The Scorpion King [Blu-ray] Reviews

• Oddly charming and surprisingly enjoyable

  
  By A1655SGPPUUCRP on 2002-04-22
  I went into "The Scorpion King" with pretty low expectations. Being a lover of the first two "Mummy" films, I was terribly disappointed, like many, to learn that the next film in the series would be a prequel and not involve the usual charming cast of Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz. I also went in expecting The Rock to be boring, cheesy, and annoying. It seemed to me that "The Scorpion King" would serve one purpose, to show off The Rock's fighting ability (like we don't know already).

  Boy was I wrong! "The Scorpion King" turned out to be a top quality action flick! It was funny and filled with plenty of the witty humor that made "The Mummy" and "The Mummy Returns" such enjoyable films. The story was actually quite exciting and involving, quite the opposite of what I expected!

  Believe it or not, The Rock was oddly charming in his role as Mathayus, The Scorpion King. I actually ended up really loving him! Mathayus's jittery sidekick, Arpid (Grant Heslov) steals the show! Heslov is so charming and utterly hilarious, it's almost as if he was made for this role! My only complaint as far as acting goes is that of Kelly Hu, who plays the sorceress (and Mathayus's love interest). Her lines were cheesy to begin with, but an actress of greater talent could've delivered them with more enthusiasm and character.

  The movie begins rather unimpressively with Mathayus rescuing his brother from some barbaric enemies. The fight sequence was fantastic, but what really turned me off about this scene (and made me question how good the rest of the film would be) was when Mathayus came barreling in to save his brother with his bow in hand and said "Boo" and everyone started screaming. Come on; how cheesy and clichéd is that line? Thank God the rest of the movie isn't like that!

  Here's a quick summarization of the plot:

  Mathayus is hired by a band of rebels to murder the wizard who is helping the evil Memnon win battles by seeing into the future for him. Mathayus is set on completing his mission until he sees the wizard, who is actually the beautiful witch Cassandra. Because of Mathayus's hesitation, Memnon's guards capture him and are about to kill him when Cassandra announces that she has had a vision and he is not to die by "Memnon's hand or any that he orders". Yeah, right. The movie takes off from there.

  Yes, this movie is dumb and ridiculous, but it somehow manages to rise above that to bring us a truly enjoyable film.

  "The Scorpion King" is short but sweet, running at a convenient 90 minutes.

  Rated PG-13 for "intense sequences of action violence and some sensuality". Would be acceptable for around 10 and up.
  
  

• Great action, good story.

  
  By A34CVPZ30BA4GD on 2002-04-18
  When WWF superstar 'The Rock' decided to use his worldwide wrestling stardom as a segue into acting it was an enormous risk that paid off in 'The Mummy returns', but now it's time for Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson to step out in his own film, a prequel to the 'Mummy', 'The Scorpion' king.

  The film was released on the 17th April in Australia and I had the chance to catch the first session in the country, and I have to admit I was very exited. I mean who wouldn't be? 'The Mummy' and 'The Mummy Returns' that have been dubbed `silly' by many were I feel two fabulous films. A wonderful mixture of action, comedy, romance and overall fun. 'The Scorpion King' follows this same formula, but misses the mark ever so slightly and thus loses marks in my books.

  The film takes place before any of the pyramids have been built, back in the ancient land where warlord Memnon has conquered all the lands of the Old Kingdom, and where few people stand to fight his forces. When the scorpion king and his brother are sent to assassinate Memnon's sorcerer (who provides much of his power) they are caught and the scorpion king's brother is killed. This needless to say makes him very mad, and yearning for revenge. The story from here takes a turn when the scorpion king kidnaps the sorceress and consequently they fall in love.

  The biggest plus the film offers is the amazing fight scenes, which are some of the best seen in a long time. In fact for a movie that has a run time of 110 minutes, probably 40 minutes of this is just the fighting. Wrestling fans may perhaps be disappointed that 'The Rock' doesn't do one 'Rock Bottom' or a 'People's elbow' is the course of the film, but in my mind this may have made the film feel a little hokey, relying on the wrestling angle too much.

  So where does the problem fit in? Well 'The Scorpion King' isn't directed by Stephen Sommers (director of 'The Mummy' and 'The Mummy returns') and believes me it shows. The screenplay has all the wit and sparkle the other films had, but often the directing lets it down, at times making the story line fit into the action, rather than the other way around. Occasionally the film suffers for this.

  'The Rock' Dwayne Johnson puts in a commanding performance as 'The Scorpion King' and in my mind his style can be likened to Arnold Schwartzenegger, hey, lets not forget just as 'The Rock' is using wrestling as his foot in the door Arnie did the same with his bodybuilding. His characterization is commanding and his knowledge of choreographed action is visible, as the fight scenes are some of the best around. It also need to be seen the Michael Clarke Duncan ('The Green Mile') playing Balthazar is hilarious, I mean the guy is 'The Rock's' biggest fan in real life and here they are fighting together.

