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The Scorpion King (Widescreen Collector's Edition) Customer Reviews (10 - 12 of 42 Reviews)

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.

Not mindblowing, but good fun
While "The Scorpion King" isn't as suspenseful or as exciting as its two predecessors, it is an entertaining story. The key is to go into it in a character-oriented frame of mind, rather than a Big Scary Monster mindset. There are no supernatural forces to speak of, save for some sorcery which produces prophecy, not undead critters. The action is based entirely on fight sequences, most of which are well-choreographed, incorporating elements of martial arts, classic sword fighting, and out-and-out brawling. It's a very pretty movie, with lavish sets, great costumes, and good acting talent. Most of the time, it doesn't take itself too seriously, due in large part to The Rock's outstanding performance.

The storyline takes place millenia before "The Mummy," in a time even before the pharoahs of Egypt. Civilization is largely tribal, with a few large cities here and there. In the city of Gomorrah (yes, the one of particular biblical fame,) a power-hungry man, Memnon, has taken control of legions of troops with the assistance of his sorceror, who can fortell the outcomes of battles. His intentions are perhaps good, but many suffer under his rule. Three men (Mathyus, his brother, and a man of unspecified origin) are the last of a tribe called the Acadians. They set out to end Memnon's reign by killing the sorceror, thereby robbing him of his unfair advantage. With the sorceror dead, other tribes will wage war upon Memnon, and with luck, defeat him.

Naturally, there are snags along the way. Mathyus' brother and companion are killed in the initial raid on the camp where the sorceror lives, and Mathyus is left to kill the sorceror on his own. He reaches the chambers, and...is rather surprised by what he finds there. As things turn out, he doesn't kill the sorceror, and instead decides to go after Memnon himself. There are no edge-of-one's seat suspense or mysterious, supernatural foes here - it's a story of people struggling for their lives. The rest of the story is better left untold here; even though it's not a terribly original tale, it's still fun to watch it unfold. Most of us seem to enjoy even familiar tales told in new ways, and I surely don't want to steal anyone's good time!

A large part of this film's charm is The Rock, who is a natural action hero; he brings fair acting talent, good fighting skills, a great sense of humor, and a highly-expressive face to his role as Mathyus, the future Scorpion King. He doesn't take himself or his acting too seriously, and this translates very well to this film.

Also of interest is Steven Brand, who plays the bad guy, Memnon. He has excellent presence, very dark and quietly menacing, and carries off his fight scenes remarkably well considering he learned the skills only just before filming began. Kelly Hu is rather limited in her role, and I would have liked to have seen more of her special skills put to use throughout the movie.

Michael Clarke Duncan does well as an initial adversary who becomes a partner with Mathyus. Sadly, his role is also fairly limited in how much he can express himself, but he does do some good fight sequences and looks appropriately intimidating.

This edition of the DVD has some great extras, and in fact it might be a good idea to watch the "making of" special features first; they give a lot of inside information as to what was happening during the filming, what difficulties were encountered, and a general feel for the tone of the film. I think that, having watching the extras, I'll enjoy the film much more the next time around. There are some deleted scenes and a few out-takes, as well as commentary and alternate scenes that are enjoyable.

It looks like everyone had a fun time making the movie, and that does show through in the final product. It's very pretty in all aspects (sets, people, costumes, soundtrack, colors, direction, special effects,) and I really enjoyed The Rock's acting in spite of myself. If you're looking for a nail-biter, this isn't it; however, if you're interested in who the Scorpion King was before he became, well, all evil and stuff, then you will probably like this. It does stand on its own, too, and I really do believe it will improve upon subsequent viewings.

The Rock is a God
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.