| April 2002 |
| The Scorpion
King |
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Dir: Chuck
Russell
Cast: The Rock (Mathayus), Michael Clarke Duncan (Balthazar),
Steven Brand (Memnon), Kelly Hu (Cassandra), Bernard Hill (Philos),
Grant Heslov (Arpid), Peter Facinelli (Prince Takmet), Ralf Moeller
(Thorak), Sherri Howard (Queen Isis)
Release: Friday 19th April
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The Rock brandishes
his weapon
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Arnie, Sly,
the Muscles from Brussels... and now the Rock!
This 'big and beefy' action adventure looks good but lacks a decent
script to give it star quality.
Dan Sinclair
The Scorpion King is the third of the 'Mummy' series.
However, as it is the prequel to it's bigger and better sister,
'The Mummy', you don't need to have seen either to follow the plot.
The Plot:
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| Memnon,
the evil ruler |
Inspired by the
legendary Egyptian warrior, The Scorpion King is set 5000 years ago.
An evil ruler Memnon (Steven Brand - formerly of The Darling
Buds of May) is determined to lay waste to all the nomadic peoples
of the desert.
The few remaining tribes, including Balthazar and his followers (Michael
Clarke Duncan - soon to appear in the adaptation of the Marvel Comic
'Daredevil' ) have to unite or perish.
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| Cassandra,
the not so scary sorcerer |
Knowing their enemy
relies on the visions of a sorcerer, they hire a skilled assassin,
Mathayus (The Rock - six time champion of WWF), to eliminate the visionary.
After infiltrating the enemy camp, Mathayus discovers that the sorcerer
is in fact a beautiful woman (Kelly Hu - former Miss Teen USA 1985).
Rather
than eliminate her, he takes her deep into the desert badlands, knowing
that the ruler’s henchmen will stop at nothing to rescue her
and bring her back.
The review:
The Scorpion King is stuffed with action from the word go.
The opening scene is what you might expect from a John Woo film -
well choreographed, quick camerawork (the director Chuck Russell did
work on Eraser and The Mask you know).
The visuals are great. With an Egyptian backdrop there are plenty
of chances for stunning scenery mixed with hordes of soldiers.
The film also manages to deliver all the action without the bloodshed
that would lead to a higher rating - the gore really isn't needed.
However, you're never really able to take the film seriously - blame
the star and the script.
The casting of The Rock will obviously attract his large wrestling
fraternity in America. But is brawn really back in?
Didn't they warn the director about Hulk Hogan?
You cannot help but think that if the baddy had a little more brains
(ie like Dick Dastardly) then evil would triumph.
The film isn't helped by a script that fails to deliver enough comic
moments that other films of its genre manage to roll out. This is
not of the Indiana Jones ilk.
The 1980s saw the rise of brick walls on our big screens. However,
if one thing has to be brought back from the 1980s lets make it supermodels.
Favourite moment: This has to be when The Rock takes
on an army of ants armed only with his chin. You'll also enjoy the
interesting twist in the trusty steed scenario.
Worst
moment: The poor script. The Dukes of Hazard acting.
And finally:
There's no getting away from Mummies. Archaeologists have discovered
a collection of thousands of mummies in a shanty town close to the
Peruvian capital, Lima.
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