Army, now aided by General Yang's soldiers. The Emperor announces his plans to conquer the entire world and that once he leads his army across the Great Wall, an ancient spell will make them invulnerable.

The O'Connells and Zi Yuan pursue the Emperor to the Great Wall where Zi Yuan sacrifices her own and Lin's immortality to revive those buried beneath The Great Wall, creating an undead army of her own, led by General Ming. The Army of the Dead, with aid from the group's modern weapons and limited air support from two World War II-era planes, fights the Terracotta Army while Zi Yuan battles the Emperor, sacrificing herself to steal back her cursed dagger. She is mortally wounded but succeeds in securing the dagger. The gang finally catch up and Lin grieves after they find Zi Yuan dying soon after. Then, Emperor Han transforms into a horned Shishi and goes beneath the Great Wall in order to use his elemental powers to negate Zi Yuan's spell and draw Ming's army back underneath it. However, he is stopped by Alex. Yang and Choi are killed by Evelyn and Lin when they attempt to interfere with Rick and Alex. Rick and Alex tackle the Emperor with the dagger but are severely outmatched, not just by his magical powers and transformation into an oni but by his martial arts skills, and the dagger is broken. Rick challenges the Emperor to a fair fight and the Emperor chooses to fight Rick without powers, and Rick manages to plunge the broken dagger hilt into the Emperor's chest while Alex stabs him with the tip of the blade from behind, simultaneously piercing his heart from both sides, releasing the dagger's curse as the Emperor is consumed from the inside out by a fury of molten lava, killing him. With The Emperor defeated, his army crumbles and turns to dust. Ming's army celebrates briefly before finally moving on to a peaceful afterlife.

The O'Connells return to Shanghai, where Alex and Lin fall in love again. Rick and Evelyn, and Alex and Lin, share kisses during a slow dance at a bar. Jonathan decides to move to Peru with the Eye of Shangri-La, which he had stolen himself, as there are no mummies in Peru. However, an ending caption appears, explaining that shortly after his arrival, mummies were discovered in Peru.

Cast

• Brendan Fraser as Rick O'Connell: A retired adventurer, Alex's father, Evy's husband, and Jonathan's brother-in-law.
• Jet Li as Emperor Han: A warlord who desired immortality. Though he succeeds at becoming immortal he is also turned to stone. Once revived, he seeks to enslave the world. His symbol is apparently a three headed dragon.
• Maria Bello as Evelyn Carnahan-O'Connell: Rick's wife, also a retired adventurer/librarian turned novelist.
• John Hannah as Jonathan Carnahan: Evy's bumbling brother and Alex's uncle.
• Luke Ford as Alex O'Connell: Rick's and Evelyn's son, now twenty-one years old, who has a crush on Zi Yuan's daughter Lin.
• Anthony Wong Chau-Sang as General Yang: Han's supporter in 1947.
• Isabella Leong as Lin: Zi Yuan's daughter and protector of The Dragon Emperor's Tomb.
• Liam Cunningham as Mad Dog Maguire: A pilot who helps the O'Connells make their way to Tibet on their journey to Shangri-La.
• David Calder as Professor Roger Wilson: Alex's supporter in his expedition of The Dragon Emperor's Tomb, and a collaborator with General Yang and Choi.
• Russell Wong as General Ming Guo: Han's first in command, Zi Yuan's lover, and Lin's father.
• Michelle Yeoh as Zi Yuan: An immortal "witch" whom Han sought out for the eternal life she possessed.

Trivia

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• This marks the Hollywood debut for Chinese martial arts sensation Wu Jing (Jacky Wu), who has a cameo as one of the assassins having a brief but furious battle with fellow Wu Shu expert Jet Li at the beginning of the film.

• The small device that triggers a trap by dropping a bronze marble from a dragon's mouth to a frog's mouth is inspired by an ancient instrument that could predict the direction of a coming earthquake. It was considered the first seismometer, which was invented by Zhang Heng during the Han Dynasty.

• The crossbow traps in the tomb scene are based in reality. According to Chinese archaeologists, the excavation of the Terracotta Army is progressing so slowly partly because the site is filled with similar traps.

• The only mummy seen in the film is the fake Emperor that Lin stabs with the magical dagger before the real Emperor awakens from the statue of the carriage driver in which he was imprisoned.

• After the Emperor has been awakened, the heroes ride in a cart containing fireworks. The box has "Tse Kar Wai" written on it. This is an alternate name for Doris Tse, a co-producer on the film.

• Rachel Weisz did not reprise her role as Evelyn due to script issues, however she was replaced by Maria Bello.

Anachronisms

• At the beginning of the movie The Dragon Emperor is shown planning his campaign on a model of China which clearly has The Great Wall of China portrayed on it, even though it was The Dragon Emperor himself who built The Wall after the campaign. In reality, The Great Wall Of China was only made from bricks and stones a thousand years after the rule of The Dragon Emperor.

• A tan 1949 Austin passes in front of a bookstore in 1947.