  Arguably the most popular character in the other two films was Jonathan (John Hannah) in 'The Scorpion King' the character is rehashed in the form of an all but nameless horse thief. Admittedly the character is hilarious, but on occasion his quips fall a little flat, plus part of Jonathan's charm in the other films is his flawed British attitude towards life.

  While 'The Scorpion King' lacks some of the charm 'The Mummy' and 'The Mummy returns' possessed the film is nevertheless competent. The fight scenes are amazing and it easily holds up to any other action film out there. Even more so the film may serve Vince McMahon (executive producer) a way to gain some of his lost funds after the failure of XFL. This film is one that has to be watched in order to see the first major work of one of the futures greatest action stars in Dwayne Johnson. Overall a 3.5 star film.
  
  

• easy on the brain, good fun

  
  By A2VIY4M4GGJHXY on 2002-04-24
  If you liked Kull the Conqueror, I am sure you will enjoy the Scorpion King. It has a lot of the same tongue in cheek action/comedy elements. In theory it is a prequel to The Mummy Returns, although the connection is week. It is not as over the top and action packed as The Mummy Returns, but I enjoyed every minute of it.

  Wrestling superstar, The Rock, plays Matthias the Acadian who is a pretty dangerous fellow. The opening sequence was incredible - Matthias rescues his brother from the evil horde of crooked-teeth-folks single handedly. The bow that fires five arrows at once and knocks the people halfway across their camp was just what I was hoping to see. Unfortunately this same type of action is really not repeated later in the movie, it tends to get more realistic (hah, I feel ashamed for saying that, but note the use of the word more). Also, I have to admire the ancient sub-bikini styles and technology. From what I saw, modern times have really lost a lot in that area.

  If you are looking for some good old fashioned entertainment, then I find no shortcomings in this movie. If you are looking for high drama or an intriguing plot, look elsewhere.
  
  

• Charge!

  
  By A1HS9F7J51E9CB on 2002-12-04
  I went into this movie cold. I had no idea who "The Rock" was (I'd read about him, but somehow did not connect him with this film) I did not know "The Scorpion King" was supposed to be a prequel of the Mummy movies, neither of which I had seen. So me and my popcorn had a clear, unbiased mind.

  The setting is long, long ago. Gommorah is still in business and gunpowder has yet to be invented. Arkkadian Assassin Mathayus (the Rock) has been hired to kill a sorcerer whose predictions are far too dependable. Mathayus' brother is tortured to death, and he vows revenge. When he discovers the sorcerer is a gorgeous young lady in a harem costume, he "liberates" her. His steed is a camel, the odds against him are never less than 50 to 1, and he lays them out like dominoes. After 90 minutes of mayhem, the good guys win the kingdom, the castle and the babe.

  Dwayne Johnson was a charmer in this potboiler. He has almost too good a sense of humor (I thought he was going to crack up a few times over his ridiculous lines. Shades of Crosby and Hope in a "Road" picture!) His face is expressive, his movements agile, and he is definitely eye candy. I wish him well in a movie career. I think he would be a fine action hero. I felt sorry for his sidekick, Philos (Bernard Hill). The script was so bad that the feeble jokes he was forced to utter wouldn't get a giggle out of a pre-schooler. With the exception of a few reprehensible villains and mighty Balthazar (Michael Clarke Duncan), the cast was uniformly beautiful right down to the starving children.

  The action is non-stop, so time passes quickly and all in all, I had a good time. "The Scorpion King" makes a good non-think rental. Laugh along with The Rock.
  -sweetmolly-Amazon.com Reviewer
  
  

• Better than I expected

  
  By A1MJMYLRTZ76ZX on 2002-07-01
  I enjoyed this movie. I've read some of the other reviews here, and some people have criticized the movie for being overly cliched and predictable. No doubt some people will say that the movie serves up its hunk of beefcake in all-too-predictable a fashion (don't you hate smart-assed reviewers who take themselves all too seriously?). But come on folks, this sort of action-packed thriller isn't meant to be analyzed or dissected in too much detail--it's meant to be fun, mindless entertainment--and in that regard, it succeeds very well. I was also pleasantly surprised to find The Rock (pro-wrestler Dwayne Johnson) has considerable on-screen presence, as he goes around offing bad guys right and left.

  Not that The Rock has to carry the whole movie on his own considerable shoulders. The bad-guy king (Steven Brand) who The Rock is sent to assasinate and his sorceress (Kelly Hu) are also good in their roles, as is The Rock's sidekick (unfortunately I don't know the actor's name) who provides some comic relief, much in the same way that R2D2 and C3PO did in the first Star Wars movie (actually Lucas got the idea for the comic pair from one of Kurosawa's movies).

