Would I like Mummy 3? (No spoilers, please)

[Gaith]

So, M1 is one of my top five favorite movies, and I actually believe that it's a better adventure movie than any Indy outside of Raiders. I find M2 to be too depressing to watch,it's such a disappointment.

I'd give M3 a try in spite of middling reviews, but the reviews have been scathing. I know Ebert says it's the best of the three, and I think he called the first two about right, but can't believe it's better than M1.

Non-stop action doesn't necessarily bother me - I love Dead Man's Chest, and don't care for the other two Pirates; I enjoyed The Incredible Hulk a great deal, almost as much as Iron Man.

So, should I theater it or rent? Thanks for taking the time to read through my geeky side rearing its nerdy, nerdy head.

 

[Trippy]

It depends on why you didn't like Mummy Returns (which I did)

If it was because it was a formula similar to the first, then you might like Mummy 3.

I didn't like Mummy 3. It was too much different, and with the Evie actor change...it didn't feel the same

Don't even get me started on Alex

 

[Gaith]

On not liking Mummy Returns... where to start? I actually liked the core plot, Alex and the general performances - apart from Hannah (who's perfect in M1) and the live action Jar Jar balloonist guy. I hated the Evy-as-reincarnated princess angle, though, resented the unfunny, over-the-top jokes, nonstop bombast, overcooked elements (poking soldier mummies in the eye, thousands upon thousands of Medjai) and frankly dull pace. In short, it was too much like the PT. :-P

(On the fanedit.org boards, I'm consulting on an edit... I've always felt that at half its length, I'd love M2 as a worthy sequel.)

I don't necessarily mind if M3 has a different feel... I just don't want lame humor, sitcom-type thugs (the Brit baddies in M2 were atrocious), and insultingly recycled sequences.

 

[Evil Twin]

It's terrible. Don't waste your time seeing it in the theater (thankfully I had free tickets) and just wait for rental if you absolutely must see it. And I do really like the first one and to a lesser extent the second one.

 

[Trippy]

I don't necessarily mind if M3 has a different feel... I just don't want lame humor, sitcom-type thugs (the Brit baddies in M2 were atrocious), and insultingly recycled sequences.

Then you won't like it...the humor is even lamer, and absolutely no chemistry between the leads.

 

[Jack Bauer]

Well, I really liked the first two and I liked the third one. I must say it's the weakest of the three. The first is the best, then Returns and then 3. I don't think the recasting of Evie worked like it should've. I think it's more a reflection of the script rather than Maria Bello. Her character was off from the first two. And the villain wasn't quite up to Imotep. He was a bit dull. The humor was on par with the other two films.

 

[Gaith]

Hm... sounds like a rental, then. Ah well... Tropic Thunder it is.

Out of curiosity, could any of you see a fan edited version making a decent cut of it?

 

[dragunzng]

It depends on why you didn't like Mummy Returns (which I did)

If it was because it was a formula similar to the first, then you might like Mummy 3.

I didn't like Mummy 3. It was too much different, and with the Evie actor change...it didn't feel the same

Don't even get me started on Alex

Pretty much, despite the hate for Mummy Returns, it still felt like a Mummy Movie, Tomb of the Dragon Emperor... does not.

The humor was on par with the other two films.

Not for me, this was actually one of the main problems I had with the movie (other than the incessant yelling). The humor just wasn't charming or... Mummy-like. Cohen apparently didn't understand that Fraser as a comedic actor works best when he's doing physical comedy and Evey's brother Jonathan was so underused, he really didn't even need to be in the movie. Returns had great side characters like Ardeth Bay, The Scorpion King, Beni etc. This had... some chick for Alex to drool over.

Lastly, recasting Evey was such a huge mistake. Weisz had a very delicate balance of nerdy/geeky/innocent, by returns she was a credible fighter. Bello on the other hand seemed more like... a teacher, an uptight teacher.

Also, you will miss Egypt.

 

[JacksonArcher]

Well Tomb of the Emperor Dragon suffers from a change of director, change of creative crew, change of cast (the removal of Rachel Weisz was much worse than Universal would have liked) and mostly a change of quality for being a piece of crap.

 

[Twilight]

I absolutely hated it.

It was a chore to watch, frankly. And yes, I did very much enjoy Mummy 1 (hated Mummy 2, though).

Frankly this was the worst of the three, IMO. It was exhausting, unimpressive, non-stop bombast that lacked anything resembling a pulse or a sense of adventure.

And the story was completely useless. If you want to see the exact same story presented in a far more entertaining way, watch Hellboy 2 (seriously, the plots are remarkably similar).

And frankly, I only ever watched the Mummy flicks because I adore Rachael Weisz. Why they recast her - reportedly simply because they didn't want to wait for her pregnancy to be over - mystifies me. Maria Bello is just terrible in this.

 

[Gaith]

In fairness to Universal, it wasn't just Weisz's pregnancy that was in the way - she told them she didn't want to take her two littluns to China for an extended film shoot period.

Guess they should have fast-tracked M3 several years ago, when she was still open to it...