• The drum set in the nightclub is not from The 1930s. Some of the hardware (Example: cymbal stands) was not available until The 1980s.

Production

In November 2001, director Stephen Sommers, who directed the previous Mummy films, said about directing a third Mummy film, "There is a demand for it, but most of the gang would only be up for it again if we could find a way to make it bigger and better." In May 2004, Sommers expressed his doubts about having the energy to make a third Mummy, though the cast of previous films had expressed interest in returning. In December 2005, a review of a script written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar was about a Chinese mummy (China's first emperor, who wants to take over the world with his army of accursed warriors in 1940).
The idea of the emperor and his army is based on the real-life Qin emperor Qin Shi Huang, who was buried amidst thousands of crafted and fired terra cotta soldiers, called the Terracotta Army, dated at latest to 210 BC. (Incidentally, the Terracotta Army is actually mentioned at the end of the novelization as something that will be discovered in the future, although its relation to the emperor's army, or rather how the destroyed army made it into the site is left unexplained.)

Casting

In March 2006, actor Oded Fehr, who played Ardeth Bay in the first two Mummy movies, said Sommers had told him a third film was in development and being written, with only Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz's characters returning for the sequel. The following September, director Joe Johnston was offered the helm by Universal Pictures, who hoped to start filming early in 2007.
Later in the month, Weisz expressed interest in reprising her role.

In January 2007, Universal announced that Stephen Sommers, director of the first two Mummy films, would not be attached to direct the third film. It was then announced that Universal entered talks with director Rob Cohen to take over directing duties from Sommers as the director of the third Mummy. Later in the month, the story was revealed to center around Brendan Fraser's and Rachel Weisz's characters, as well as their now grown-up son. Negotiations with the actors were in progress at that time. In February, casting began for the role of Alex O'Connell. In addition, John Hannah reprised his role as Jonathan. Also in February, director Rob Cohen mentioned that Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh would star in the film although the official confirmation was not published until May.

In April, Fraser re-joined the cast for The Mummy 3. Weisz did not, citing "problems with the script" in addition to having just given birth to her son.Rachel Weisz Leaves Mummy 3 The film was shot in Montreal and China. The film was reported to be titled The Mummy 3: Curse Of The Dragon. In April, Luke Ford was cast as Alex O'Connell, and in May, Maria Bello was cast to replace Weisz in the role of Evelyn. Bello commented during an interview that the new "Evy" is different from the original "Evy". "She has the same name, but she is quite a different character," said Bello. At a news conference in Shanghai, Bello told the audience that "Rob Cohen has 'created a new Evelyn ... in the first two Mummy movies she was all actiony and lovely, but this Evelyn might be a little more ... forceful in terms of her martial art skills and shooting skills'".YouTube - The Mummy 3 - Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

Filming

Principal photography started at Mel’s Cite du Cinema in Montreal. There, the Eye of Shangri-la scenes were shot by production designer Nigel Phelps. The team then shot on the courtyard set of gateway to Shangri-la. The courtyard was dressed with fake snow, created by effects supervisor Bruce Steinheimer’s team.Mummy, The: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor—Shooting in China Accessed on August 1, 08

At the ADF stage in the city, Phelps’s team created sets of the Terra Cotta mausoleum. Set decorator, Anne Kuljian designed 20 different statue heads that were sculpted by 3D Arts team and interchanged between shots. One soldier and horse statue was bought from China, and copies of it as well as "The Dragon Emperor" were made (Jet Li's statue was sculpted by Lucie Fournier, Tino Petronzio, and Nick Petronzio in a workshop in Montreal). Propmaster Kim Wai Chung supervised the making of the horses’ bridles and mausoleum ornaments in China. Meanwhile at Mel’s, the brutal battle between the Emperor and Rick was filmed, the first scene shot with Jet Li.Chung, Philip W. (2008-08-01). "Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh: From ‘Tai Chi Master’ to ‘The Mummy’". AsianWeek. Retrieved on 2008-08-04.

On October 15, 2007, the team moved to China. At Shanghai Studios, a set depicting the city in 1940's was used for the chase sequence and was shot in 3 weeks. General Yang’s camp was filmed in a Ming village near Tian Mo. At the studio, Chinese cultural advisers aided Cohen in order to depict the Qin Dynasty language and ceremonies. The O'Connell family's drama scenes were shot in an Egyptian-themed nightclub suitably named "Imhotep's."The Mummy 3 Shanghai Production Video

The crew frequently had to halt in and near Shanghai when soldiers marched. The setting of desert battlefield was actually a training facility for the Chinese army that was leased.'Mummy' Cast & Crew Shared Battleground With Chinese Army - Starpulse Entertainment News Blog

Effects

The visual effects were done by two Los Angeles-based VFX houses. Rhythm and Hues Studios designed the yetis and dragons, while Digital Domain handled the battle scenes with Jet Li's terracotta warriors. The pool of water resembling diamonds took Rhythm and Hues 11 months to complete.LA-based S'porean creates magic on the silverscreen by Stacey Chia The Straits Times. Singapore Press Holdings. July 26, 2008 The A.I. software Massive which was used for the Lord of the Rings films was used to create the undead battle scenes.