  The swordplay and fight scenes are top-notch. And speaking of swordplay, big guy Michael Clarke Duncan also has an important role as the Nubian king, and his fight with the Rock is one of the climaxes of the movie, as he almost beats The Rock in a dramatic mano-a-mano sword battle. I'm not sure there were black Nubians, who were well-known in Roman times after the emperor Octavian conquered North Africa, living in Sumeria in 4000 BC, when the Akkadians lived in ancient Sumeria, but as I said, I don't really analyze movies like this too much. It gets in the way of the fun.

  I don't know what ancient Akkadian or Sumerian sets would look like, either, but these seemed pretty realistic to me and added to the movie's overall ambience. (I'm sure King Sargon of Akkad would have approved even if they weren't--after all, the Akkadians haven't gotten much play in about 4000 years). This sort of action movie plays very well on the Big Screen, and I'm sure I enjoyed seeing it more in a theater as opposed to seeing it on TV.

  All in all, a fun way to spend a Sat. or Sun. afternoon or evening. Big Steve says goes see it and don't "Bogart" the popcorn.
  
  

• The Rock in his own feature film...
  By A15S44J4NHU4LS on 2002-04-22
  This movie is a direct offshoot of The Mummy franchise (starring Brendan Frasier). In many ways, it retains the characteristic lightheartedness and humor of The Mummy. It is also reminiscent of Indiana Jones (there's been rumors of a fourth installment for a long time). This movie is fairly short at an hour and a half.

  Ok, let's get back to the movie. The plot is really really simple. The trailer tells you all you need to know, so I won't elaborate. In fact, to me this film seemed like a showcase of the Rock in his first film debut as the leading character. Many people have stated that he's this generation's Arnold Schwarzenegger. He thinks those shoes are pretty large to fill, and he still likes the thrill of a live audience in the WWF.

  Watch this film for its humor and to kill some time.

  LEAP rating (each out of 5):
  ============================
  L (Language) - 3 (humorous, but nothing special)
  E (Erotica) - 2.5 (from Kelly Hu alone)
  A (Action) - 3 (lots of swordfights and archery, gets dull after a while)
  P (Plot) - 2 (negligible)
  
  

• The Real King
  By A130C198QVOS1Q on 2002-03-07
  First of all I want to say that this movie ...[is] great and I hope that it will continue because the story is so unique and powerful.All the mummy fans will like it according to the trailer.I beleive that this is the movie of summer.
  
  
• Good movie, great product!
  By A16GGCDUETTTDB on 2007-01-05
  I liked this movie for its action and ancient civilization plot. I could care less if anything is historically accurate. I like the tough characters, the plot of betrayal, the oppression of the weak. My only criticism of this movie is that many people, especially The Rock, act too modern. Many commanding people have to appear strong, tough, and superior. The actor who plays Memnon, the bad guy, does a good job at this.
  
  As for the DVD, the HD DVD industry strikes again! I love the fact that it is making hybrid discs, with HD on one side, standard on the other, so you can build an HD DVD collection even before you get an HD player. And, unlike the Blu-ray, you get ALL the special features that the standard DVD has, even if it's not a hybrid disc. Blu-ray movies have erased many of the special features that the standard DVDs have. GO HD DVD. Fight Blu-ray!
  
  
• Slashing Swords!
  By A1U360OMVQRPUB on 2002-09-01
  King Memnon-with the aid of his sorceress, Cassandra, who has the ability to foretell the future-steadily conquers the world of southern Egypt in 3000 BC. Defeated and driven before him, the various tribes and smaller nations face imminent extinction or subjugation before the ferocious army Memnon controls. Every day brings more bloodthirsty warriors to fight under Memnon's standard. In a last-chance bid to stand against the cruel king, one of the tribal elders hires a trio of the last Akkadian mercenary warriors. For the blood price offered, the Akkadians agree to steal into Memnon's city and assassinate the king's sorceress. Getting into the city is dangerous work, but Mathayus and his companions manage-only to be betrayed. Just as Memnon is about to put Mathayus to death, the sorceress interrupts. She says that Mathayus can't be killed by the king's hand or one of his men. Instead, Mathayus ends up staked out in the desert, up to his jaw in sand as dreaded fire ants are riled from their holes. Knowing the fire ants will kill him and eat the flesh from his bones, Mathayus makes a deal with a horse thief to free him. Once loose, Mathayus returns to Memnon's city ready to wreak unholy vengeance. However, fate conspires against the Akkadian warrior, and before he can take down Memnon, he must find and raise an army of his own.

  Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is a legend among WWF fans, but he's also starred in THE MUMMY RETURNS, setting up the role he plays in THE SCORPION KING. The Rock has also made guest appearances on STAR TREK: VOYAGER, THAT `70S SHOW, and THE NET. Michael Clark Duncan got an award nomination for his stint as John Coffey in THE GREEN MILE, but got his start bodyguarding stars and musicians. He's also been in PLANET OF THE APES and ARMAGEDDON, and has the role of the Kingpin in the upcoming DAREDEVIL movie. Versed in the martial arts, Kelly Hu got her start as Melia in GROWING PAINS, then had roles in FRIDAY THE 13th PART VIII: JASON TAKES MANHATTAN, THE DOORS, then recurring roles on NASH BRIDGES and MARTIAL LAW, and has a role in the upcoming X-MEN 2.

  As an action-adventure flick goes, THE SCORPION KING sings with violence, amazing fight choreography, and splendor that would rival an Old Hollywood period piece. The Rock comes across very believably as Mathayus, one of the last Akkadian mercenary warriors, and a solid romantic lead. His swordplay gleams and flashes, and his hand-to-hand combat are top-notch from all the WWF battles he's had. The opening montage of action to set the movie into play is a blistering riff of everything the viewer has in store. Kelly Hu, barely dressed throughout the movie, is simply gorgeous and carries her role as Cassandra easily, layering her performances in so that she underscores the action and the emotion. Grant Heslov-playing Arpid, a horse-thief-steals the show upon occasion much as did Kevin J. O'Connor in THE MUMMY and THE MUMMY RETURNS. The pacing of the movie remains frenetic throughout, driving the viewer from one incredible scene to another. Filmed entirely on location in California and in sound stages at Universal Studios in Burbank, THE SCORPION KING is a feast for the eyes, holding settings that look like they were only recently uncovered from the desert. The final battle between hero and villain is awesome, captivating with intensity, and fraught with some real peril (The Rock actually had his eyebrows singed when the flaming swords got too close to him, as revealed in the DVD features).

  Well done as the movie is, there were a couple of spots that needed better editing. Viewers never find out how Arpid escaped from the sand when he was buried up to his neck, and during the climb up the side of the building in Chapter 16, the wire-walking was entirely too obvious because the Rock's body remained too far out. It would have been nice to see Kelly Hu kick (literally) loose with the martial arts she made look so good in MARTIAL LAW. Also missing from the story (although it was deliberately done, according to director Chuck Russell), is a supernatural overtone. Magic actually played a very small part in the overall scheme of things.

  THE SCORPION KING is an absolute must for the action-adventure fan, as well as people who loved the first two MUMMY movies starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz. Anyone looking for a solid popcorn movie, a no-brainer that has action, thrills, and a good-natured sense of itself, can slip this DVD into the player and enjoy.
  
  

• Terrific!
  By A3IX9JTCKX7PH on 2002-04-22
  At the beginning of the movie, we go back 5000 years to the city of Gomorrah, where Memnon (Steven Brand) is determined to wipe out any sort of freedom in the desert. The psychic abilities of a beautiful sorceress, Cassandra (Kelly Hu) and victory are his until Mathayus (WWF's the Rock, a.k.a. Dwayne Johnson) comes in to the picture. Cassandra escapes from Memnon with Mathayus to have freedom and slowly, they fall in love.

  The Scorpion King is an action packed adventure and with Mathayus' little sidekick (Grant Heslov) along for the ride, it also provides a few good laughs. Plus, the visual effects during the sandstorm and the fight sequences are outstanding.

  I wasn't so sure if I would enjoy it or not, due to the fact that I'm not a big fan of action movies, but it soared past my expectations. The best news of all is that the Rock is an amazing actor and can handle the lead role in a film. For those reasons, that is why I am giving it five stars and if it were possible, I'd definitely give it more. If you go see this movie, you will not be disappointed.
  
  

• Much better than I expected
  By A1MJMYLRTZ76ZX on 2002-05-05
  I enjoyed this movie. I've read some of the other reviews here, and some people have criticized the movie for being overly cliched and predictable. No doubt some people will say that the movie serves up its hunk of beefcake in all-too-predictable a fashion (don't you hate smart-assed reviewers who take themselves all too seriously?). But come on folks, this sort of action-packed thriller isn't meant to be analyzed or dissected in too much detail--it's meant to be fun, mindless entertainment--and in that regard, it succeeds very well. I was also pleasantly surprised to find The Rock (pro-wrestler Dwayne Johnson) has considerable on-screen presence, as he goes around offing bad guys right and left.

