Not the same Mummy twice, nor thrice for that matter.

Well it's been pretty much universally panned has this third Brendan Fraser led instalment of the new age Mummy series. So lets not beat around the bush here, it's not very good, but it's hardly deserving of the 1/10 ratings it has been given by amateur on line reviewers.

The plot (for what it's worth) sees young Alex O'Connell, now amazingly a grown man in a short space of time, unearth evil old Chinese Emperor Han and his accursed Terracotta Army. Naturally some bonehead is going to bring him back from the dead, and naturally the now retired O'Connell's are forced back into their Mummy fighting ways. Can Rick, Evelyn and poor Jonathan save the day? Will Alex prove his credentials as the offspring of such daring-do parents? Will anybody care come the finale?

Rachael Weisz has (wisely) bailed and into her shoes comes a woeful Maria Bello, with fluctuating accents and zero chemistry with her leading man, Bello has undone the promise shown in World Trade Center & A History Of Violence. Steer clear of action movies dear. Fraser looks bored and can barely muster the energy to deliver the now tired and stilted lines. He admitted once that The Mummy 2 was basically a cheeky remake of the first film, quite what he has to say about this one I await with much interest. John Hannah is merely a bystander and it's probably the easiest money he will ever earn, an utter waste it be. Luke Ford does OK as Alex and Michelle Yeoh, Jet Li (the Emperor) & the beautiful Isabella Leong make do with what the unimaginative script gives them to do.

What saves the film from being a bottom of the barrel feeder is the action quota. Even though the spectre of poor CGI hangs around every corner, the sequences come thick and fast and they at least keep the blood pumping, thus stopping the audience themselves from drifting into a centuries long sleep. There's some good gags too (you will yearn for more of Liam Cunningham), while the choreography for the fights involving the Asian stars is not to be sniffed at. Stephen Sommers left the directors chair for this one, handing over to Rob Cohen, which explains why the film is more concerned with action accelerate over substance. But Sommers, who gave us a genuine genre delight with the first film, has a writing credit and was on production duties for this effort. I trust he now feels saddened by what his franchise has now become. 4/10