Light as popcorn without butter, the third entree in the "Mummy" franchise is munchable summer fare that goes down easy, staving off hunger for a while but not exactly satisfying.

But "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" is certainly never boring. It jumps from fight scene to fight scene with barely a pause to register who the new faces are and what's going on.

All you need to know is that another mummy has risen from the grave, and is in dire need of a smack-down.

Only Brendan Fraser and John Hannah are back from 1999's original "The Mummy," which was equally action-packed but at least had a tight internal logic that it honored. "The Mummy Returns" was a sprawling expansion, with the heroes taking on the same Egyptian baddie. The new film shifts the action to China -- mostly as an excuse to stir a lot of chop-socky into the mix.

Martial-arts superstar Jet Li plays the titular Dragon Emperor, although computer animation actually fills most of the role. He's recognizable only in the final showdown and in the prologue, which sets him up as a power-hungry dude who wants to rule the ancient world. When he double-crosses the underlings who were helping him tap the secret of immortality, they curse him to mummydom.

Flash to 1946, and the rampaging O'Connells have settled into middle-age complacency. Rick (Fraser), the gun-toting daredevil mercenary, isn't tackling anything tougher than a fishing pole these days, while feisty Evie (Maria Bello) has become famous writing Harlequinized versions of their mummy adventures.

Rachel Weisz, who played Evie in the first two flicks, has since won an Oscar and is evidently now above this sort of thing. Bello, no slouch herself, takes over with a flawless English accent.

Hannah returns as Evie's ne'er-do-well brother Jonathan. He's now running a bar in China, cleverly named Imhotep's, after the original mummy. And Luke Ford plays Alex, Evie and Rick's son, who ditches college to go dig up the dragon emperor.

Director Rob Cohen ("The Fast and the Furious") is adept at creating kinetic, viscerally engaging action scenes. And there's plenty of exciting set pieces: a battle between two mummy armies, a street chase involving a chariot, a fight with yetis. Also, tons of gravity-defying martial-arts action.

"The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" is the equivalent of a sugar rush. You'll come down from it pretty fast with little to remember, but it's a thrill while it lasts.

Call Star reporter Christopher Lloyd at (317) 444-6326.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

Rating: 2 and a half stars (out of four)

Cast: Brendan Fraser, Jet Li, Maria Bello, Michelle Yeoh, Luke Ford, John Hannah, Isabella Leong.

Running time: 111 minutes.

Rating: PG-13; violence.