China stars in 'Mummy 3' 
 

THE Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is the third installment¹ in the Mummy series, which has always been chock-full of special effect s, and this one is no different.

But what makes the film stand out is its “China factor”. The story has been airlifted out of Egypt and into ancient China, when Emperor Qin was seeking a panacea² for immortality³.

Obviously, this fantasy adventure epic⁴ gives the same kind of treatment to China as it did Egypt. When watching the movie, I was constantly reminded of not just Egypt, but of the Zhang Yimou-directed opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.

That lavish⁵ performance tried to tell China’s story in a universal language. To a great extent, The Mummy 3 is trying to do the same thing – and make money at the same time.

For example, the opening ceremony put Confucius at the center of the action. The Mummy has Emperor Qin.

The ceremony depicted⁶ Dunhuang on the Silk Road, but the movie takes the road farther – all the way to Xinjiang. One shot has the famous Flame Mountain in the background.

The movie also ventures southwest to Tibet, where characters meet the Yeti, the legendary⁷ ape-like snowman.

Shanghai glitters

Peking Opera is featured in the ceremony, and a whole army of street performers appear in the movie, doing all kinds of stunts⁸. They enliven the chase scenes with exotic color and a touch of vibrancy⁹.

In the movie, the world-renowned terra-cotta soldiers also come alive and move around as an army.

What’s more, old Shanghai has never been more glittering in a foreign production.

When Madonna was making Shanghai Surprise in 1986, she was denied access. So was Angelina Jolie in the second Tomb Raider movie.

When Tom Cruise made his Mission Impossible 3 in Shanghai, featuring the new skyline, local audience s were pissed off because the movie showed residents hanging their laundry outside the window.

This time, old Shanghai has never been shinier. But shiny things tend to be empty inside.
 
生词：
BONUS
Expressions
chock-full 充满了
Jim submitted a report chock-full of errors and got a D.
吉姆交了份错误百出的报告，结果只得了个D。

forego vt.放弃
Mickey agreed to forego his holiday for the new project.
为了新项目，米基同意放弃他的假期。

pine for 渴望,十分盼望,也可以是pine after
The little girl pined for her mother’s return.
小女孩渴望母亲回来。

piss off 令人愤怒,生气
You’d better leave her alone. She’s pissed off right now.
你最好别理她。她现在正在气头上。