Warrior. Legend. King.
2002-04-18
$60.0M
92 min
In ancient Egypt, peasant Mathayus is hired to exact revenge on the powerful Memnon and the sorceress Cassandra, who are ready to overtake Balthazar's village. Amid betrayals, thieves, abductions and more, Mathayus strives to bring justice to his complicated world.
When The Scorpion King first came out in '02, it would be hard to imagine that between this franchise and its forebears (The Mummy & The Mummy Returns), that it would be The Scorpion King who would continue to live on in the following decade. Though that's maybe less shocking knowing that Tomb of the Dragon Emperor happened.
Scorpion King delivers on a small amount of the hammy fun it could have been, though I can't help but wonder just how amazing it would be if we had gotten a Fast & Furious level Rock portraying Mathayas.
Final rating:★★ - Had some things that appeal to me, but a poor finished product.
Spawned from the "Mummy Returns" this rather stolid and lurching drama tells the tale of “Mathayus” (Dwayne Johnson) an “Akkadian” - an ancient sort of Mesopotamian - who tries to overthrow the tyrant king “Memnon” (Steven Brand) who reigns with the aid of sorceress who can predict the future (Kelly Hu doing her best Jane Seymour impression). This is as formulaic as I've seen in this genre and leaves little for the imagination. It has humour, on occasion, but is anything but subtle. It's all just an action vehicle for the star that does look good but has little else to recommend it to anyone.
