ROTTEN TOMATOES: Brendan Fraser Praises New Mummy Wife

Brendan Fraser Praises New Mummy Wife

Mario Bello replacing Rachel Weisz in the third installment of the action series.

by Fred Topel | February 04, 2008

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The Mummy and The Mummy Returns were pretty linked companion pieces. The entire cast was the same and it took place in the same deserts with the same monsters. Now, seven years later, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is in China with Maria Bello playing Rick O'Connell's wife instead of Rachel Weisz.

"She's great in it," said Fraser of Bello. "Great. Great, great, great. She loved it. She ate it up with a spoon. She's got moxy. She can take care of herself. Her set of baddies, she gave them good news."

With all due respect to Weisz, Fraser thinks it is perfectly fair to give another actress a chance. He even downplays his own necessity. "Any role can be played. It's a role. Rick O'Connell could be played by...you tell me."

As for changing the location and waiting seven years in between films, Fraser hinted that little has changed. "Well, the premise is new. It was a Chinese desert that we were in. It was a good experience though. I just had such a good time making those movies, I just couldn't resist coming back to it, even if it is seven years later. It's good because then it allows you to reinvent."

Directed by Rob Cohen, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor sees the franchise invigorated by new blood: Rick and Evelyn O'Connell's teenage son, Alex (Luke Ford), a young archaeologist who accidentally awakens an ancient Chinese emperor (Jet Li) and his terra cotta warriors. The synopsis:

Brendan Fraser returns as explorer Rick O'Connell to combat the resurrected Han Emperor (Jet Li) in an epic that races from the catacombs of ancient China high into the frigid Himalayas. Rick is joined in this all-new adventure by son Alex (newcomer Luke Ford), wife Evelyn (Maria Bello) and her brother, Jonathan (John Hannah). And this time, the O'Connells must stop a mummy awoken from a 2,000-year-old curse who threatens to plunge the world into his merciless, unending service. Doomed by a double-crossing sorceress (Michelle Yeoh) to spend eternity in suspended animation, China's ruthless Dragon Emperor and his 10,000 warriors have laid forgotten for eons, entombed in clay as a vast, silent terra cotta army. But when dashing adventurer Alex O'Connell is tricked into awakening the ruler from eternal slumber, the reckless young archaeologist must seek the help of the only people who know more than he does about taking down the undead: his parents. As the monarch roars back to life, our heroes find his quest for world domination has only intensified over the millennia. Striding the Far East with unimaginable supernatural powers, the Emperor Mummy will rouse his legion as an unstoppable, otherworldly force...unless the O'Connells can stop him first.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor will hit theaters August 1, 2008.

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(1-20 of 23 posts) | Reply

bamb0o-stick writes:
on Feb 04 2008 05:50 PM

All I have to say is let's hope this is the Year of Good Sequels.

(Reply to this)

Novastar. writes:
on Feb 04 2008 06:03 PM

Let's hope that Brendan Fraser goes a history of violence style on Maria Bello.

(Reply to this)

Silverevilchao writes:
on Feb 04 2008 06:07 PM

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

This is going to suck. LARGE.

(Reply to this)

Mister_Prophet writes:
on Feb 04 2008 07:23 PM

Maria Bello is way better than this kinda thing. But maybe it will have lots of explosions, so I'll see it.

(Reply to this)

jokerboy1991 writes:
on Feb 04 2008 07:39 PM

I actually really like the 1st to Mummy films, they were fun. It doesn't bother me to much, because lets face it Mario Bello is just as super hot(!) as Racheal Weisz.

(Reply to this)

Young Turk writes:
on Feb 04 2008 08:24 PM

Those pancakes do not interest me one bit....

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TheAnswerMVP2001 writes:
on Feb 04 2008 08:28 PM

Yea, yea. What's Brendan going to say Maria was horrible!?! This is just a pointless article. I still plan on seeing the film because I'm a fan of the series, but I hate when they re-cast main characters. Especially with actors that don't even look remotely the same as the previous person to play the role.

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TheIceGhost writes:
on Feb 04 2008 09:54 PM

The first two were fun, campy action/adventure flicks and I loved them for it.

Can't say I'm a fan of re-casting our leading lady, but I was doubtful from the get go that Weisz would return. Which is ashame, because her and Frasier had great on-screen chemistry. But alas, she's "above" this sort of thing now-a-days... right?

