People can bash Somers all they want. The Mummy is one of the coolest movies of all time and it's because of his writing/directing.
As for Cohen, I'm not too familiar with his work. Fast/Furious and Stealth both looked like garbage, though I won't say they were since I've never seen them. I did enjoy Dragonheart as a kid, and I recently rewatched it within the past couple years and thought it was a decent film.
The Mummy is a film which isn't generally found a bad piece (I like it too), yet I know I'm not alone if I don't find rest of Sommers' work that adorable. The Mummy Returns already had some things it could have done without (yet I admit, I was able to enjoy it, in a way...) and Van Helsing was plain bad.
In a similar manner Cohen has actually managed to bag one decent picture with xXx. So they're pretty much on the same line in my book (and there're worse directors in that one too).
And add xXx as a film that looked bad that I didn't want to see. Not saying it's bad, just saying it didn't look like my cup of tea.
I didn't pay for it either, just checked it out when it was on telly. But to take us back to the subject, xXx is a Cohen piece that actually got positive reviews, hence my saying it was what the Mummy was to Sommers.
I actually thought Stephen Sommers was a good director based on The Jungle Book, The Mummy, and The Mummy Returns. I thought to myself that this guy has got a future directing fun adventure movies. Then he went and made Van Helsing and completely lost it.
I liked The Jungle Book a lot when I saw it about eleven years ago, but I haven't seen it since so I can't really comment on it. The Mummy is directed well, but I thought Returns had a bit too much CGI in the action and sets, which paved the way for the completely unbelievable Van Helsing. (Don't get me wrong, The Mummy was CGI laden, but it still had a sense of realism to it, it wasn't TOO over the top.)
Did anybody see Deep Rising? I think it's one of Sommers best, stupid but exciting. The characters had a great chemistry with one another. Also, with a budget much thinner than his most recent films, he had to rely on more traditional methods of filmmaking. In my opinion, better methods of filmmaking. (IE miniatures and models, etc.)
From what I've heard, Sommer's has nothing to do with Mummy 3 and none of the original cast will be back. It's going to be about a completely different Mummy set in Japan(I think) with Jet Li signed on as The Mummy.
hmm, don't like it that the took another actress for the Evelyn character, that sucks, they could have better killed Evelyn off or something, i hate it when they take different actors for the same part (at least if the character is around the same age that is )
SPOILERS
I was looking at Dark Horizons, and found this from the director-contains plot details-
"In the film Jet Li plays a despotic Chinese Emperor in 50 B.C. whose evil is punished by a terrible curse laid on him by a wizardress (Michelle Yeoh): he and his army are turned into to terra cotta for all time; that is, unless he is re-awakened which, of course, is where the O’Connell’s come back into it.
The story moves to the year 1946. When we find them, Rick (Brendan Fraser) and Evelyn (Maria Bello) are retired to Oxfordshire, England, having been spies for the British during World War II. They are bored silly and welcome the offer of “one last mission” from the Foreign Office. Their assignment: courier a precious artifact back to the museum in Shanghai, China from which it was stolen.
Back to Asia: China is in turmoil but Jonathan (John Hannah) owns an Egyptian-themed bar in Shanghai. Unbeknownst to his parents, now grown-up Alex O’Connell (Luke Ford) is following in the family business as a young archaeologist on a dig in north-central China. He makes the discovery of a lifetime: the tomb of the Dragon Emperor, which has been buried for millennia.
A beautiful assassin (Isabella Leong) tries to kill him to keep the location secret but Alex prevails. The Emperor’s monument is transported back to Shanghai where another plot is in motion: military zealot Anthony Wong intends to awaken the Emperor and aid him in the re-conquest of China and the raising of his terra cotta army of ten thousand clay warriors (google The Terra Cotta army of Xi’an if you want to read more about the history of this wonder of the ancient world).
The family is reunited and high adventure ensues: crash landings, treks thru the Himalayas, Yeti, avalanches (bigger than the one I did in “XXX”), Shangri-la, three-headed dragons, pools of eternal life, epic battles, a shape-shifting Jet Li….I could go on but I don’t want to give it all away."
I dunno, looks like they are all "gettin' too old for this $#!%"
Yeah...I guess we children of the 80's need a wake-up call...next thing you know, they'll be repackaging G.I. Joe and Transformers...oh, wait, they've done that, haven't they?
Yeah...I guess we children of the 80's need a wake-up call...next thing you know, they'll be repackaging G.I. Joe and Transformers...oh, wait, they've done that, haven't they?
Yeah, did you hear about that GI Joe movie? Oh god... No Cobra! It's not even the US military but some international task force.
Omigosh...I think I may have to resort to terrorism. That is both sad and wrong. Excuse me while I predicate my plan for global domination on preventing this blasphemy.
Then again, I was the only person in my class that Serpentor was cool.
Sommers knows how to make some good pulp, but he's also overly in love with CGI which is kind of a turn-off. The absolute high note with that was Van Helsing. And somehow, he also failed with people directing with that individual piece. His actors obviously thought they're in a parody. Ed Wood would have been proud...
I actually rode in the same car as Brendan Fraser on the Revenge of the Mummy Ride when he came to Universal Orlando to shoot an episode of Ellen (talk show) last spring.
It was cool and not cool at the same time because on the one hand how often do you see a celebrity that you really like in person on accident? And on the other hand, I had never been on the ride before and I paid absolutely no attention to it, as Mr. Fraser talked throughout the whole thing.
Afterwards, everyone in the car had to sign consent forms to be on TV. Unfortunately you can't really see me well in the show, but you can hear me scream!
I think that eppy of Ellen's talk show was the first time I heard about Mummy 3 being a possibility.
I actually rode in the same car as Brendan Fraser on the Revenge of the Mummy Ride when he came to Universal Orlando to shoot an episode of Ellen (talk show) last spring.
It was cool and not cool at the same time because on the one hand how often do you see a celebrity that you really like in person on accident? And on the other hand, I had never been on the ride before and I paid absolutely no attention to it, as Mr. Fraser talked throughout the whole thing.
Was you able to get his autograph or a photo with him be any chance???
No Cobra! It's not even the US military but some international task force. 
