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"THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR" (2008) (Brendan Fraser, Jet Li) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Moderate Extreme Extreme *Moderate Extreme Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Moderate None Extreme None Mild Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Moderate None Moderate Mild Extreme QUICK TAKE: Action/Adventure: A former archaeologist/tomb-raider, his novelist wife, their archaeologist son and others try to prevent a long-entombed Chinese emperor from resurrecting his powerful army. PLOT: It's post WWII and former archaeologist/tomb-raider Rick O'Connell (BRENDAN FRASER) and his wife, Evelyn (MARIA BELLO), have long given up digging up and dealing with mummies. But that hasn't prevented their adventurous 18-year-old son from following in his dad's footsteps. Now on a dig in China, Alex (LUKE FORD) is working with Prof. Roger Wilson (DAVID CALDER) in hopes of finding long-entombed Emperor Han (JET LI) and his legendary terra-cotta army. Legend has it that Han once ruled the land but wanted to be immortal, and thus sent General Ming (RUSSELL WONG) to find a witch capable of delivering that for him. But when Ming ended up having an affair with Zi Juan (MICHELLE YEOH), Han killed his military commander and wounded Zi Juan, but not before she cast a spell on him and his army, turning all of them to stone. But Alex and Roger aren't the only ones who want to find the long-buried emperor. Chinese Army General Yang (ANTHONY WONG CHAU-SANG), along with his assistant, Choi (JESSEY MENG), wants to resurrect Han to bring order to their chaotic world, and after Alex finds him, that plan is set into motion. That ends up involving Rick and Evelyn, as well as her brother Jonathan Carnahan (JOHN HANNAH) who runs a nightclub in Shanghai, as well as longtime ally Mad Dog Maguire (LIAM CUNNINGHAM). With the aid of Zi Juan and her ninja daughter, Lin (ISABELLA LEONG), Rick and the others do what they can to prevent Han from resurrecting his army and thus ruling the world once more. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're fans of the first two "Mummy" films or anyone else in the cast, they might be interested. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For adventure action and violence. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: BRENDAN FRASER plays a retired archaeologist/tomb-raider and mummy fighter who's bored with his now sedate lifestyle and unhappy that he rarely hears from his 18-year-old son. When he ends up involved in Yang's attempts to resurrect Han and his army, Rick reverts back into his old mode, battling all sorts of characters, both alive and undead. He drinks a bit. JET LI plays the long-entombed emperor who returns to his power-hungry ways and desire for immortality after he's resurrected. With supernatural powers, he does what he must to defeat those who stand in his way of resurrecting his army. MARIA BELLO plays Rick's wife, equally bored in her life as a novelist who wishes that Rick and Alex had a better relationship. She similarly gets wrapped up in the overall Han issue and must battle various characters. JOHN HANNAH plays her brother, the owner of a Shanghai nightclub who unhappily gets caught up in the same supernatural proceedings and is present (on the part of the film) as comic relief. MICHELLE YEOH plays an immortal witch who put the original curse on Han and obviously doesn't want him and his army resurrected. LUKE FORD plays Rick and Evelyn's adventurous, 18-year-old archaeologist son who discovers and unknowingly resurrects Han, thus setting everything into motion. Brash and cocky, he somewhat clashes with his dad but battles alongside him against the bad guys. ISABELLA LEONG plays Zi Juan's young adult daughter, also immortal, who tries her best to keep Han's tomb hidden and then battles him and others once he's resurrected. ANTHONY WONG CHAU-SANG plays the Chinese Army general who's desirous of resurrecting and then serving under Han, while JESSEY MENG plays his assistant with the same goal. LIAM CUNNINGHAM plays Rick's long-time friend who occasionally assists him and the others. He drinks a bit. DAVID CALDER plays a professor who's helping Alex find Han's tomb, but really is working with Yang. