15.8.08

new review: the mummy - tomb of the dragon emperor

If you were to force me to choose between another dose of Wall*E or The Dark Knight - arguably two great movies of this (and any) year - I'd go with Wall*E. It's not because The Dark Knight is necessarily inferior to Wall*E. It isn't. Instead, the reason has to do with my reaction as a movie goer. With Wall*E, it's a case of laughing, crying, almost falling of the edge of the seat, and getting a morality tale to boot. For The Dark Knight, although there is some black comedy to soften the edges ever-so-slightly, and even a small dollop of hope towards the end, the film has an unremitting tone that borders on the wrist-slashing. It's more philosophically complex than No Country For Old Men, that banal meditation on enduring the inescapable presence of evil in the world, but still, it lacks a certain something.

That certain something is where films like The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor come in. Granted, these aren't the pinnacle of cinematic storytelling. But in terms of pure entertainment value, in terms of letting the ol' cerebellum idle for a while, there's nothing quite like a glorious B-movie. Hence, this week I propose...

Celebrating the B-Movie with the Mummy

1 comment:

Nick said...

Thanks for the mention in your article. I will have to see the new Mummy movie, just because ;) .
Nothing wrong with a good B grade movie, there are sites dedicated to the worst B movies you could ever see and they are cult classics now. The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a classic example.

I personally think in all men there are boys who want to be action heros. :)