Celebrating the B-Movie with the Mummy

Without reading any of the reviews, I can guess at the reasons why “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” isn’t racking the experts up like pins and bowling them over. The plot is action-adventure formula; a by-the-numbers retread that sees good guys racing against the bad for some magical MacGuffin with a climatic confrontation to top things off. Brendan Fraser’s “Ricochet” Rick O’Connell is no Indiana Jones. The undead Chinese emperor has the quintessential, predictable villain’s lust for power and world conquest. Performances get the job done, but don’t induce swooning, and Maria Bello isn’t quite the same as Evelyn O’Connell as Rachel Weisz. The film’s fantasy elements are more magical then plausible. Etc., etc. All valid points, technically speaking.

The Same Question

But without getting bogged down into the filmmakers’ intentions – in line with deconstruction, I’m in the “death of the author” camp – the way movies like “Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” are made sets the tone for their whole raison d’etre. Big special effects, thrilling chases and narrow escapes, a focus on action rather than the revealing dialogue necessary for character development – all these indicate a film that aims for the light side of entertainment. “Can we not relax reality for a moment and just enjoy?” a friend of mine asks. Good question. While he was blogging (straightforwardopinion.bogspot.com/2008) about the disconnect between audience affection for Mamma Mia! and critics’ often hostile reaction, we could ask the same of films like “The Mummy.” What’s wrong with giving the grey matter a rest and just enjoying a little bit of animal brain stimulation?

For all that “Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” may be deficient, it does offer a lot to like. The atypical husband-wife protagonists, for example. How many action heroes can be said to stay with the same woman from film to film – and be married, too? How many action-movie women actually gain equal partnership, kicking posterior alongside hubby and holding their own? Of course, “Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” does have the formula’s obligatory romantic pairing, in the form of the O’Connell’s son and a mysterious Chinese woman who serves much the same function as Ardeth Bey did in the first two films. Still, “The Mummy” series of films does depart, however minutely, from the usual stereotypical protagonists.

And straight out of the B-movie’s book of crowd pleasers is a nice surprise: the villains aren’t the only ones to have cool magical tricks up their sleeves. The trailer, unfortunately, spoils one of them – the good guys get an undead army of their own – but there’s another that’s clever, fun, and even sprinkled with a bit of gleeful wonder. In a genre in which villains get all the dazzle, it’s just a bucket of popcorn to see the good guys get a little dazzle, too.

So “Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” isn’t Indiana Jones…but so what? On one level, mummies coming back to life with the intention of enslaving the world isn’t more nonsensical than Nazis striving to use a holy artifact for world domination, or an alien crystal skull with bizarre qualities. The third “Mummy” film even avoids some of the blatant violations of the ol’ disbelief-suspension rule. Unlike “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” there’s no hiding in lead-lined fridges to escape nuclear blasts.

Consider this, then, not just a defense, but also a celebration of the unabashed B-movie. It’s okay to set aside Casablanca rules and just…enjoy.