THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 11/28/08

 

Taking over the directorial reins from Stephen Sommers, Rob Cohen (DRAGONHEART, XXX) continues the saga of Rick and Evy O'Connell and their never-ending battle against mummies in 2008's THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR. If you didn't like the first two, chances are this one won't win you over either. If you did like them, you should have an exceedingly good time.

A lengthy prologue tells the story of Emperor Han (Jet Li), a ruthless conqueror who's bent on ruling the world with an iron fist. He summons the aid of a beautiful witch, Zi Juan (Michelle Yeoh), to make him immortal, but when she falls in love with his trusted General Ming, the jealous emperor condemns them both to death. Zi Juan then places a terrible curse on him, turning him and his entire army into terra cotta statues.

Cut to 1946, as a retired Rick and Evy's grown-up son Alex (Luke Ford), now an action archeologist like his parents, uncovers the emperor's tomb. Needless to say, old clayhead gets resurrected and sets off to find the legendary city of Shangri-La, where he'll be able to shed himself of the curse once and for all, reanimate his terra cotta army, and conquer the world.

All our favorite characters are back, though some have changed a bit. Evy looks a lot more like Maria Bello than Rachel Weisz these days, which is cool since I've always been a fan of the lovely Maria. Luke Ford is a reasonable grown-up version of son Alex, who displays character traits from both parents--intelligence from his mom, recklessness from his dad. And speaking of Dad, Brendan Fraser is his usual wonderful self, able to perform comedy and action heroics with equal skill as few other actors can. John Hannah returns as Evy's cowardly brother Jonathan, while newcomers to the Mummy saga, Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh, add a whole new dimension to everything, as does Isabella Leong as Lin, Zi Juan's daughter and love interest for Alex. A particularly welcome presence is Anthony Wong (INFERNAL AFFAIRS, EXILED) as the Emperor's toady, General Yang.

Rob Cohen's direction and editing are too busy-looking at times, and I found myself wishing he'd just keep the camera still more often. Another thing that bugged me is the frequent use of less-than-convincing CGI. Of course, that's something I should be used to by now after watching the first two MUMMY films, yet it always seems to take me out of the movie.

Some of it works--an avalanche that threatens to annihilate the O'Connell party in the Himalayas looks pretty awesome, as do some of the climactic battle scenes between the Emperor's army and a horde of ancient undead summoned to engage them. The Yeti are another story, though, along with some of the character animation of Jet Li and the various supernatural creatures that he turns into (one of which bears a startling resemblance to Ghidrah). But if the digital monsters in the first two MUMMY movies or in Sommers' own VAN HELSING didn't bother you, then you shouldn't have any problem with these.

That said, there is a ton of exciting action setpieces in this film. A lengthy chase scene down the crowded streets of Shanghai is a highlight, and a fierce gun battle in the Himalayas is pretty intense. The clash between the terra cotta army and the undead is reminiscent of RETURN OF THE KING's main battle sequence. Along the way we're treated to lots of hard-hitting fistfights and other mayhem, and we even get to see Chinese superstars Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh go at it. The settings for these scenes are fantastic, including some impressive standing sets found in China (such as the old Shanghai streets) and numerous actual locations. Interior sets constructed for the Canadian phase of the shoot are also quite lavish.

Presented in anamorphic widescreen 2.40:1 with Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 sound, the movie looks and sounds great. Disc one of the deluxe edition features some deleted and extended scenes and a scene-specific commentary from director Cohen. Disc two includes featurettes "Preparing for Battle with Brendan Fraser and Jet Li", "The Making of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor", "Jet Li: Crafting the Emperor Mummy", "Creating New and Supernatural Worlds", "Legacy of the Terra Cotta", "A Call to Action: The Casting Process", and "From City to Desert." Subtitles are in English, French, and Spanish, and there's even one of those tracks for the hard-of-seeing with a narrator breathlessly describing what's going on ("Rick ducks behind a column as the Emperor throws a fireball!")

