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 huck Russell's The Scorpion King is a relatively
bloodless endeavor. Despite the giant weaponry, sea of flying arrows, and
massive gathering of armies, the movie was made for a general mass audience,
hence the desire and achievement of a PG-13 rating. This is no surprise to
anyone who has seen the other two films in the The Mummy franchise,
starting with the original The Mummy, which was continued in the sequel,
The
Mummy Returns. Stephen Sommers, who penned and directed both The Mummy
movies, is only credited as co-writer and producer on The Scorpion King,
but there's no doubt this is another entry into what is shaping up to be a very
profitable franchise with mass worldwide appeal.
The Scorpion King stars pro-wrestler turned actor
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, a giant of a man in the vein of Arnold
Schwarzenegger. Johnson is Mathayus, one of three surviving Acadians, a race of
men trained to be assassins. After Mathayus, his brother, and the third Acadian
is betrayed while on a mission to kill the sorceress of a maniacal warrior
general whose army is cutting a swath across the land, Mathayus escapes as the
lone survivor, determined to exact revenge. After a failed attempt to kill
Memnon (Steven Brand), the maniacal general in question, Mathayus ends up with
the sorceress, Cassandra (Kelly Hu), who is Memnon's prisoner. The duo, with
horse thief Arpid (Grant Heslov), escapes into the desert, but Memnon's army
isn't far behind...
As Schwarzenegger had done before him, Johnson has chosen a
perfect vehicle to start his real movie career. (Johnson had a cameo role in The
Mummy Returns.) There is absolutely nothing about the The Scorpion King
that would challenge Johnson as an actor, and in fact the only thing Johnson
flexes here is one eyebrow and a whole lot of muscle, of which he has plenty.
That isn't to say Johnson doesn't act -- he just doesn't do a lot of it, not
that the script calls for a Robert De Niro here. The Scorpion King is
essentially a live-action cartoon and action-adventure movie with sprinkles of
comedy. It's a bloodless version of Schwarzenegger's own breakthrough film, Conan.
Despite the giant weaponry being brandished by everyone including Johnson's
Mathayus, there's very little blood to speak off.
That isn't to say the film is for kids -- the PG-13 rating
is perhaps too generous in my opinion, since there's plenty of implied bloodbath
and Kelly Hu certainly finds herself in various stages of undress. (Mind you,
not that I'm complaining about Ms. Hu's, er, lack of wardrobe.) Taken for what
it is, The Scorpion King really doesn't disappoint. If you've seen other
entries in The Mummy series, then this one is no different.
There are
plenty of big budget special effects, like a giant sandstorm and a cgi rendering
(and actual real-sized version of the interior) of the ancient city of Gomorrah.
Mathayus leaps from building to building like Superman and despite his giant
frame, is quite agile -- although this is thanks to the physical special effects
guys more than Johnson's own natural ability, unless he's learned to leap over
tents during his wrestling days.
Direction by Chuck Russell (Eraser) is not flashy,
just workmanlike. This fits in with Russell's previous film credits. The man
never shows a lot of flash, and he seems to be most comfortable doing films that
have a straightforward narrative. He certainly doesn't break the mold here. The
writing is very light on substance and concentrates (rightly) on the action.
Again, The Scorpion King most resembles a live-action cartoon than
anything else.
Not much of The Scorpion King breaks any type of
mold, and I doubt if the filmmakers had any desire to do anything different. The
movie is comical, action-packed, and Dwayne Johnson certainly proves his
likeability and mettle as a future action star. In fact, I can easily picture
Johnson as the next Terminator once a certain muscleman hangs up his dark shades
and leather jacket...
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