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: Here's a brief summary of the content found in this action/adventure film that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of a handful of expletives (including one sexually related one), while colorful phrases are also uttered. Sexually related dialogue and innuendo are present, there's some making out and suggested as well as desired sex, and some scantly clad dancers are briefly seen. Violence consists of many characters (both undead and alive) being killed by various means, as well as all sorts of fighting. Some of that has bloody results, while various undead characters are seen in various forms of decay. All of that and various moments of potential peril might be unsettling, suspenseful and/or scary to younger viewers, while the fighting, stunts and other action might be enticing for some kids to imitate. Various bad attitudes are present, as is tense family material, while various characters drink. Some crude humor is also present. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, there's bouncy camerawork inside a plane as it flies. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Rick and Evelyn have drinks. People drink various forms of alcohol in Jonathan's club. A billboard shows a bottle of liquor. Jonathan states that the Chinese have lots of holidays where drinking is mandatory (thus meaning good business for his bar). Jonathan pours Rick a drink and he downs it quickly, while Jonathan is then seen holding a drink. Mad Dog drinks from his flask and then pours some into whatever he's cooking. About helping out in the battle, Mad Dog tells Jonathan that his men get to drink for free. People have drinks in a club. BLOOD/GORE From a curse Zi Juan put on him, Han has mud or something similar start to flow from his eyes, cover his face, and then pour from his mouth. He then erupts in flames and burns before turning to stone, a fate shared by his soldiers (we see the beginning of the "mud" effect with some of them, and then one partially on fire). We see dead bodies being dropped into and already in piles in a construction pit running along the Great Wall. We later see some of their skeletons wedged into exposed rock walls. For betraying him, Han has General Ming's limbs strapped to horses that race away in opposite directions, yanking him apart (we only see a split-second view of the carnage). Alex and Roger discover a long-dead archaeologist and the skull falls off into Alex's hands. Steam hits a man's face and hands, burning both (the skin is ripped up and bloody). Alex falls and lands among some skeletons, with at least one live rat nearby. Alex has a slightly bloody lip after Mad Dog strikes him. Choi has a large scar that runs down her face. Choi gains control of Evelyn and uses a knife to prick Evelyn's finger for a needed drop of blood. At various points, Han's face goes from stone to human-like to mummy-like (partially decayed, etc.). Rick ends up on one of the stone mummy horses that ends up decapitated, with Rick peering down into the large fiery opening in the horse's neck. Jonathan has some bloody scrapes after a chase sequence. During a rough flight, Jonathan holds a "barf bag" up to a yak seated beside him. Moments later, we see Jonathan covered in yak vomit, with him stating, "The yak yakked." Rick has some blood on his chest from where a sword went through him. After he's healed, we see scars on both his front and back. After Han resurrects his army, Zi Juan uses magic to resurrect all of those Han killed or had killed in the past. We then see various skeletons come to life in a stone wall, followed by many views of them as corpses in various stages of decay. We see blood on Zi Juan's hand after Han slices her belly. Alex's nose is bloody after being hit by a monster, while Rick has blood from his nose and mouth following the same. Yang's face is all torn up and bloody following a battle. We see an internal view of blades from both sides of a body impaling a heart. Han's face begins to bubble and then boil, followed by flames erupting and then a bloody explosion. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE In a flashback prologue, Han is a power hungry king who wants to be the emperor. Once he gains power, he enslaves many people. When he's resurrected, he continues with that power and immortality quest. For those concerned with magical/paranormal powers, Han uses them, both in the past and present, as does Zi Juan. Yang wants to resurrect Han to bring order to the chaos in their world regardless of the consequences. Roger turns out to be in cahoots with Yang, has been using Alex just to find Han, and holds a pistol on Rick and Evelyn. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence," "Blood/Gore" and "Jump Scenes" may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material. The same holds true for the sight of various mummies, other dead and undead beings (both in various states of decay), and various monsters. For those afraid of/nervous about flying, Mad Dog flies Rick and the others through the Himalayas in a medium-sized plane that bounces around from the turbulence. He then does a sliding crash-landing of sorts where the plane careens along the ground and through the snow, with the plane coming to a stop just at the edge of a cliff, with the nose going down and the tail up right at that edge. GUNS/WEAPONS Handguns/Rifles/Machine guns/Bazookas/Explosives/Swords/Spears/Knives/Crossbows: Carried and/or used to threaten, wound or kill others and/or cause property damage. See "Violence" for details. Frustrated at his failure the traditional way, Rick uses his revolver to shoot some fish for dinner. Later, when Evelyn takes a bite, she crunches down on a bullet. We see Chinese troops carry rifles, while a large caliber machine gun is also seen. Lin holds up a knife to use on Alex, but lets him pass (he doesn't see her). Rick is disarmed of several pistols and a switchblade. Alex and Rick compare the weapons they've brought along in cases, including hand guns, machine guns and grenades. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "You can run, but you can't hide," "Bugger(s)," "Oh rats," "Bloody," "Selfish bastard," "That's the tomb in which many emperors have laid," "Pulling your fanny out of the fire," "One hell of a kid," "You snake," "You son of a bitch," "Where the hell is the emperor?" "You guys are like mummy magnets," "Stop mucking about," "My ass is on fire?" "The yak yakked," "Kick my ass," "Welcome to the 20th century," "I really hate mummies," "Die, you mummy bastard, die!" "I'm getting the hell out of China" and "Now you can rule...in Hell." All of the fighting, stunts and other action might be enticing for some kids to imitate. Frustrated at his failure the traditional way, Rick uses his revolver to shoot some fish for dinner. Later, when Evelyn takes a bite, she crunches down on a bullet. Mad Dog drinks from his flask and then pours some into whatever he's cooking. JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) An extreme amount of suspenseful, ominous, and action-oriented music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 1 slang term for sex ("laid" -- although it's said in a double-meaning fashion), 4 asses, 3 buggers, 3 hells, 2 S.O.B.s, 1 damn, 2 uses of "Oh God" and 1 use of "God." SEX/NUDITY About Zi Juan, Han orders that no man is to touch her, as "she is mine." We see Zi Juan and General Ming passionately kissing while clothed and seating. Sex is implied, with the later result being Lin. A classic style statue shows a bare butt. A poster shows cleavage. Rick suggestively tells Evelyn they could skip dinner and he could attempt to inspire her (regarding her writing), but she declines the offer. Later, however, she walks in wearing a robe that she then drops, revealing her in a full, sexy nightgown (she poses at the fireplace). She suggestively states she's ready to be "inspired" and reminds Rick (who's seated, facing away from her) of the time he rescued her from a mummy "who was about to plunge his..." but she then realizes Rick is asleep. Alex spots some skeletons in Han's tomb and comments that the emperor even had his concubines buried with him. Some dancers in Jonathan's club wear short skirts and tops that just cover their breasts. Representing Alex's POV, the camera focuses on a woman's butt in her dress. Jonathan then informs Alex, "That's the tomb where many emperors have laid," but Alex dismisses that and says he has some "excavating" to do. Evelyn shows some cleavage. Rick and Evelyn kiss, but are interrupted. We see a close-up of a switchblade in Evelyn's garter belt. About a huge firework rocket, one person says that size counts (a usual sexual comment). Rick holds a bag of ice to his clothed crotch following a chase sequence. Alex tells his mom that he's had many experiences with the opposite sex, taking her by surprise. She asks how many, and he replies she shouldn't ask something for which she really doesn't want to know the answer. Comparing weapons, Alex states that it's not the size, but the stamina (a usual sexual comment). Zi Juan shows a little cleavage. We see Rick shirtless after healing from a wound. He and Evelyn then passionately kiss. SMOKING None. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Rick and Evelyn are bored in their retirement from the archaeological world and that seems to have put a strain on their marriage. He also complains that they never hear from their son except when he's in trouble or needs money. After Evelyn says she, Rick and Alex should sit down to discuss things like a family, Alex sarcastically replies that they haven't been a family for a long time. There's obvious tension between the father and son here and in other scenes, although they eventually make up. Rick and Evelyn briefly bicker over his relationship with their son. Spoiler Alert: Zi Juan apparently dies in Lin's arms. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Mummies. Archaeology. Post WWII China. VIOLENCE In a flashback prologue, Han kills two assassins and fights another, eventually stabbing that person twice. That's followed by a massive battle with all sorts of fighting, and then a scene where captured soldiers are beheaded (we see them being put in place and the raising of blades, but we don't see the actual blows). We see dead bodies being dropped into and already in piles in a construction pit running along the Great Wall (some of them presumably the result of unseen violence). For betraying him, Han has General Ming's limbs strapped to horses that race away in opposite directions, yanking him apart (we only see a split-second view of the carnage). Han then stabs Zi Juan, and she stumbles off. From a curse Zi Juan put on him, Han has mud or something similar start to flow from his eyes, cover his face, and then pour from his mouth. He then erupts in flames and burns before turning to stone, a fate shared by his soldiers (we see the beginning of the "mud" effect with some of them, and then one partially on fire). While fishing, Rick gets the hook stuck in his neck. Trying to retrieve another hook from a tree limb, he climbs up there, only to have the limb break and fall (we don't see the impact). He then uses his revolver to shoot the fish (we don't see the impact). We hear aural flashback sounds of a battle. Entering Han's tomb, Alex saves Roger by knocking him aside just as two large booby trap pieces swing toward them and crash together. Spotting what appears to be a person around the corner, they both draw their pistols, only to discover it's a long-dead archaeologist with two spikes through him. Alex, Roger and others unknowingly activate various booby traps in Han's tomb, including steam that burns one man's face and hands, and a device that fires many arrows (causing them and others to run for safety, but at least one is hit and killed). Similarly, a spinning blade flies out, decapitates a stone statue, and then strikes a person in the chest, killing them. Moments later, the floor separates and Alex falls in, landing hard on the stone floor below. Lin hits Roger over the head and then fights with Alex who avoids her blades, and shoots at her as she scurries off. They then fight again, with Lin kicking Alex and then holding his head over a ledge as a large stone structure slowly descends down an opening toward his head (and she tries to get him with a knife). Alex manages to free himself and kick her aside, with Roger then shooting at her as she flees once again. Alex is thrown through a swinging door and Mad Dog comes out ready for more fighting, but Rick catches his punch and the two then recognize each other. Roger turns out to be in cahoots with Yang, has been using Alex just to find Han, and holds a pistol on Rick and Evelyn. Yang then backhands Rick, prompting Evelyn to pull a switchblade from her garter belt. She goes at Yang, but Choi grabs and bends her arm. Roger holds his gun on Rick, while Yang holds his on Evelyn. Evelyn then punches Choi and they struggle, but Choi gains control of Evelyn and uses a knife to prick Evelyn's finger for a needed drop of blood. Alex then swings through and kicks Roger, while Lin does the same to Yang. Evelyn and Choi then fight, while Lin stabs a dagger down into a non-resurrected mummy, but it's not the right one. When Han is resurrected as a part stone, part human being, Rick and Evelyn shoot him repeatedly (breaking off bits of stone, but they otherwise don't harm him). Han then breathes fire at Rick who ducks out of the way. Han uses his burning hand to decapitate Roger (only partially/briefly seen), while Rick and Yang get into a gun battle. Han then drives a horse-drawn carriage through a gate and the city, crashing into various things, while a spiked blade on it cuts through the entire side of Jonathan's parked car, with Alex and Lin holding on and being dragged beneath that carriage. At the same time, Rick pulls a driver from his fireworks truck to take it. As Evelyn drives, Rick then fires a huge firework rocket at Han who deflects it into a bus that then explodes (we don't know the fate of those onboard it), with some of the burning debris hitting Jonathan and catching his clothed butt