The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

[Pieter Boelen 740]

I was wondering what you all think of the prospect of The Mummy 3 that is to be released somewhere halfway next year. I'll give the film the benefit of the doubt for now, even though they replaced Rachel Weisz and I heard bad things about the script. In theory it could be a good film, therefore I will consider it as such unless it is proven that it is not.

I just found out that Randy Edelman is to write the score for the film:

As to the music: guys, trust me. Randy and I have done two classic scores (DRAGON: THE BRUCE LEE STORY and DRAGONHEART) that continue to be used in trailers and commercials a decade and a half later. This will be an original score with new themes, played by the London Symphony Orchestra recorded at Abbey Road Studios. There will nothing “synth paddy” about it. It will be massive, thematic, and pulsing. I have great respect for Al Silvestri but this is a new, re-booted “Mummy” and it will have the score to match.

Source: http://robcohenthemummy.com

That's a shame. I would have absolutely loved Alan Silvestri to score it. His score for The Mummy Returns was absolutely awesome. Still it could be good.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

From Goldsmith and Silvestri to Edelman...

A bit of a drop, methinks.

[Ollie 1,059]

Well when the score is released we'll see whether it's synth Randy or full orchestra Randy.

I'm not too enthused but then there really doesn't need to be a Mummy 3 but that's a different story.

[Richard Penna 3,695]

I think this could be a good score. All respect to Silvestri, but I'm not a big fan of his Mummy Returns - much of the reason being that I think the film is just cheesy and overblown and filled with some of the worst SFX I've seen from ILM.

And I find it hard to believe that a film like this wouldn't use a full orchestra.

[Pieter Boelen 740]

Did you read the quote in my first post? "This will be an original score with new themes, played by the London Symphony Orchestra recorded at Abbey Road Studios. There will nothing “synth paddy” about it. It will be massive, thematic, and pulsing." That comment comes directly from the director, so I think it has some credibility.

Personally I thought The Mummy Returns was an enjoyable film, but I find that it is especially the music that makes it good. The special effects are sometimes pretty bad. Especially the Scorpion King at the end. That must be the worst CGI I have ever seen. Usually I don't mind it when the effects are less than perfect, but that is just WRONG!

[publicist 4,643]

Did you read the quote in my first post? "This will be an original score with new themes, played by the London Symphony Orchestra recorded at Abbey Road Studios. There will nothing “synth paddy” about it. It will be massive, thematic, and pulsing." That comment comes directly from the director, so I think it has some credibility.

Well, it's 'two-hand-Randy'-made-fit-for-100-musicians-by-10-orchestrators' music, then, which still is miles behind any trained composer's effort.

Hopefully, it will have at least a catchy tune arabian style...oh, and i can't wait for 'The Mummy 4 - Attack of the Ants-in-your-pants-Creatures'

[bondo 33]

Meh.

[Trent B 337]

I'm very skeptical about this. I loved the original first two films and loved both scores for the first two films. For the fact that Rachel Weisz won't be in it... meh. I doubt it will be that good.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Still... Maria Bello is pretty hot.

[Ollie 1,059]

Yeah but that doesn't make for an entertaining film.

[odnurega1 0]

Definitely a "bit of a drop". I am a Silvestri fan, and haven't heard much from Randy Edelman (except for Angels in the Outfield).

Maria Bello is hot, but in my opinion, she can't really act.

[MSM 126]

I am looking forward to this one. London Symphony Orchestra sounds good, but Randy Edelman? What do we know about him?

[Trent B 337]

He's not my favorite composer. I only like Gettysburg and Dragonheart from him.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

He's not my favorite composer. I only like Gettysburg and Dragonheart from him.

I also liked his Ghostbusters II score.

[Trent B 337]

True to that Drax. I forgot he wrote that one.

[Damo 0]

Jerry Goldsmith who got replaced by Alan Silvestri who gets replace by Randy Edelman. Interesting... I know that Jerry Goldsmith has passed away. Perhaps John Williams should of taken over considering Jerry Goldsmith is the closest style to rival John Williams... But Alan Silvestri did alright. He could of continued on the third but Its annoying when they swap the composers in a movie series. Its make a big different to the style of the music! Swapping composers can just lose the style as it originally intended to be in the first place!

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Damo, this movie's been doomed even when it was in development hell. It's likely Alan Silvestri was approached but wisely turned it down.

[Luke Skywalker 1,796]

Man, why are always 'medriocre composers' for sequels hired along better orchestras?

