TEASER: Jet Li vs. Michelle Yeoh in third ‘Mummy’

MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR just got a whole lot more interesting. Not only do Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh co-star in the effects-filled action adventure but they also fight each other. That’s right. In the same year that we have been granted the first Jet Li versus Jackie Chan encounter, Li and Yeoh are together again and they’re not on the same side. Best of all, we get a great sneak peak in a teaser trailer now available at MSN (loads on the right side of the screen).

The last time we saw Li and Yeoh together on screen was in Yuen Woo-ping’s wire-fu classic THE TAI CHI MASTER in 1993. They would have been paired in CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON (2000) if Li had not dropped out and been replaced by Chow Yun-fat.

I gotta say it’s nice to see the world’s toughest Bond girl back in action in a big-budget movie worthy of her stature. Two actioners that she produced herself, THE TOUCH (2002) and SILVER HAWK (2004) failed to meet expectations and she subsequently dropped starring action roles for dramatic supporting performances in MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA and the fatalistic sci-fi flick SUNSHINE. Also a former beauty queen and ballet dancer, Yeoh is still looking fantastic and I can’t wait to see her matching fists with Li.

MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR has been running under the radar it seems given all the flashy event films coming out this summer. This one may be showing up near the end of the summer run but it looks just as impressive as all the rest. I knew the film had potential but this teaser has me jazzed up big time, even beyond the Li versus Yeoh aspect. Whether or not this film stacks up to the latest INDIANA JONES sequel remains to be seen but given unfavorable early buzz about Steven Spielberg’s latest, it just might. Either way, the person who cut this teaser deserves a raise.