I have to admit, when I got my hands on a copy of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, I was eyeing it like a dubious fish that someone set in my hands and requested I add to the soup.  No, no…this wouldn’t do at all.  They changed the Evey O’Connell.  Alex was a major character.  There wasn’t even REALLY a Mummy in this one.  And where’s Egypt?  Where’s Imhotep?  Nope, nope…not having this.  This is a slap in the face of established canon.  This is…this is actually not half bad.

That was about what it was like for me, watching this new Mummy installment.

This time, the O’Connells, along with college-age ne’er-do-well son Alex are off to China.  The elder O’Connells are there at the behest of the British government to return a priceless artifact, while Alex is there to oversee the museum opening of his first major archaeological find–the Dragon Emperor.  But a set of doublecrosses later brings the legendary Dragon Emperor back to life, and poises him to pick up where he left off, ready to conquer the world.  Now it’s up to all the O’Connells, and some new allies, to settle a brand new “mummy”s hash permanently.

A special advance heads-up on this one: purists WILL be offended.

I’m sorry, there’s just no better way to put it than that.  This is not the Mummy series you’ve come to know and love.  There’s a new Evey, like I said. Maria Bello, however, will handle the job just as ably as her predecessor.   Everything I’ve already said is fully applicable.  But it’s not all doom and gloom–Brendan Fraser is still a top-notch adventurer, and his son is definitely no slouch either.  Even Jonathan will be back with the team, and providing the comic relief we’re all used to.  There are even some improvements, and plenty of action and comedy and thrills to go around. For instance, there’s a great scene involving a truck full of fireworks in the middle of a Chinese new year celebration that’s just jaw-dropping.

What’s not to like?

Okay, sure, the plotline is a bit vapid.  The ending is downright syrupy, and that coda they tacked on at the end could only say “SEQUEL!” louder if they actually stamped it across the last few frames.  Very teensy spoiler, if I’m reading this right, they’re going to Peru next.  I’m not going to say that the ending isn’t charming in its way, because it actually is, but still, it’s pretty schmaltzy.

The whole movie is a fluff piece, really, and fluff pieces are strictly for fun.  You can have a lot of fun with this sucker because there’s always something going on.  Things blow up, go fast, everything you could want.

Surprisingly enough, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is a fairly satisfying piece with a lot of good going for it.  I was afraid going in that I’d be looking at some warmed-over dreck going desperately after a little extra box office cash, but I was certainly glad to be proven wrong for a change.  This is one mummy you won’t want to leave in the box.