All non Williams HP have the LSO, neither Goldsmith or silvestry had it for their mummies, Giacchino didnt used the LA orchestra for any MOH game (until Airborne) while Lennertz did it from the start.

I suppose it must be something about 'lets get a good orchestra since the music is not that good, and that way at least it will sound good' thing....

COS is the exception of course since it was 100% Williams music 8O

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Manuel, you are talking rubbish again.

[Ollie 1,059]

Indeed!

There's nothing wrong with the performances on Giacchino's MOH scores. The sound just as good as any of the other MOH scores recorded by the Hollywood orchestra.

Silvesti and Goldsmith recorded their scores in London and more likely there were members of the LSO that performed on both scores, although The Mummy Returns did have some music from the last third of the film scored in L.A.

Williams recorded his HP scores in London and again members of the could have played on both scores.

.

[Luke Skywalker 1,796]

Indeed!

OK I always forget that. But at least, you can agree with me that they announce the LSO because they want to make it 'look' better.

And anyway, i did not meant the Seattle Orchestra from the Giacchino earlier scores had any bad performances. But i think its a smaller orchestra and the recording sites are not as big and or well sounding as the LA ones. The scores sound smaller than they really are.

[Pieter Boelen 740]

Here's a trailer for the film.

[Luke Skywalker 1,796]

they dropped ILM and it shows...

[Bryant Burnette 654]

I thought The Mummy was bad to a nearly unwatchable extent.

The Mummy Returns, an improvement but still not what I would call a good movie.

The Scorpion King, fun on a trashy level. It kind of knew it sucled from the beginning, and never tried to convince me otherwise. I'll probably never see it a second time, but I enjoyed it well enough the first time.

As for The Mummy 3, or whatever it's being called, I'll probably watch it, but I have no positive expectations whatsoever. I've enjoyed a couple of Randy Edelman scores in the past (the very two mentioned at the top of the thread, Dragon and Dragonheart), but I would certainly not call him a good composer. I think he's competent, but that's the best I'd say for him.

Overall, a franchise I care nothing about.

[Jacob 0]

Here's a trailer for the film.

I saw that last night. Can't say it did anything for me.

[Henry B 50]

They should have brought Goldsmith back.

[Jacob 0]

Bet he'd appreciate that. Bring him back from the hereafter just to score a sequel to a sequel that he turned down.

[Luke Skywalker 1,796]

I've enjoyed a couple of Randy Edelman scores in the past (the very two mentioned at the top of the thread, Dragon and Dragonheart),

I think you'll enjouy this new score too, its has dragon in the title

[Trent B 337]

Now upon seeing the trailer for the film to me it actually might be good.

[Luke Skywalker 1,796]

Now upon seeing the trailer for the film to me it actually might be good.

maybe i was expecting another rotten mummy alive, i didnt thought about the terracota army when i first heard about the movie.

[tharpdevenport 4]

Yeah, he posted more about the score earlier, also saying it starts recording May 28.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

I thought The Mummy was bad to a nearly unwatchable extent.

The Mummy Returns, an improvement but still not what I would call a good movie.

The Scorpion King, fun on a trashy level. It kind of knew it sucled from the beginning, and never tried to convince me otherwise. I'll probably never see it a second time, but I enjoyed it well enough the first time.

As for The Mummy 3, or whatever it's being called, I'll probably watch it, but I have no positive expectations whatsoever. I've enjoyed a couple of Randy Edelman scores in the past (the very two mentioned at the top of the thread, Dragon and Dragonheart), but I would certainly not call him a good composer. I think he's competent, but that's the best I'd say for him.

Overall, a franchise I care nothing about.

The Mummy was much better than the Mummy Returns which was nearly unwatchable, with some of the worst effects in CGI history.

The Scoprion King was unwatchable.

The trailer I've seen for the 3rd was interesting that is all.

[Trent B 337]

Well everyone is entitled their own opinion. Me personally I enjoyed both The Mummy and Mummy Returns (movie and score) as I said earlier in this thread and I enjoy The Scorpion King too.

[Bryant Burnette 654]

I thought The Mummy was bad to a nearly unwatchable extent.

The Mummy Returns, an improvement but still not what I would call a good movie.

The Scorpion King, fun on a trashy level. It kind of knew it sucled from the beginning, and never tried to convince me otherwise. I'll probably never see it a second time, but I enjoyed it well enough the first time.

