Guardians of the Tomb
IMAGINE a sea of spiders. If that doesn’t get your skin crawling, now imagine a million man-eating spiders.
Throw in some mummified remains, an ancient Chinese emperor and his medicine man, plus mankind’s thirst for immortality, and you’ll find yourself with the latest sci-fi adventure thriller, Guardians of the Tomb.
The biggest Chinese-Australian co-production to date, the film begins with two scientists from a biotechnology company going on a classified mission in a desert.
The two men soon stumble upon a sinister creepy-crawly situation in an ancient labyrinth, causing the head of the company, Mason (Kelsey Grammer), to call for a rescue mission.
He calls upon search-and-rescue expert Ridley (Lutz) and also enlists the help of his deceased business partner’s daughter, Jia (Li), not only for her connection to her brother Luke (Wu), one of the missing scientists, but also for her expertise in venomous creatures.
Together with four other team members, they battle their way past bloodthirsty funnel web spiders lurking around every corner, to try and locate the missing scientists.
The storyline is interesting, in a sense that director Rendall – who also co-wrote the script – tries tapping into the emotion between Jia and Luke, while simultaneously cramming in the horror with the arachnids.
Perhaps intending to reflect the younger brother’s current predicament, scenes were intercut with flashbacks of when the siblings were children looking for each other in a hedge maze, which at times felt a little jumpy and out of place.
Australian actor Shane Jacobson who plays Gary, one of the team members, provided some comedic relief throughout the film, and you might find yourself hoping his character makes it out alive.
While Guardians of the Tomb delivers on the creepy-crawly factor, it raises some unanswered questions, especially regarding a mysterious little girl the group encounters, and her connection to the spiders.
All in, the movie is not bad, but it’s also not good, sitting in the middle of being just average. So watch the movie if you fancy thrillers, or maybe the international cast involved. Cast: Li Bingbing, Kellen Lutz, and Wu Chun Director: Kimble Rendall E-Value: 5 Acting: 6 Plot: 5