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The Scorpion King (Widescreen Collector's Edition) Customer Reviews (16 - 18 of 42 Reviews)

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.

Much better than I expected
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 as the Scorpion King
The Rock, Dwayne Johnson, former WWF Champion, and the
People's Champion makes his first leading role acting debut as the Scorpion King.

The Scorpion King is the prequel to the Mummy Returns in which the Scorpion King is killed and later tried to be revived.

The success of the Mummy Returns and the Mummy lay in it's great story, action, effects and characters. The addition of the Scorpion King character in the Mummy
Returns was a big hit with movie fans. The Rock's brief role in that movie made a lasting impact on fans and the fans wanted more.

Chuck Russell , the director of this movie, obviously took the success, that the character of The Scorpion King had in ''The Mummy Returns'' and added more depth and detail.

The Rock underwent sword training, staff training, cardiovascular training for the Scorpion King. Being over 5 time WWF Champ , the Rock already had
the work ethic , dedication and charisma for the role. Although this is not mentioned. part of ''The Scorpion King's'' success lay on the fact, that the story is also similiar to the ''Conan The Barbarian'' movie with Arnold Schwarzenger.

In fact, comparing the 2 movies, one can see that the Rock in a much shorter time, has become a greater actor than Arnold Schwarzenger.

In his first films Arnold's movie and acting were less than stellar, so the Rock has managed to not only leave an impact with movie critics but entertained them as well. The Scorpion King is about an evil king, Memnon (Steven Brand), an evil king who has slaughters dozens of people including the village of Mathayus (The Rock).

Mathayus is a desert assasin and a great warrior. Pretty soon , the people who fear Memnon agree that Mathayus must get rid of him. However, Memnon's sorcererss, Cassandra (Kelly Hu) plans to kill anyone trying to take over the land.
Mathayus , the greatest warrior in the world, does not plan to let this happen, must kill Memnon before it's too late, and claim his right as the Scorpion King.

In his quest, Mathayus is joined by Balthazar (Michael Clark Duncan) and many others who will fight side by side to get Memnon. This is where the real actions begins, as we are treated to a bunch of violent, but cool action scenes involving
swords , spears and more. The visual effects are also extremely well done,
if you have seen the effects for ''The Mummy'', or ''The Mummy Returns'' then you won't be satisfied by the effects of this film.

Interesting notes about the Scorpion King:

The Discovery Channel recently had a special about uncovering a real life Scorpion King in Egypt, so the movie itself is not entirely made up. The success of the Scorpion King has spawned a couple of great games including a Gameboy Advance version and a planned Playstation version.

Overall, the Rock does a successful and great acting role in his first lead, since ''The Mummy Returns''. ''The Scorpion King'' has plenty of action, visual effects and romance, to please even the most diehard fan. If you are already a fan of ''The Rock'' you are going to be very satisfied with this flick.

Even if you are not a fan of ''The Rock'' I am sure you still love this great prequel to ''The Mummy Returns''.