As for The Mummy 3, or whatever it's being called, I'll probably watch it, but I have no positive expectations whatsoever. I've enjoyed a couple of Randy Edelman scores in the past (the very two mentioned at the top of the thread, Dragon and Dragonheart), but I would certainly not call him a good composer. I think he's competent, but that's the best I'd say for him.

Overall, a franchise I care nothing about.

The Mummy was much better than the Mummy Returns which was nearly unwatchable, with some of the worst effects in CGI history.

The Scoprion King was unwatchable.

The trailer I've seen for the 3rd was interesting that is all.

The Scorpion King was not unwatchable. I should know; I watched it.

I would never defend it as a good movie; it was one I just enjoyed watching once, because it had no pretension to be anything other than a silly fantasy flick.

Something rubbed the wrong way about The Mummy, though. It was one of those movies that made me wince at every turn. I've pretty much banished it from my memory, though, so I can't recall any specifics as to what turned me off so severely. All I can recall about the sequel (apart from the astonishgly awful effects at the end) is that I didn't feel like getting up and walking out, which was not the case with The Mummy, so I assume it must have been some sort of an improvement.

I haven't seen the trailer for the new one yet. Rob Cohen isn't exactly a confidence-inspiring director, but I'll take him over Stephen Sommers any day of the week. And the presence of Jet Li is intriguing. I'm sure I'll see it, since I see most mass release films thanks to my job, but I hold no hopes.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Yeah, I find 1930's serials unwatchable too.

[Ollie 1,059]

they dropped ILM and it shows...

After the crappy job ILM did on the second Mummy film I don't blame them for going elsewhere.

[Pieter Boelen 740]

I like both Mummy films as well as The Scorpion King. I'm looking forward to the next one. I sure does look rather bigger than the first mummy with two whole armies. Of course The Mummy Returns also had that and I suppose they couldn't have downscaled the series. Though personally when I hear a movie titled "The Mummy", I don't expect to see whole armies.

[MSM 126]

I liked the Mummy and Mummy Returns but really hated the Scorpion King spin-off. I hope they'll continue in the more classical style of the first two movies, then it could be ok.

[Neimoidian 14]

I liked the first one (both film- and score-wise), I disliked the sequel (especially film-wise, though I find Slvestri's score overrated) and I am not interested in the second sequel. I also miss Weisz, even though I don't mind Maria Bello.

[Richard Penna 3,695]

they dropped ILM and it shows...

After the crappy job ILM did on the second Mummy film I don't blame them for going elsewhere.

Heck yeah. The SFX in Mummy Returns was some of the worst I've ever seen.

And I've just realise... in 3 years, it'll be a decade since it was released

Trailer looks ok, but I'm bothered by them having to Bring Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh (I think) on. And don't get me started on that narrator's voice.

[Ollie 1,059]

I'll just wait for the DVD.

[Vaderbait1 1]

Meh, this is going to bomb. The first one was a fun popcorn flick. Second was a lot worse, worse SFX, worse story, worse acting, worst writing, etc. The music was good, though.

Never even watched Scorpion King because I never liked his character.

Probably won't see this as it screams low-budget, doomed-from-the-start unrelated sequel like Scorpion King. Seems like they're just trying to make it an Indiana Jones knock-off now.

[Jacob 0]

I'll just wait for the DVD.

Every movie studio's favorite phrase.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

I do hope they treat the Wolf Man, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon with more respect than what was given to the Mummy. Right now I'd say that might be the case with the Wolf Man, after seeing Rick Baker's makeup. Early word on the Creature is that the creature's look will be updated some but basically will be the same as well. Both films are trying to capture the mood of the originals which is so important.

[Pieter Boelen 740]

Today I have had the privilege of seeing a preview screening of this film. My father was lucky enough to win two tickets. Permit me to share my thoughts. I tried to keep my preview low on spoilers and not divulge too much of the plot and scenes outside what was seen in the trailer.

First of all, I'll say that I was pleasantly surprised by this film. I did like the first two films (even The Mummy Returns), but with the change of directors, no Rachel Weisz and the supposed script problems, I went in expecting not too much. What I got was a two-hours worth of fair entertainment. Expect no A-class film, but it's certainly a fun and enjoyable film if you like these type of films.

The story is pretty much what you would expect: undead guy is raised, wants to become immortal and raise his army and take over the world and the good guys have to stop him. But that's not what a film like this is about. It's about the fun, the adventure and the action and there's plenty of all of that. There is a fight in a museum, a chase through a Chinese city at night, there's a fight in the Himalayas with a bunch of yeti's, there's a three-headed dragon and an army-vs-army fight scene. I especially like the purpose of the yeti's, which is different than I had expected based on the trailer.

