True — the modern Universal Studios Mummy franchise, which began in 1999 as sort of an homage to and remake of the 1932 classic starring Boris Karloff, is pretty loosely wrapped by now; but it's not as bad as it's been made out to be. The studio didn't screen it widely for critics, but those who saw it and wrote reviews were pretty harsh.

Personally, I hold it to a pretty low standard in that it's the third in a series that's more or less resurrected every few years with the expected diminishing returns. The first one — which didn't get great reviews, either — starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weitz, Oded Fehr, and Arnold Vosloo is by far the best. At the time, the CGI was state of the art, the leading stars' PG romantic chemistry sparkled, and the mummy-on-a-mission was truly impressive in his villainous tenacity.

The CGI is still excellent, but that's about all that's above-par. The rest is adequate. Tomb-raider Fraser is now paired with Maria Bello in the role of his feisty flame, and while she is good, there's no flicker between the two actors — what's more, she is miscast. The same miscasting misstep was made with Let Li as the undead "mummy" with vengeance on his twisted mind. As far as I can tell, anyone could have played that role. Li is fine, but he didn't make it his own; he doesn't have the bigger-than-life wrath and centuries-stewing rage that Vosloo so dynamically thrust forth, even in the smallest scenes.

There is also just a general malaise (a lifelessness, if you will) to the entire proceedings. The first two movies (both written by Stephen Sommers, the first one directed by him), may not go down as classics, but you could feel the geek-out giddiness of the filmmakers in them. I am far from convinced that The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor's director, Rob Cohen (director of Stealth, one of my least favorite movies of all time) was having fun making this.

Taking all of that into consideration, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is not bad. It's a serviceable spectacle, with plenty of action and a lot to like. The Yeti are awesome; Michelle Yeoh, Luke Ford, and Isabella Leong are good in their roles; John Hannah, who's been in all three films, is as much fun as always; and there are some hellacious fight scenes that not only induce a few gasps, but chuckles as well.

With the action now set in 1947, the Himalayas and Shangri-La stand in for the Egyptian pyramids and dunes. What's more, there's some respectable inventiveness when it comes to the peril; there are several exciting chase scenes which involve everything from horse drawn chariots in the rain-slicked streets of Shanghai, to a tiny war plane (with a yak on board) pursuing a three-headed mythological dragon across the sky.

While there aren't as many scares as there were in the first movie, there are a couple of dark moments for horror fans to enjoy: Namely, a skeleton army that evokes fond, if pallid, memories of Ray Harryhousen's Seventh Voyage of Sinbad.

In you're in the mood for a Summer-escape popcorn flick, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is all that fills the bill this weekend.

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