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The Scorpion King (Widescreen Collector's Edition) Customer Reviews (28 - 30 of 42 Reviews)

Stephen Sommers doesn't come without a history of stinkers (Deep Rising comes to mind although it was a enjoyable B-Movie and quite clever)and successes (the two Mummy films and the television adaption of Oliver Twist). He's smart--he keeps the plot simple and straight forward. The Rock seeks revenge against a warlord for murdering his brother. Since Mathayas is a skilled assassin (he's the ancient world's version of James Bond sans martini and with considerable less clothes), the film's main set pieces are a little more believable (although they are about as far from reality as The Mummy was). Chuck Russell's direction of the film is brisk and has a number of humorous touches.

The cast of supporting players do a great job with limited roles. Steven Brand smirks a lot as THE WARLORD, Kelly Hu is beautiful and quite good as the sorceress and Michael Duncan Clarke is his usual imposing self. Special kudos to the comic relief played by Grant Heslov a talented and under rated character actor finally getting his due.

So why is there so much venom spit at this film? Perhaps because it's a throw back to simpler times and the pedigree of the film. Recalling the Italian sandal epics of the 60's (albeit with a sense of irony and humor), The Scorpion King is pure entertainment and makes no bones about it. Sommers and Russell steal from the best and make it seem perfectly natural in this film. Is it Citizen Kane, Vertigo or Schindler's List? No, and it doesn't pretend to be.

If you accept this as pure entertainment and enjoy the candy rush of the fighting sequences, you'll enjoy this film and want to watch it more than once. If, on the other hand, you're looking for meaningful popcorn flicks, this is the wrong one for you. The visuals are quite good and the photography full of the sweep one might associate with Lawrence of Arabia or Spielberg's & Lucas' Indiana Jones films. The latter film is the touchstone for this highly entertaining romp. It doesn't require you to think and is a perfect antidote to the stress of freeway traffic and modern life. Enjoy The Scorpion King for what it is and please don't condemn it for what it isn't.

The Legend?
This was a B movie with some interesting references. I remember the TV adcvertisements when the movie was first released -- The LEGEND of The Scorpion King. Well, there were quite a few legends that rated mention through the characters of the movie. We have Mnemnon of the Greeks, Mattithias of the Hebrews, Seth of both Hebrew and Egyptian legend, Isis of the Egyptians, Acadians and a ziggurat of the city of Ur, and a few others. If you have some background in ancient legend, the first mention of one name and you start listening for others. Also deserving of mention is that the city that the Scorpion King takes is Gamorrah of Hebrew legend -- with the mention of Sodom as a rival city. I can't say much more about the plot.

It's A Wrestling Movie
The Scorpion King met my expectaions head-on.
It's a wrestling movie. I expected no less.
Starring the wrestler The Rock in the role that he played in last year's The Mummy Returns, The Scorpion King is actually a prequel to that better action film. Also starring Michael Clarke Duncan in a role that doesn't seem fit for him or his distinct character.
The Rock actually isn't as bad an actor as one might think.
Has anybody seen Arnold Schwarzenegger's performance early in his career in Hercules In New York? Classic camp.
This is undeniably camp but not of the same kind.
Hercules In New York didn't take itself seriously, this does, and it's sort of hard to believe that The Mummy comes right after this.
There are scenes in this film that look anything but old.
Maybe odd, but not old. There's a new action scene every few minutes and some of the fighting scenes start repeating themselves. You have probably heard about The Rock being the next Arnold Schwarzenegger. Forget it. This movie would have bombed had it not had a tie-in with the much more successful Mummy films.