  Not that The Rock has to carry the whole movie on his own considerable shoulders. The bad-guy king (Steven Brand) who The Rock is sent to assasinate and his sorceress (Kelly Hu) are also good in their roles, as is The Rock's sidekick (unfortunately I don't know the actor's name) who provides some comic relief, much in the same way that R2D2 and C3PO did in the first Star Wars movie (actually Lucas got the idea for the comic pair from one of Kurosawa's movies).

  The swordplay and fight scenes are top-notch. And speaking of swordplay, big guy Michael Clarke Duncan also has an important role as the Nubian king, and his fight with the Rock is one of the climaxes of the movie, as he almost beats The Rock in a dramatic mano-a-mano sword battle. I'm not sure there were black Nubians, who were well-known in Roman times after the emperor Octavian conquered North Africa, living in Sumeria in 4000 BC, when the Akkadians lived in ancient Sumeria, but as I said, I don't really analyze movies like this too much. It gets in the way of the fun.

  I don't know what ancient Akkadian or Sumerian sets would look like, either, but these seemed pretty realistic to me and added to the movie's overall ambience. (I'm sure King Sargon of Akkad would have approved even if they weren't--after all, the Akkadians haven't gotten much play in about 4000 years). This sort of action movie plays very well on the Big Screen, and I'm sure I enjoyed seeing it more in a theater as opposed to seeing it on TV.

  All in all, a fun way to spend a Sat. or Sun. afternoon or evening. Big Steve says goes see it and don't "Bogart" the popcorn.
  
  

• Surprisingly and shockingly GOOD!
  By A3BXO3Q1RZCHWZ on 2002-04-28
  First and foremost - I must admit that the only reason I went to see "The Scorpion King" was because my younger brother wanted to see it. I'm a die-hard Mummy fan and a prequel without stars like Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz didn't hold much appeal to me. Plus, I've never been a fan of wrestling star Dwayne Johnson (or more popularly The Rock). So I sat myself down and prepared for the worst.
  
  To my shock and surprise, the movie was one of the best action films I've seen. The plot is interesting enough to follow but not so weighed down as to bore you to sleep. That is, if you could sleep through the action-packed fight scenes that took place every five minutes. The fighting was so mind-numbingly intense that I found myself cringing with every sword stab. Defintely enough action to suit anyone's tastes.
  
  Johnson does a wonderful job as Mathayus. He plays an ancient mercenary who is paid, along with his brother, to kill an evil warlord. When his brother is killed, his motivation becomes revenge. Mathayus meets several memorable charcters along the way, including a horse thief, a scientist and a sorceress. In terms of acting, Johnson carried the character well and makes it believeable (It goes without saying that his amazing physique kept me drooling into my popcorn...).
  
  All in all, I would like to say that this movie wasn't made to think and dissect and ponder the meaning of life over. It's meant purely for entertainment, and it certaintly kept ME entertained!
  
  
• Surprisingly entertaining
  By A2B8GXSCB1R05T on 2002-05-02
  "The Scorpion King" is one of the most blatantly flawed films that I have ever enjoyed. The plot is so telegraphed that the whole sum of the film can be figured out in the first few minutes. Kelly Hu's outfits boarder on the ridiculous. Her clothes would be better suited for a Jenna Jameson movie, and are so out of place in several of the action scenes that they elicit a chuckle. The film is like a James Bond movie with barbarians, in this respect.

  And yet...I enjoyed it! Maybe I was in the right mood for it, or maybe the director balanced that fine line between camp and drama. Dwayne Johnson made an incredibly intelligent choice to eliminate the personality and trademarks of "The Rock" (With the exception of a quick glimpse of "The People's Eyebrow") and develop a new character. Honestly, I think the film is carried by his personal charisma. I would be happy to see him in more films. Michael Clarke Duncan is woefully under used. He is a true actor, and should have been allowed to be more than a stereotypical buddy/brute. In an interesting twist, Steven Brand as the villain Memnon does not come close to matching The Scorpion King's mass but is a surprisingly believable threat.

  This movie is not nearly as good as the original "Conan," but it is also not nearly as bad as the endless pile of copies that have followed it.
  
  

• A Scorpion with no sting...
  By on 2002-05-08
  The Rock is a charismatic and somewhat entertaining new action hero. Apparently, he has refined the fine art of "pretending" to bash peoples brains in to a whole new level. In fact, when it comes to just plain crunch and munch, the Scorpion King is right up there with Arnold's Shwarzenegger's Conan the Barbarian, but doesn't take itself quite so seriously.

  The plot is simple, a small band of "Akkadians", whatever they are, roam far and wide killing people whenever possible, however possible. Perhaps, they are family, perhaps they're friends, but if they have to maraud and run amok, they do it together and with honor. The bad guy, Memnon, does the same thing, marauding and killing far and wide, but he has no honor and that makes all the difference.

