The Scorpion King (2002)

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.

Director:

Chuck Russell

Writers:

Stephen Sommers (story), Jonathan Hales (story),

Stars:

Dwayne Johnson, Steven Brand, Michael Clarke Duncan

2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dwayne Johnson	...	Mathayus (as The Rock)
Steven Brand	...	Memnon
Michael Clarke Duncan	...	Balthazar
Kelly Hu	...	The Sorceress
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

Storyline

In an ancient time, predating the pyramids, the evil king Memnon is using the psychic powers of his sorceress Cassandra to fortell his great victories. In a last ditch effort to stop Memnon from taking over the world, the leaders of the remaining free tribes hire the assassin Mathayus to kill the sorceress. But Mathayus ends up getting much more than he bargained for. Now with the help of the trickster Arpid, tribal leader Balthazar and an unexpected ally, it's up to Mathayus to fufill his destiny and become the great Scorpion King.

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Plot Keywords:

desert | king | sorceress | destiny | scorpion | 

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Taglines:

Warrior. Legend. King.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA Germany Belgium

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 April 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

El rey escorpión

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$880,633 (France) (10 May 2002)

Gross:

$90,341,670 (USA) (21 June 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Alphaville Films, BT Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Dwayne Johnson has said that he intentionally shied away from using any trademarks of his WWF character The Rock, in order to give the Scorpion King character a life of its own. The only exception was "The People's Eyebrow," which he does in response to another character's reference to a harem. He said he included the People's Eyebrow to acknowledge the "millions and millions" of Rock fans. However, The Rock's Entry music is included briefly in the score.

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Goofs

The arrow in Mathayus leg changes lengths from when it is broken off to when he pulls it out.

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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]

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Connections

References Independence Day (1996)

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Soundtracks

"I Stand Alone"
Written by Sully Erna
Produced by David Bottrill
Co-Produced by Sully Erna
Performed by Godsmack
Courtesy of Universal Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.

User Reviews

Makes The Mummy look like Battleship Potemkin but will probably satisfy teenage boys with its MTV version of a swords and sorcery adventure film

Mathayus is a legendary warrior but his people face a deadly foe in the form of Memnon and his evil army that is sweeping through the lands. Despatched to assassinate Memnon, Mathayus is forced to save a child and misses his opportunity. Fleeing the city, he kidnaps Memnon's sorcerer Cassandra (who he is also meant to kill) and heads into the desert. Deep in the Valley of the Dead, he intents to use Cassandra to draw Memnon out of the safety of his loyal city and into the desert where he will be more vulnerable and easier to kill.

Despite not being impressed at all by Mummy Returns, I thought I would veg out in front of this prequel/sequel/spin off thing which was just as well since vegging out mindlessly in front of it is pretty much all it is good for. The plot is essentially a collection of action scenes held together by some overly-serious plot with a bit of flesh and titillation thrown in just in case the teens get restless. It is very derivative and very obvious and, if you are actually paying much attention to it then you'll find it pretty tiresome at times. Of course in my brainless state I found it to be brightly colourful and noisy which was enough to keep my eyes busy and let my head rest. It would have been much more fun if the material had had its tongue in its cheek and allowed the performances to match this, but by taking itself a bit too seriously at times it only ends up looking silly.

The Rock is a solid star for this sort of thing but he isn't very versatile – he needs the material to match him rather than the other way round. By having a big character in an overly serious tale, he looks ill at ease and doesn't suit it that well. Brand is a by-the-numbers villain who fills the role but not much else. Hu is undoubtedly attractive and at first I felt that she was being exploited by having her in tiny clothes and as much flesh as possible; however then I watched her performance and realised she was just playing to her strengths. Duncan takes himself too seriously and his scenes lack fun – surprisingly even in the action scenes. Support from Hill, Heslov and others don't do much other than fill out the cast.

Overall then a fairly bland, uninspiring action movie that lacks excitement, tension, characters, story and indeed fun (which is where the biggest problem lies). It is probably enough of a film to satisfy teenage genre fans but I must confess that there was so little that was special that I could barely care about it when it was on and found it unmemorable by the time it was finished.