The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008) - 7 questions

Question: Can someone tell me why the Emperor's terracotta army become invincible when they cross the Great Wall? It is never explained.

Answer: It has something to do with the curse that was placed on him. similar to the consequences of the first film.

Question: Evie was able to translate the ancient Chinese on the Eye of Shangri-la, so that means she has some knowledge of the language. So why did she leave it to Rick to tell the resurrected General Min that they were on his side? (All she said in that scene was "I don't think he speaks English.")

Answer: Reading and speaking many Eastern languages can be entirely different tasks so it's perfectly plausible that she knew how to translate the writing but not how to speak it.

Question: In the prologue, Michelle Yeoh put a curse on the Emperor and all who followed him, turning them into terra cotta statues. Her lover, General Min, was still a follower when she cast the spell so why did she do it? I thought she loved him. Can someone explain this to me please? Wouldn't it make more sense if she had placed a curse on the Emperor himself?

Answer: At the point that she cast the spell, General Min's relationship with her had already been discovered, and he was about to be punished, so he would no longer be a follower of the Emperor.

Question: Why are Rick and Evie the ones requested to return the Eye? I know the General needs the Eye to revive the Emperor, but why have 2 mummy experts bring it? After all, he's raising a mummy emperor and army, wouldn't he be worried the O'Connells would interfere? Or is he wanting to get all 3 (parents and son) together so they can all be killed?

Answer: He needed Evie's skill with ancient languages. She was one of the few people in the world who could translate what was written on the Eye accurately, and who could be easily persuaded to travel to Shanghai.

Question: Just before the Emperor is raised, why does the General demand that Evie O'Connell translate what's written on the Eye? She is (or at least was) an Egyptian expert. Both the General and his female aide are there - couldn't one of them read it?

Answer: First, it's ancient Chinese, probably unreadable to someone who speaks modern day Chinese (and possibly a different dialect as well). Also, Evie was an Egyptian expert, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have other areas of expertise.

Question: Why didn't Rachel Weisz reprise her role as Evelyn in the third film?

Answer: Although she initially expressed an interest in returning, she reportedly disliked the script and ultimately chose not to reappear. While the producers initially considered writing the character out, with the story rationale that she had been killed in an air-raid on London during World War Two, it was ultimately decided that this would require too much rewriting and thus the character was recast.

Question: Near the beginning of the film, in 1946, Rick and Evie are asked to take the Eye of Shangri-La to China as a peace offering from Britain, and a subsequent shot is them arriving in China in 1947. Since the task seems to be of extreme importance, why do they wait an entire year to deliver it?

Answer: For one thing, just because two different years are shown does not mean that a full twelve months passed before they arrived in China. Also, travel to an undeveloped third-world country in the mid 20th century was not like it is today. There were no jet planes, much pre-planning and preparation would have to be done before departure, different modes of transportation would have to be arranged, and there would be many stops, delays, and transfers along the way. This could cumulatively take many months.