Rick, Evelyn, and Alex must stop General Yang and Emperor Han before they reach Shangri-La and the Emperor becomes immortal. If he becomes immortal he will raise his army and begin his destruction. They are aided in this by the now immortal Zi Juan and her immortal daughter Lin (Isabella Leong) who have been guarding the Mummy’s grave for centuries. Evelyn’s wisecracking brother Jonathan (John Hannah) also comes along, but he is really just there for comic relief. This is obviously a set-up for many mummy fights.
Rob Cohen has taken over the directing duties from Stephen Sommers. He maintains the light-hearted tone of the previous movies with plenty of wisecracks and a few visual jokes. Martial arts are added to the action, which is a nice touch and makes sense with the story. Unfortunately the majority of action is jumpy and full of quick cuts that make it nearly impossible to follow. The visual effects are well done and impressive, but they are diluted in the confusion of the action.
The movie is paced well, striking a good balance between moving to the next battle scene and taking the time to establish the characters. A major problem with the script is that it starts to remind one too much of Indiana Jones. Beginning in a Far East nightclub, an expedition follows to recover an ancient artifact from a booby-trapped temple. There is a mountain plane crash. Rick is somewhat of an Indiana Jones clone. The similarities between the two franchises are much more prevalent in this movie than in the previous ones.
I don't think this is as good a film as the previous entries in the series, but Mummy fans will still enjoy it. If you are in the mood for a lighthearted action film, this is an enjoyable experience.
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