If anything, it could be said the movie has a bit too much action. It hardly ever lets down, though there are some quiet moments as well. I especially like the interesting use of the "Mummy face sandwall" effect at the end of the film. It's nice to see such a well-known effect used in a different setting.

As far as adventure is concerned, there's a nice bit of tomb-exploring at the beginning of the fim with Alex O'Connell being a lot less cautious than Indiana Jones at the beginning of Raiders of the Lost Ark. In any case, there's a bunch of nice traps guarding the tomb.

The acting is all fine as far as I'm concerned. I never messed Rachel Weisz during the film because Maria Bello does a fine job of playing Evelyn O'Connell. The new actor playing Alex O'Connell is also fine by me. The Chinese actors are also very good, though Jet Li is mostly computer-generated during the film and doesn't get much to do in the flesh. The actors from the previous films, Brendan Fraser and John Hannah, are doing a fine job as well and seem like they've had a good time.

Also there's plenty of jokes throughout which serve to lighten up the incredible amount of action in the film. There are some great scenes with Rick and Evy living a quiet life and being bored out of their minds at the beginning of the film. There's also some fun dialogue between father and son about guns. I also like the character of Jonathan who is always around to lighten things up when things are becoming too much. The ending is also quite funny and left me smiling in the theater.

The music, however, didn't really stand out much to me, except in it's loudness, which I sometimes found to be fairly obnoxious. I'm hoping listening to the OST will give me a better opinion of the score, but I don't think it's in the same league as the score entries for the previous two films. The music sounds synthesized at times, while I was under the impression that it was supposed to be the London Symphony Orchestra who performed the music. This must be the worst they've ever sounded to date.

Although the movie is, of course, made to cater to a modern audience, it doesn't really feel out-of-touch with the previous two films and isn't really trying too hard to be modern. It is, of course, not old-fashioned either, but at least there isn't too much use of overly flashy editing à la the Bourne films. There is a lot of computer-generated special effects, of course, but these all look very good to me.

As far as the inevitable comparision with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is concerned, I am not yet decided on that. Indiana Jones IV was a long-awaited sequel to an incredible series of films, while The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor was much less anticipated. As hard as it was for Indy IV to live up to the stellar expectations set by the first three films, so easy it is to be pleasantly surprised by a film that I was looking forward to, but not expecting too much from.

In short, I found The Mummy 3 better than I expected it to be and it's a fun movie that fits well with the other two films. If you liked the previous two, there's a very good chance you'll like this one too. If you only liked the first, you might want to give this one a chance. If you didn't like the first, this one probably won't sway your mind.

I hope you find this preview interesting and I would be glad to hear your comments. I'd be glad to answer some questions if you might have them.

[Luke Skywalker 1,796]

shame about the score. I was expecting some Dragonheart but with full blown orchestra.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

In Ubeda a few weeks ago Robert Townson played some music from this CD during his listening party.

Not bad, but nothing spectacular.

He also mentioned that he only just heard that the film had undergone changes and John Debney was doing additional music for it.

[GoldsmithFanatic2000+ 0]

It isn't in the same boat as the first two scores, but for an Edelman score it isn't half bad. Why is it whenever this guy works with Rob Cohen he manages to put out decent material? It's so welcoming to hear this Edelman again, and not the tired, wasted "RomCom" Edelman.

I'd say that so far, TotDE is the most thematically rich score I have heard this year. It does tend to lean more towards the synth side of things on occasions, but then again that's Edelman's trademark. The synthetic material doesn't overly hurt the score.

[MSM 126]

Man, why are always 'medriocre composers' for sequels hired along better orchestras?

All non Williams HP have the LSO, neither Goldsmith or silvestry had it for their mummies, Giacchino didnt used the LA orchestra for any MOH game (until Airborne) while Lennertz did it from the start.

I suppose it must be something about 'lets get a good orchestra since the music is not that good, and that way at least it will sound good' thing....

COS is the exception of course since it was 100% Williams music

Composer's hire the orchestras themselves. I don't believe the producers of the movie have a budget to hire the best orchestra available, 'just' to have a studio ochestra perform. If the LSO isn't used then the composer didn't want it, couldn't afford it or it wasn't available.

Today I have had the privilege of seeing a preview screening of this film. My father was lucky enough to win two tickets. Permit me to share my thoughts. I tried to keep my preview low on spoilers and not divulge too much of the plot and scenes outside what was seen in the trailer.