  If you like this kind of thing you'll enjoy this movie. This is is the perfect forum for any fan of the WWF. Thankfully, there is no real blood and gore, but enough "play-acting" to keep the most blood thirsty WWF enthusiast thoroughly entertained. If you're not a WWF fan then you might as well pass on this movie since crash and bash is about all it has to offer. The story line is practically non-existent. The concepts touched on by the "The Mummy Returns" have nothing to do with this particulst movie, making only a feeble attempt to throw in some scorpian poison to make some small reference to the title at least. We are not even sure any of this story takes place in anywhere near Egypt at all.

  The movie is simply an excuse for the Rock to flex his muscles and exude his charm as much as one can take in an hour and forty-five minutes. There is a villain, who doesn't look particularly villainous, at least not against the Rock's pectorials, but does give the impression of being a talented actor if he could just find the right part. He does scowl nicely while cutting people's throats and threatening children, but just can't fill out a loin clothe like our boy. So why bother?

  The other charactors beside the Rock (good guy..) and Memnon (bad guy) are 2 dimensional card board cut-outs only there to provide either humor or someone else for our hero to beat on, or at the outside, pass as the "love" interest. I would mention more names, but to be honest I don't remember any of them. I'm not sure they even had names. In any case, if you like violence strictly for the sake of violance, buy some popcorn, bring the kids and have some fun.
  
  

• Great Action Movie!
  By A29UH0DCVXQ0VB on 2002-05-11
  Lets go back to December when I first found out that "The Scorpion King" was in production. I thought, "How stupid. But just cause its a mummy movie and The Rock's gonna be in it...it's worth my 5 bucks." I expected the movie to be cheesy and pathetic. I thought "What next? A movie called Imhotep?" Then I read the book. Holy cow I was blown away! The story was awesome, exciting, and gave me many laughs. I read it in one night. Although the book has a slight edge over the movie, the movie was great. Action-packed. Oh, and it has the greatest fight scene I've ever seen in a movie between Mathayus (The Rock) and Balthzar (Michael Clark Duncan). But I think this is nothing like the Mummy movies. It's a whole new story, a whole new ball game. There's no computer generated Scorpion King and the special effects...well, there really wasn't any special effects which makes the movie very coool and unique. ACTION PACKED FUN!
  
  
• Unexpectedly Charismatic!
  By on 2002-07-10
  The Rock may be the next Arnold Schwartznegger! To my surprise, the Rock is charismatic, well-spoken and will probably go far as an action movie hero. My children and I, who are fans of The Mummy and The Mummy Returns, loved this movie also. The storyline wasn't too bad, the special effects were good, not too much blood and gore, the dialogue was decent, the humor was pretty good and The Rock was convincing.
  
  
• Think before you watch
  By A99RD5QL0E0Q7 on 2002-08-03
  The Scorpion King is exactly what anybody that took a moment to think before leaving for the theatre thought it would be. First thing to watching a movie is to know what you like. If you don't like movie's where there's a ton of fighting, and the basic formula for action movies is followed, you shouldn't watch. I'm sure you already know the plot, so I'll tell you what I think and be done.

  Overall, it was a good movie. People who like movies based on ancient cultures, people who like a lot of action, or, yes, people who just wanna see The Rock, will like this. The only glaring problem that I see is that the dialogue is a little cheesey. The dialogue wasn't as good as either one of the Mummy's, but still wasn't as bad as some would lead you to believe. This and Mummy 2 weren't as good as the first one, with both having one glaring problem, the aforementioned dialogue in this, and that rediculous hot air balloon thing in Mummy 2.

  The Rock actually turns in a pretty good performance, especially considering it's baically his first movie (Mummy Returns hardly counts as a starring role). People who are criticizing his performance must forget what some of Arnold's early movies were like (unbearably pathetic). The action is good, Duncan does what his character was meant too, and the movie isn't long and drawn out like it could've been.

  All in all, a good movie, but please, if you only like artsy, or truly dramatic movies, don't waste your time. Everyone else, give it a chance, rent it first if you have doubts. And give the Rock a break, as Helldorado and especially SpyHunter should be even better, espcially when it comes to dialogue.
  
  

• The Rock is a God
  By A1ZTSOBAPOWT3 on 2002-09-22
  Right when the movie starts, a fat guy gets nailed in the head with a sharp object. You know that this movie is only about the action and nothing else. The Rock is Mathayus, a bounty hunter who is targeted by an evil kingdom and a hot woman (Kelly Hu) whom she knows is a god. Why? I don't remember. But, just forget the plot, it's all about the WWE format. The Rock vs. Michael Clarke Duncan in a no DQ match that lasts five minutes! It was almost like a table match. It would've been great if Bubba Ray Dudley walked by and screamed, 'get the tables!!' Body slams and all, "The Great One" raises his eyebrow for the people. You know he saves the day and becomes a king, duh. He's "The Scorpion King." After watching this movie, the heavyweight championship isn't important anymore. The Rock should pursue an action movie career and give somebody a spine buster or rock bottom sometime. Watch "The Scorpion King" for entertainment only. If you're looking for a story and some kind of meaning, watch "Conan the Barbarian." Although, they're pretty similar.
  