I'll toss my hat into the "liking this" arena.

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ilovemygoatee writes:
on Feb 04 2008 10:29 PM

The Mummy series was pure unadulterated fun. And it should always be that way. I sincerely hope this movie doesn't take itself to seriously, I mean come on, its about a freaking mummy coming to life.

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MMacKK writes:
on Feb 05 2008 12:08 AM

The Mummy was great, great, great.
Mummy Returns was good, but that kid ****ing annoyed me.

I epxect this may be slightly better than Returns. I mean, its not really a straight forward rehash, and while Bello is no Weisz, she does have the acting chops over a **** load of other actresses.

Seeing as it was inevitable Weisz was to be replaced, they made a good choice, IMO.

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Gimy writes:
on Feb 05 2008 05:39 AM

theanswer, dude its marketing. thats why the article isn't pointless. and they had no choice on recasting Weisz, she didn't wanna be in it. not their fault. i don't know about bello, honestly the only thing i REMEMBER her being in(besides history of violence) is some showtime flick where she got n3ked and made out with some chic. good stuff.

as long as its not stale(pirates 3, shrek 3) i'm game. i hope that kid isn't in it...god he was as annoying as jake loyd in star wars.

not really sure its wise for them to release this in the same summer as Indy though. they're very similiar, to me.

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joejoecaller writes:
on Feb 05 2008 06:55 AM

I read the script for Mummy 3 and its awful, probably the worse sequel since Highlander 2, Rachel did the right thing walking away from this crapfest in the making.

As for Fraser, what else is he going to say, its not going to bad mouth Bello.

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Pleasuretown writes:
on Feb 05 2008 07:34 AM

I did enjoy the first two Mummy's.
They were both good summer popcorn flicks.
But this one just screams horrible.
Firstly, recasting Wiesz?
I know she didn't want to be in it,
And i'm really glad she doesn't need a blotch like this on her career,
But she made the first two movies.
IMO that is.
I'm going to wait for the trailer.
And then the reviews.
Then i might see it.
But it's nothing that screams out 'Must See Summer Film.'
The Dark Knight has that covered.
Along with Iron Man.

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TombstoneLawDog writes:
on Feb 05 2008 08:57 AM

Original Cut of this interview:

"Yeah, well.. y'know. I mean, I called Rachel a couple of times, and apparently she's having problems with her carrier because I kept getting this 'blocked' message from Verizon. I saw her sitting at this coffee shop on Ventura and she was laughing and reading the comics but a couple of seconds after I sat down, her phone rang and she had some kind of emergency. I mean, she told me she really wanted to be there on this sequel but the scheduling conflicts with this one-man stage show about Christopher Walken that she's doing in Australia. Man, she's a dedicated chick!
Speaking of which, the new girl, Mona- I mean, Maria, well, she's okay but I don't think she really gets the *essence* of what we do. We're a pretty tight family, here, me'n that British dude and the Iraqi. We've really had to go slow to help her with the nuances of screaming as you flee a green screen. She's got good cans, though. And she has no problem with nudity and I have no problem with that...

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Oblivioncry writes:
on Feb 05 2008 09:06 AM

whatever **** they are making...i am still going to see it^^

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EdwardBlake writes:
on Feb 05 2008 09:33 AM

History of Violence - not too many mainstream movies have the two leads 69in' each other. Gotta give Cronenberg his props for that.

As for this, who the hell cares? The Mummy Returns was proof positive of why there should never again be 'box office sequels.' Only make multiple movies in a series if there is legitmately more story to tell (LOTR, Star Wars, Superman.)

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zgberg writes:
on Feb 05 2008 01:21 PM

from a quote related to the Yahoo-Microsoft merger..."This is icing on a double suck cake."

(Reply to this)

Jaimon writes:
on Feb 05 2008 01:43 PM

Well, as long as we can package a foreign culture in a 2 hour action movie for domestic consumption.

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nightbat666 writes:
on Feb 06 2008 12:52 AM

Racheal Weisz was sooo easy to look at. the movies on the other hand sucked.

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Rated_Xpert writes:
on Feb 06 2008 12:54 AM

Kids ruin movies. Why go that route? Let the brother screw things up.

(Reply to this)