First of all, I'll say that I was pleasantly surprised by this film. I did like the first two films (even The Mummy Returns), but with the change of directors, no Rachel Weisz and the supposed script problems, I went in expecting not too much. What I got was a two-hours worth of fair entertainment. Expect no A-class film, but it's certainly a fun and enjoyable film if you like these type of films.

The story is pretty much what you would expect: undead guy is raised, wants to become immortal and raise his army and take over the world and the good guys have to stop him. But that's not what a film like this is about. It's about the fun, the adventure and the action and there's plenty of all of that. There is a fight in a museum, a chase through a Chinese city at night, there's a fight in the Himalayas with a bunch of yeti's, there's a three-headed dragon and an army-vs-army fight scene. I especially like the purpose of the yeti's, which is different than I had expected based on the trailer.

If anything, it could be said the movie has a bit too much action. It hardly ever lets down, though there are some quiet moments as well. I especially like the interesting use of the "Mummy face sandwall" effect at the end of the film. It's nice to see such a well-known effect used in a different setting.

As far as adventure is concerned, there's a nice bit of tomb-exploring at the beginning of the fim with Alex O'Connell being a lot less cautious than Indiana Jones at the beginning of Raiders of the Lost Ark. In any case, there's a bunch of nice traps guarding the tomb.

The acting is all fine as far as I'm concerned. I never messed Rachel Weisz during the film because Maria Bello does a fine job of playing Evelyn O'Connell. The new actor playing Alex O'Connell is also fine by me. The Chinese actors are also very good, though Jet Li is mostly computer-generated during the film and doesn't get much to do in the flesh. The actors from the previous films, Brendan Fraser and John Hannah, are doing a fine job as well and seem like they've had a good time.

Also there's plenty of jokes throughout which serve to lighten up the incredible amount of action in the film. There are some great scenes with Rick and Evy living a quiet life and being bored out of their minds at the beginning of the film. There's also some fun dialogue between father and son about guns. I also like the character of Jonathan who is always around to lighten things up when things are becoming too much. The ending is also quite funny and left me smiling in the theater.

The music, however, didn't really stand out much to me, except in it's loudness, which I sometimes found to be fairly obnoxious. I'm hoping listening to the OST will give me a better opinion of the score, but I don't think it's in the same league as the score entries for the previous two films. The music sounds synthesized at times, while I was under the impression that it was supposed to be the London Symphony Orchestra who performed the music. This must be the worst they've ever sounded to date.

Although the movie is, of course, made to cater to a modern audience, it doesn't really feel out-of-touch with the previous two films and isn't really trying too hard to be modern. It is, of course, not old-fashioned either, but at least there isn't too much use of overly flashy editing à la the Bourne films. There is a lot of computer-generated special effects, of course, but these all look very good to me.

As far as the inevitable comparision with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is concerned, I am not yet decided on that. Indiana Jones IV was a long-awaited sequel to an incredible series of films, while The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor was much less anticipated. As hard as it was for Indy IV to live up to the stellar expectations set by the first three films, so easy it is to be pleasantly surprised by a film that I was looking forward to, but not expecting too much from.

In short, I found The Mummy 3 better than I expected it to be and it's a fun movie that fits well with the other two films. If you liked the previous two, there's a very good chance you'll like this one too. If you only liked the first, you might want to give this one a chance. If you didn't like the first, this one probably won't sway your mind.

I hope you find this preview interesting and I would be glad to hear your comments. I'd be glad to answer some questions if you might have them.

Is the script actually written by the same writers as the previous two? It could have contributed to the continuity. I am very sceptic about a new Evelyn. I'm afraid it will work out for me like I could never really accept the new Rachel in the Dark Knight or the new Lois in Superman. It's not believable anymore. You didn't find this distracting?

Is it a very chaotic movie like the two Pirates sequels or more well-edited and straight forward?

[Pieter Boelen 740]

I just checked and the director's blog confirms that the music indeed was recorded by the London Symphony.

As far as the writing is concerned, it looks like there's different writers for all of the films.

The only constant is Stephen Sommers, who even wrote the second film and worked on the first and third ones as well. Other than that, there's different writers.

Personally I thought that the new Evy would bother me, but during the film I didn't really have a problem with it.

Since Rachel Weisz didn't want to do it, Maria Bello was probably the next best thing and she does a fine enough job with it.

The film's story is definitly not as complicated as the two PotC sequels. Actually, the story is fairly simple and only serves to give a purpose to the action.

The action itself is large, over-the-top, but not edited in too much of a lightning fashion.