The Scorpion King (2002)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Chuck Russell

Writers (WGA):

Stephen Sommers (story) and
Jonathan Hales (story) ...

Release Date:

19 April 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Warrior. Legend. King.

Plot:

A desert warrior rises up against the evil army that is destroying his homeland. He captures the enemy's key sorcerer, takes her deep into the desert and prepares for a final showdown.

Plot Keywords:

Desert | King | Sorceress | Warrior | Destiny

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Dwayne Johnson	...	Mathayus the Scorpion King (as The Rock)
Steven Brand	...	Memnon
Michael Clarke Duncan	...	Balthazar
Kelly Hu	...	Cassandra
Bernard Hill	...	Philos
Grant Heslov	...	Arpid
Peter Facinelli	...	Takmet
Ralf Moeller	...	Thorak
Branscombe Richmond	...	Jesup
Roger Rees	...	King Pheron
Sherri Howard	...	Queen Isis
Conrad Roberts	...	Chieftain
Joseph Ruskin	...	Tribal Leader
Esteban Cueto	...	Third Akkadian
Nils Allen Stewart	...	Torturer

Also Known As:

The Scorpion King (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action violence and some sensuality.

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA | Germany | Belgium

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Malaysia:18SG | Iceland:12 | South Korea:12 | New Zealand:M | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIA | India:A | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 (cut) | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park - 200 Palm Canyon Drive, Borrego Springs, California, USA

Company:

Alphaville Films

Trivia:

The sorceress's name, Cassandra, is a reference to the daughter of Priam, king of Troy, who was given the gift to see the future by her lover the Greek god Apollo. He later made it so that the closer she was to the truth the less anyone believed her.

Goofs:

Continuity: Early in the movie, Memnon grabs a chunk of meat and tosses it to his tigers. It briefly reappears in his hand in the next shot, then disappears again.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[the barbarian chieftain is holding up a skull]
Barbarian Chieftain: We have killed Babylonians!
[the barbarians cheer, he holds up another]
Barbarian Chieftain: We have killed Mesopotamians!
[the barbarians cheer]
Barbarian Chieftain: But we have never had the pleasure of killing... an Akkadian.
Jesup: [Tied up] May the gods have pity on you, for my brother will not.
[Mathayas storms in and kills the Barbarians]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Big Fat Liar (2002)

Soundtrack:

I Stand Alone

Thoroughly enjoyable! Stephen Sommers' "Mummy 3" indeed!

Stephen Sommers, who wrote and directed "The Mummy" 1999 and "The Mummy Returns" 2001, also co-wrote the story and the screenplay, and co-produced "The Scorpion King" this year!

The Mummy energy, practically a trademark of Sommers, is definitely encompassed in this entertaining action/legend movie of "The Scorpion King." Led by Dwayne Johnson "The Rock" as Mathayus the Warrior with a heart, lovely Kelly Hu as Cassandra the Sorceress and object of beauty, sought by Steven Brand as Memnon the convincing evil menace of it all, and Michael Clarke Duncan as the equally brave ally Balthazar to Mathayus, this is your basic good vs. evil story splashed with fun and suspense - almost like an animated Disney film but with real live actors. An action packed myth/legend of a story, with humor/laughter sprinkled here and there at good pacing, along with special/digital effects, I almost felt at times it feels like the epic animation "Princess Mononoke," where they have the villagers (tribes here) rounding up and backing the heroine (Mathayus here) and fighting to get rid of the evil source (Memnon here.)

Other films have similar themes before: an earlier endeavor of Stephen Sommers, who wrote and directed "Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book" 1994, with Jason Scott Lee, Sam Neill, Cary Elwes, Lena Headey and John Cleese; director Xavier Koller's (received Oscar's Best Foreign Film "Journey of Hope" 1990) "Squanto: A Warrior's Tale" 1994; not forgetting director Richard Donner's "LadyHawke" 1985 with Matthew Broderick, Rutger Hauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Alfred Molina.

If you want to escape and have an enjoyable action movie, to forget your stress and strains beyond the world of cinema, go for it!