  
• The Scorpion King Is Good With Popcorn
  By AAX5OXMXME1AD on 2007-02-20
  Okay, the movie storyline isn't the greatest, a good amount of the acting is cheeseball and the same can be said about the dialogue. The movie has been around for a while so most people reading this are already aware of these facts. But that doesn't detract from another fact, and that is The Scorpion King is just a fun popcorn movie. It doesn't take a whole lot of gray matter to appreciate the movie when just watching it should suffice for an enjoyable passing of time. Other than that, the movie's one really redeeming quality is the superb picture tranfer to the HD format. It's actually amazing the amount of attention(alliteration not intended) to detail it's been given...can't figure that one out at all.
  
  If you would like a more in-depth review of The Scorpion King or other movies on HD DVD and Blu-ray, try highdefdigest (There is a dot com after the name, but Amazon won't allow it. I guess because maybe it would default to a web link). Their reviews are insightful and unbiased in the format war.
  
  
• the scorpion king is gonna rock
  By A2AWNC45OJIKQU on 2002-03-19
  I don't know much about this one but from what i've seen this is gonna be the top seler so this summer belongs to the scorpion king no more to say on that !!!!!
  
  
• Low expectations
  By A1MW2YCPCJ3OP7 on 2002-04-05
  Rumors abound that the first cut off this movie came in at only 70 minutes, and that a substantial amount of reshoots were needed to stretch the film out. If true, someone dropped that ball badly, and may have messed up what could have been a killer summer movie. Hope the rumors are only just rumors.
  
  
• A Fun Escapist Movie
  By ATS7LYGLUX34L on 2002-04-20
  With a film like The Scorpion King, you should know going in that it's gonna be dopey. The question is, will it be entertaining? The answer, in this case, is yes. The film is a relatively solid Summer action flick, with decent effects and exciting fight scenes.

  The Rock stars as Matthias, A.K.A. the titular "Scorpion King". The last of a race of legendary assassins, he stages a one-man assault on the King who killed his brother. That's pretty much it, plotwise. The Rock is no Laurence Olivier, but he gets the job done.

  The Rock gets able assistance from the lovely Kelly Hu, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Grant Heslov, the comic relief who steals every scene he's in. The fight between The Rock and Duncan is worth the price of admission alone, and the climactic battle is very well done.

  If you go in expecting Citizen Kane, well yeah......you'll be disappointed. If you're looking for an entertaining, mind-numbing way to spend 101 minutes, look no further. I had a good time, and it seemed like everyone else in the theater did, too. A real crowd-pleaser.
  
  

• A very entertaining movie
  By AUEDG4OW0BT1V on 2002-09-14
  This movie is so funny, and full of great one-liners. As cheesy action movies go, it's really good. It's almost Army of Darkness good. And let's face it, The Rock just looks so darn good with those muscles! Especially when he's all oiled, and he's got that one eyebrow raised. Very sexy. If I were a scantily clad sorceress, I'd fall for him too!

  My favorite part was when The Rock gets hit between the shoulder blades with an arrow, reaches back and pulls it out of his back, and shoots the same arrow at the guy who shot him. Very cool movie.
  
  

• Good, but not THAT good
  By AHCVWPLA1O4X8 on 2002-09-28
  The Scorpion King is a spinoff of the Mummy and the Mummy returns movies. It stars the Rock as Matthias, an assassin for hire who has a personal score to settle with the typical bad guy. Along the way there's the girl, the comic sidekick, the rival turned ally, the climactic final battle...well, you get the picture.

  Okay, so there's nothing that original here, but the Rock actually does a pretty good job of acting. Also, there's his buddy Balthazar, played by Michael Clark Duncan (you know, that REALLY big guy from Armageddon and The Green Mile). Besides the acting, the special effects are really cool, and the fight scenes are very exciting.

  The downside is simply that it's nothing new. It's all been done before, but hey, we won't hold that against the Rock. All in all, it's a movie worth seeing, but maybe not worth owning.
  
  

• If you love Egyptology, this is great fun
  By AWS1WNLRKN4BH on 2003-01-13
  I am a great fan of the Egyptians. I love the "Mummy" movies, and this is great as an almost "prequel". I'm sure that lots of artistic license has been taken in terms of historical accuracy, but who cares. This movie is fun, fast-paced, and you get to see lots of handsome, muscular guys running around. Plus, the outtakes are very informative, and funny! Good movie for willful suspension of disbelief!
  
