April 18, 2002 - When the assignment to review The Scorpion King came down the pike, I realized I needed to do a bit of homework. I'd never bothered to see The Mummy Returns, the Stephen Sommers-directed sequel to his 1999 surprise hit The Mummy. Not that I hated the previous film, but I wasn't enamored enough with it to care about the sequel. So I took a pass both in the theater and on video; however, as The Scorpion King came my way, I realized I needed to check out that previous film, since it introduced the WWF's The Rock as the mythical character.
My DVD viewing of The Mummy Returns was a surprise on two counts. One, I was amazed at the extent to which the sequel was pretty much exactly the same film as the original, only more so (as in bigger and more expensive). And secondly, and more important to this discussion of The Scorpion King, I was surprised that The Rock and his character had so little screen time in the flick. Based on what I'd heard – and the fact that Universal saw fit to spin him off into a prequel – I'd always been under the impression that he was a major player in The Mummy Returns.
There's no question, however, that – as the title might indicate – The Scorpion King is pretty much all The Rock. I'm not a WWF viewer, so even though I was aware of him, I really don't have any investment or feelings about The Rock, positive or negative (one certainly couldn't judge his abilities from his brief stint in The Mummy Returns). It was a pleasure, then, to see that The Rock lives up to his reputation and manages to carry The Scorpion King. He's not a great actor, but neither is Arnold Schwarzenegger – and, like Arnold, The Rock has the looks, charisma, and physical presence to be a solid action star.
The plot is pretty much Conan-like (and -lite, as this is a PG-13): Akkadian warrior Mathayus (The Rock) takes on the evil warlord Memnon (Steven Brand, who seems to have been cast as the bad guy solely because he has a British accent – he's certainly not any match for The Rock in physical stature). Mathayus is aided by a gorgeous sorceress (Kelly Hu) and a rival warrior (the always fun Michael Clarke Duncan of The Green Mile fame). Non-stop action ensues at a breakneck pace, all of it guided by veteran genre director Chuck Russell, whose past work ranges from the pretty good (Nightmare on Elm Street 3 and The Mask) to the absolutely godawful (Bless the Child); he's just perfect for this kind of movie and seems to be having as much fun behind the camera as the actors are having in front of it.
Needless to say, The Rock's fans will likely enjoy the film, and – judging by my own reaction – the WWF uninitiated should have a fine time as well. It's not even really necessary to have seen The Mummy Returns, although knowing that movie does add an extra level of foreboding to the otherwise cheery Scorpion King (since we know he will ultimately become a bad-guy 2000 years later). So, while it's nothing incredibly special, the film is good fun on its own terms, and worth a look, either in the theater (if you're just dying to see it) or on video in a few months.
~ The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior ~ Watch Online and Download Movie
THE SCORPION KING 2 uncovers the origins of the 2002 summer blockbuster which starred Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as Mathayus, the most fearsome desert warrior of the ancient world. Reaching deep into the past, this prequel begins with the king as a 13-year-old peasant boy (Michael Copon) who witnesses the kidnapping and death of his father at the hands of the terrifying Sargon (played by towering UFC Heavyweight Randy Couture). Thirsty for vengeance, young Mathayus trains at the Order of the Black Scorpion to sharpen his skills as a killing machine, then journeys to the underworld to retrieve the one sword that can help him defeat Sargon. When the burgeoning Scorpion King finally comes to blows with his murderous rival, the fate of the entire human race hangs in the balance.
Movie Info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1104123/
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