'The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor' (PG-13)(out of four)

Back in 1999, writer/director Stephen Sommers launched a high-tech return to the much-visited arena of films about Egyptian mummies that come back to life. The result: "The Mummy" was a wild, delightful and entertaining ride that mixed thrills, laughs and cutting edge special effects. The movie, starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz was a huge hit and spawned the far-less enjoyable sequel, "The Mummy Returns," in 2001.

Sommers and Universal Pictures have gone back to the well once again with the latest episode in the series, "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor." This time, Sommers serves as one of the producers, handing off director duties to Rob Cohen ("The Fast and the Furious," "Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story"). The film has new writers, too, in "Smallville" creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, whose big screen credits vary as widely as "Spider-Man 2" and "Herbie Fully Loaded."

Unfortunately, with the new faces come the same old ideas, as the new "Mummy" tries to follow its own previously successful formula -- but only succeeds in retracing steps that were traveled much more effectively back in 1999.

There are a few familiar faces in this new outing: Brendan Fraser is back as adventurer Rick O'Connell, as is John Hannah as his fast-talking brother-in-law, Jonathan. A key player who decided to pass was female lead Weisz as Rick's Egyptologist wife, Evelyn. She's replaced by American actress Maria Bello ("A History of Violence") who is perfectly believable as a Brit. She also delivers a great line in her first scene that gives a nod to her newcomer status.

The film begins with a set-up of how thousands of years ago an ambitious emperor (Jet Li of "Romeo Must Die") conquered much of China. His desire to become immortal leads him to a sorceress (the always wonderful Michelle Yeoh of "Tomorrow Never Dies") .

She's willing to grant his wish, but winds up instead placing a spell on both he and his army after the emperor reneges on a promise to allow her to marry one of his generals. The evil leader is doomed to live entombed forever, unless of course someone wakes him from his slumber. That someone comes along in 1946 and turns out to be the O'Connell's 21-year-old college student son Alex, played by Australian actor Luke Ford. (Ford is 27, which makes him hard to buy as the son of 39-year-old Fraser and 41-year-old Bello.) Junior is a little resentful of dad, who he finds distant and not very warm.

Meanwhile, both his parents are leading a boring life in England after serving as spies during World War II. They jump at the chance to go on one last government mission, which leads to a reunion with their son, a big double-cross, and the evil emperor once again on the rampage, looking to achieve full immortality. Joining the fight is a beautiful young woman (Chinese actress Isabella Leong) whose family mission is to keep this latest mummy all wrapped up.

"The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" has a lot going for it. There are many outstanding special effects: Huge armies that do battle with one another. Stone horses that come to life. A flying, three-headed dragon.

All that is well and good, but where the film falls short is with the human elements. There's no real emotional connection between father and son until late in the movie. The son comes across as a not-very-likeable whiner, while his "dad" acts more like an older brother.

What helped make the first film so enjoyable were some great supporting villains, and a lot of laughs. Here, too much of the movie's weight is carried by the O'Connell family.

Even brother-in-law Jonathan who previously provided superbly timed comic relief, has little to do but spurt out the occasional forced line, only a few of which get laughs. As for Li, his role consists mostly of looking stern and shouting out commands. For much of the film, he's completely computer-generated. The movie's best performance comes from Yeoh, who really delivers when it comes to showing her character's anguish.