on fire. During the pursuit, Evelyn drives over various things, while Rick shoots at Yang who shoots back at the truck. Rick ends up on one of the stone mummy horses that ends up decapitated, with Rick peering down into the large fiery opening in the horse's neck. Han then shoots fire at Evelyn's truck, Alex shoots at Yang, Yang knocks Lin aside, and Han throws something that hits Alex, causing him to dangle from the carriage. Part of the carriage then comes off with Alex and Lin on it as it careens down the street, eventually hitting the fireworks truck (with Evelyn and Jonathan jumping off, we see Evelyn hit the street hard) that explodes from the impact. Rick and his team engage in a gun battle (machine guns and handguns) with Yang and his men over a ravine. Various Chinese soldiers are shot and fall (including one down the ravine -- we don't see the impact). In turn, they fire bazookas back at Rick and the others, resulting in close calls and all sorts of temple property damage. Rick and Alex fire machine guns into those bazookas to damage them, resulting in an explosion on that side. Others are shot and then various monstrous yetis show up and attack the soldiers, knocking them aside. Meanwhile, Rick fights some soldiers, including shooting one and stabbing another. Lin kicks one and then another, while Alex fights Yang, with the latter gaining control by placing his foot on Alex's neck/head. A yeti then grabs Yang and throws him aside, with him falling down some snow-covered stairs. Alex and Rick then shoot Han, blasting off bits of his stone exterior, while he causes many ice spikes to erupt from the ground, sending the father & son fleeing for safety. He then shoots fireballs at Alex and Rick, blowing the latter aside. Moments later, Han throws a sword at Alex, but Rick purposefully gets in the way and takes the blow, with a brief view of the blade going through him. Alex then throws dynamite to cause an avalanche, with Han briefly stopping that with magical powers. Lin tries to jump on him, but he blows her back, with the distraction allowing the avalanche to proceed. It blasts through the temple, with Jonathan running for cover, various yetis diving over people to protect them, and Han being blasted backwards. Zi Juan nearly hits Alex with her sword, but Lin blocks that, informing her of who he is. Han shoots a fireball that blows Zi Juan and Lin aside. Han turns into a three-headed, fire-breathing dragon. It then grabs Lin and knocks Alex aside when he tries to rescue her. Alex hits two guards to try to rescue Lin. Han's army fires a massive amount of arrows into Zi Juan's army, but since the latter are dead, such impact only slows them down for a moment (in celebration, one such dead warrior accidentally knocks the head off another -- played for comedy). The two sides then clash, with many bashing, striking and otherwise killing each other. Rick and Evelyn shoot many of Han's army, and then end up striking more with swords when they run out of ammo. At the same time, Han strikes many resurrected dead warriors, including decapitating some. Meanwhile, Alex and Lin kick soldiers off passing motorcycles. Han and Zi Juan get into a sword fight, with various close calls. Han eventually gets Zi Juan across the belly (we see blood on her hand), with her then allowing him to impale her so that she can grab the only dagger that can kill him. Planes fly through and fire machine guns (including from Jonathan at one door with a handheld machine gun) into Han's army, blasting many of them. Han then turns into some sort of huge beast that grabs one of those planes from below, causing it to crash and explode. Another explosion follows that. The Chinese army battles the resurrected dead fighting for Zi Juan. In monster form, Han knocks Alex aside. Rick then jumps onto the monster's back, stabbing him, but he's then knocked aside. At the same time, Yang fights and then grabs Evelyn and pins her back against a huge cogwheel. Lin saves her and fights Yang, but she also gets pinned against the same. Yang then ends up knocked back into the cogwheel and is pulled in between it and an adjacent one (along with Choi), crushing both. Rick and Han battle hand to hand delivering various blows, with Han initially getting the better of Rick who then fights back, head-butting and then punching Han. Alex and Rick then stab Han from either side, impaling his heart with the two pieces of a broken dagger. Han's face begins to bubble and then boil, followed by flames erupting and then a bloody explosion. Reviewed July 29, 2008 / Posted August 1, 2008

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