MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR

The film begins with a narration about the rise to power of Emperor Han, first Emperor of China, known as 'the Dragon Emperor'. He conquered all his enemies, many of whom were buried under the Great Wall of China, and mastered the five elements, but could not conquer death. To that end, he sought the help of a witch, Zi Yuan, who knew where to find the secret of immortality.

Han orders his second in command, General Ming, to help her with her research. Han tells Ming that no man is to touch Zi Yuan, as he wants her himself. The two fall in love during their search however and during a moment of passion, are watched by a spy loyal to the emperor. After Zi Yuan supposedly casts the immortality spell on Han, he invites her to the balcony where she is given the choice of becoming Han's wife or watching her lover die. Zi Yuan angrily denies Han and watches in horror as General Ming is pulled apart by horses. Han then stabs Zi Yuan, telling her she can join him in hell. She reveals that she has in fact cursed the Emperor and his army, turning them into terra cotta statues, and manages to escape, as Han and his army transform.

The film jumps ahead to

1946, 13 years after the events of The Mummy Returns. Explorer Rick his wife Evelyn, and brother-in-law Jonathan are now retired: however, it is clear Rick and Evy miss their adventuring days. Their son Alex has dropped out of school and become an adventurer like his parents. With the financial backing of Roger Wilson, an eminent archaeology professor, Alex locates the Dragon Emperor's tomb. Though he is attacked by a mysterious woman, he avoids harm and successfully brings the Emperor back to Shanghai. In the meantime, the British government entrusts the elder O'Connells to take the Eye of Shangri-La back to China as a good faith gesture from the British to the Chinese. All the O'Connells arrive at the Imhotep, a night club in Shanghai owned by Jonathan. Alex gives his parents a tour of the exhibit, where it is revealed that Roger Wilson is in league with a paramilitary group led by General Yang and his Second-in-Command Choi, who wish to resurrect the Dragon Emperor, seeing him as the only one who can bring order to China. Using the Eye of Shangri-La, which contains water from Shangri-La, they are able to resurrect the Emperor into his terracotta statue form. The Emperor accepts the service of Choi and Yang, but kills Wilson. The mysterious woman from the excavation site tries to kill the Emperor with a dagger cursed by Zi Yuan, but he manages to escape.

The mysterious woman reveals herself to be Lin, a protector of the Dragon Emperor's tomb. She explains that the path to Shangri-La can be revealed using the Eye. The O'Connells, Jonathan, and Lin trek through the Himalayas with the help of Rick's pilot friend 'Mad Dog' Maguire and reach the tower that will reveal the path to Shangri-La when the Eye is placed on top of it.

General Yang, his soldiers, and the Emperor arrive shortly after. Lin summons a trio of

yeti to assist in the battle, but the Emperor ultimately succeeds in placing the Eye atop the golden tower. Rick is impaled by the Dragon Emperor's sword while protecting Alex as he triggers an avalanche, which buys them time to reach Shangri-La first.

They reach Shangri-La first and Rick is healed by Zi Yuan, who was rescued by the yeti after cursing the Emperor. She is revealed to be Lin's mother, General Ming having fathered her shortly before his death. Using the water, they have become immortal and have guarded the secrets of the Emperor for over 2,000 years. The Emperor arrives and is able to bathe in the pool, restoring him to his human form and giving him shape-shifting abilities. He takes the form of a three-headed dragon, kidnaps Lin, and flies to raise his Terracotta Army at the excavation site. The O'Connells and Zi Yuan pursue the Emperor, while Jonathan and Mad Dog leave to gather reinforcements to stop him.

The Emperor summons his army, which will become invincible should it cross the Great Wall. To buy time, Zi Yuan sacrifices her immortality and that of her daughter to revive those buried beneath the Great Wall. Led by General Ming, the undead army and the Terracotta army fight. A massive battle ensues, during which Zi Yuan and the Emperor fight one-on-one. Zi Yuan sacrifices herself to steal back the cursed dagger. Alex saves Lin and they find Zi Yuan dying soon after. She gives Lin the dagger and tells her to stab the Emperor through the heart. During the battle, General Yang and Choi go to the tomb to aide the Emperor, only to have their truck hit by a missile thrown by Jonathan, who has returned with a number of warplanes to fight back: however, the Emperor turns into a horned, bestial demon and brings one of the planes down.

While Rick and Alex head off to fight the Emperor, Evelyn and Lin fight General Yang and Choi, who survived the missile and now seek revenge. In the ensuing battle, Yang gets caught in one of the rotating wooden cranks. Choi attempts to pull him out and refuses to let go, crushing and killing them both. During the fight Rick and Alex find themselves outmatched against the shape-shifting Emperor, and the dagger is broken during the confrontation. Rick goads the Emperor into fighting fair, and manages to plunge the dagger hilt into his heart. Alex in turn stabs him in the back, fusing the dagger within the Emperor's heart and destroying him in a brilliant explosion.

Back at the Imhotep, Mad Dog is the new owner and the now-mortal Lin is dancing with Alex and they finally kiss. Rick and Evelyn are dancing as well. Jonathan, on the other hand, decides to move to

Peru with the Eye of Shangri-La, a place he claims has no mummies. As he rides off, it is revealed that once he arrived, mummies were discovered in Peru soon after...