  
• I crown thee......a dud.
  By A25ZVI6RH1KA5L on 2003-04-18
  There was obviously a lot put into this movie to try and make it a blockbuster, money, resources, etc., but the thing that hurts this movie the most is The Rocks' inability to act. I know he's popular, and very charismatic, but these qualities will only get you so far, and I think he was in way over his head. In the sequel to The Mummy, we saw him for a brief time and he had little or no dialogue, and it worked. Here, I just had a hard time believing that he was the character he was trying to play, and not just some professional wrestler transplanted into role that demanded more acting ability. There were some exciting parts in the movie, but overall I just got really bored. If you really want to see an excellent movie of this genre, go get Conan the Barbarian. This one is pretty much a stinkeroo, albeit a slick and glossy stinkeroo. This is one of those movies I wished I would have rented it before buying it, but I guess I got suckered in by all the hype..
  
  
• So he's...the bad guy?
  By A319SKSB556033 on 2004-10-24
  Okay, I'm confused. The Mummy Returns portrays the Scorpion King as some evil tyrant who wants to take over the world by smiting any and all civilizations in his way. But that's exactly the opposite of the same character in his very own movie. In fact he struggles to overthrow an evil ruler for those very reasons.
  
  So when, and why, did he become bad? I'm afraid I'm not following this. The movie, however, is entertaining, if rather short and silly. Chuck Russell tries to cram in loads of fighting and hokum as he can. It works and The Rock is very cool as said King (or Mathayus) and former Jason victim Kelly Hu is gorgeous as the scantily-clad Cassandra. Grant Heslov and Michael Clarke Duncan fill out their usual roles as ethnic comic-relief and big, muscley guy.
  
  The film has slightly less integrity to it than the Mummy movies. This is evident with the fun and lively, but completely inappropriate, score by John Debney. I'm not expecting anything like his Passion of the Christ score but blaring death metal guitars seem kinda out of place in a movie set 3000 years BC.
  
  But this movie is a cheeseburger, not a 17-course dinner. So why bother complaining. After all it's a prequel of a sequel of a movie that was a re-make of a movie that was made in the 30's. But it's well made and loads of fun so just go along with it and you'll enjoy.
  
  Filmed in Panavision the DVD is in perfect 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen with very loud and thrilling Dolby/DTS 5.1 sound. The extras are fluff, but that's to be expected.
  
  
• Too Hollywood-ized
  By A2EUG9W2IAVCT on 2006-03-11
  Had it been a true-to-the-time portrayl instead of a hardcore rock-and-roll infused piece of Hollywood it might've faired better at the box office and critics. Though The Mummy series never received any huge accolades beyond it being a fun, action-packed action/comedy like the Indiana Jones series, this part is hardly up to par with its two predecessors. The hard metal music does not help the action sequences but distances them from being way too modern, as does some of the humerous, but not true-to-the-times speech, especially by the Rock. Still, it's action-packed and full of great special effects, but it's HARDLY at the same level as The Mummy or The Mummy Returns.
  
  
• Save Your Money and Run Very Far Away From This Movie!
  By A143P0NKQDNWYL on 2002-04-21
  When a person tells me:"Dude this movie ... but it's got nice babes in it," I sorta get the idea that I am in for a smorgasbord of special effects, lots of skinny, overly atheletic, celliod breasted, barely twenty year old girls running around with hardly anything on, and some big oaf decapitating moronic non-English speaking enemies ... You know there was a time when I was into movies like that but I guess since I am older and forgive me: an intelligent human being, I just didn't go for this movie. In fact I absolutely hated it!
  Where do I start. Well now, I am not overly Afrocentric but as I understand it, Eyptians were not Europeans with extremely bad tans, and Nubians were the darkiest people on the face of the earth and still are. Hollywood history is fuzzy if not totally false. And what's with white guy being the bad guy? I mean really that wasn't predictable. And the plot, hell why do movies need plots these days? Plots only confused people and make them think and Hollywood doesn't like it when people think too much. This movie is very bad if you want substance in movie, if you don't want to feel dirty and dumb after sitting down for a thankfully short movie staring a wrestler and some other chick and a whole gaggle of [dolts]. ...
  
  
• Scorpion King Rocks!!
  By on 2002-04-21
  Great action shots, mixed with well placed humor. An excellent addition to anyone's collection that has already purchased Mummy and Mummy Returns. Writer does a good job of keeping you wondering the end result. Don't believe the pre-movie reviews. Go see for yourself and enjoy.
  
  

• The Mummy Returns [Blu-ray]
• The Mummy [Blu-ray]
• Batman Begins [Blu-ray]
• National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets [Blu-ray]
• Top Gun [Blu-ray]