While perhaps not the best in the series (I still prefer the second one), THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR is a welcome continuation of Rick and Evy's seriocomic adventures. Extravagant, action-packed, funny, and loaded with dazzling imagery, it's what the term "dumb fun" is all about.

THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR -- DVD Review by Porfle

DRAGON AGE: DAWN OF THE SEEKER -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 5/8/12

 

From director Fumihiko Sori (TO, VEXILLE) comes the CGI/anime epic DRAGON AGE: DAWN OF THE SEEKER, a USA-Japan collaboration which takes Sori's familiar visual style from the hard sci-fi of TO into the realm of sword and sorcery.

When Funimation came calling with a proposal to do the videogame "Dragon Age" as an anime, Bioware creative director Mike Laidlaw was rightfully enthusiastic about the idea.  The result is a dark, mystical adventure filled with magic, dragons, knights, and other fun elements along with a story and characters that are both exciting and involving.

A prologue brings us newbies up to speed pretty quick.  In the land of Orlais, the Divine One rules along with her priestesses known as The Chantry.  A force of knights called the Templars keep order, but it's the stalwart Seekers who guard against corruption in the ranks of the citizenry, military, and ruling elite. 

Those who still practice magic, the Mages, are split into two groups--Circle Mage, who are loyal to the Chantry, and Blood Mage, the rebellious evildoers who abuse their magical powers.  When Blood Mage leader Frenic kidnaps a young Mage girl named Avexis who can control animals, it's part of a plot to use dragons to attack the Ten Year Gathering when all members of the Chantry will be in one place. 

It's up to apprentice seeker Cassandra and Circle Mage member Galyan to find out the truth behind all this and expose the conspiracy of corrupt insiders, but Cassandra's utter hatred of all Mages complicates their accidental partnership.  Cassandra, of course, is a knockout--what fictional warrior woman isn't?--and a fierce fighter, but it's fun watching her discover how much she still has to learn about politics, combat, and human relationships.  Her interplay with the kindhearted Galyan and their eventual friendship are nicely handled. 

When they're framed for murder and treason, Cassandra and Galyan find themselves battling both Templars and Blood Mages in a series of visually stunning battle setpieces, some of which involve monstrous trolls and golems.  Quieter moments allow for some dramatic character interaction that adds depth to Jeffrey Scott's story.

The finale during the Ten Year Gathering is a spectacular sequence in which the two main characters must escape the executioner's axe in time to protect the Chantry from a gaggle of enormous firebreathing dragons bent on destruction.  Fumihiko Sori's soaringly cinematic handling of this thrilling sequence is impressive as are the epic-scale set design and effects.

Fans of TO will appreciate the character design here.  Again, it's a pleasing blend of CGI mock-reality and comic-art style that's neither too realistic (avoiding the "uncanny valley" effect) nor too cartoonish-looking.  Motion capture is used very well and skillful rendering of facial details allows for some very subtly expressive characters.  Vocal performances in both English and Japanese language versions are good.  

The 3-disc Blu-Ray/DVD combo from Funimation contains the English language version on both DVD and Blu-Ray format and the Japanese language version on DVD. Image is 1.77:1 widescreen with Dolby 5.1 sound and English subtitles.  Extras consist of a 20-minute "making of" featurette, a tour of Bioware by Mike Laidlaw, production sketches, and trailers for other Funimation releases.

What first seems like a dense, tortured tale that would only appeal to gamers turns out to be an enjoyably accessible adventure with plenty of visual and dramatic appeal.  I've already come across some more hardcore fan reviews comparing it unfavorably with this or that, or pointing out ways in which the animation, voice acting, etc. fall short of the norm, but as for me DRAGON AGE: DAWN OF THE SEEKER is just plain fun.

DRAGON AGE: DAWN OF THE SEEKER -- DVD Review by Porfle