Design company Imaginary Forces created the opening title sequence and end titles. IF designers also shot real paint splatters and brushstrokes. To portray an "accurate and historic China," they turned to calligrapher T.Z. Yuan for ink brush writing.IF Captures Grandeur Of China In The Mummy Titles VFX World. Animation World Network. August 1, 2008

Music

The bulk of the score in the film was composed by veteran composer Randy Edelman. The soundtrack features numerous different Chinese and Middle Eastern ethnic instruments along with classic British folklore. The soundtrack was released on July 29 by Varese Sarabande records, two days before the film's initial release. Composer John Debney (who had previously scored the music for the Mummy franchise's spin-off The Scorpion King) provided additional re-scored material for most of the bigger action sequences. The Hollywood Studio Symphony recorded 30 minutes of Debney's music in a little under ten hours at the Fox Scoring Stage in July 2008, shortly before the film's release. The trailer prominently features the cues "Armada" by Two Steps From Hell and "DNA Reactor" by Pfeifer Broz. Music, the latter which also plays at the end of the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix trailer. It also plays Vampire Hunters by Wojciech Kilar, which was used in the trailer for the first film.

Release

Marketing

The Mummy Movie Prequel: The Rise & Fall of Xango's Ax, a comic book limited series by IDW Publishing, was published to promote the film. The comic explores the relationship between Rick and his son Alex.

Sierra Entertainment made a game version of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor for Wii, PlayStation 2, and Nintendo DS, which was released on July 22, 2008 in North America to mostly negative reviews. Gameloft made game version of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor for mobile phones.

Box office performance

The film premiered in Los Angeles on July 27, 2008.Batman may bow down to Mummy By Carl DiOrio The US Daily Reuters. Date: July 31, 2008 With it, the first official trailer of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was released.Half-Blood Prince teaser trailer attached to The Mummy 3 - SnitchSeeker.com The film had a wide release of 3,760 theatres in North America on August 1, 2008.Movies With the Widest Openings at the Box Office

The film was the top-grossing film the day it opened, earning $15.2 million (The Dark Knight was in second place with $12 million) on Friday. However, the film did not become number one overall in the box office on opening weekend, claiming only $40.4 million, which allowed The Dark Knight to claim the top spot for the third week in a row with $42.6 million.

The film however scored a bigger success at the international box office where it opened at the first position in 26 of the 28 released markets over the weekend and grossed over $59.5 million in the three-day period. It substantially outpaced comparable openings for 1999's The Mummy ($16.7 million) and 2001's The Mummy Returns ($21.5 million) in the same markets. The film also set opening records for the distributor in Korea (drawing $13.3 million), Russia ($12.7 million), Spain ($6.7 million), and Thailand. As of October 10, 2008, the film's domestic total stands at $102,491,776, with a much stronger international intake of $298,634,649. This brings its worldwide total to $401,126,425.The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon EmperorHoldovers still high overseas

Critical reception

Critical reaction to The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor has been mixed to negative. As of now, it holds a 14% "Rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 160 reviews. Metacritic reported, based on 33 reviews, an average rating of 31 out of 100.

A positive review came from Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times, who gave the film three stars out of four. Ebert remarked, "Now why did I like this movie? It was just plain dumb fun, is why." Ebert also states that it is the best in the series.Review by Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times Nathan Rabin of The Onions A.V. Club also gave a positive review, who said the film "succeeds largely through sheer excess", albeit within a context that "plods along mechanically through its first hour."Review by Nathan Rabin, A.V. Club William Arnold of Seattle Post-Intelligencer gave a mildly positive review, saying that "anyone in the market for an overblown and totally mindless adventure-comedy will certainly get his money's worth."Review by William Arnold, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Dallas movie reviewer Casey C. Corpier said that the film was almost as enjoyable as the original and liked the fact that it delivered what it advertised. Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times said the film "has some good things [1] does not have enough of them to make the third time the charm."Review by Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times Ken Fox of TV Guide called the film "passable popcorn fare."Review by Ken Fox, TV Guide Jennie Punter of The Globe and Mail said the film is "kind of fun, but the twists and turns are all too familiar."Review by Jennie Punter, The Globe and Mail Michael Sragow of the Baltimore Sun said the film is "like an Indiana Jones movie without rhythm, wit or personality, just a desperate, headlong pace."Review by Michael Sragow, Baltimore Sun

Sequels

Actress Maria Bello stated in an interview that another Mummy film will "absolutely" be made, and that she has already signed on. Actor Luke Ford is signed on for a total of three films.The Mummy to return form the dead again

DVD Sales

The film was released on DVD on December 16, 2008. It has sold 2,554,022 DVD units which translated to $41,768,192 in revenue. This does not include Blu-ray sales or DVD rentals.www.the-numbers.com/movies/2008/MUMY3-DVD.php