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

This movie is a prequel to a sequel (The Mummy Returns) to a movie (The Mummy) that was a re-make of another movie (The Mummy) that was made 70 years prior.

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Goofs

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.

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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 Rambo III (1988)

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Soundtracks

"Yanking Out My Heart"
Produced by Rick Parashar and Nickelback
Mixed by Randy Staub
Written by Chad Kroeger
Performed by Nickelback

User Reviews

Just know what to expect

Not particularly enjoying either Mummy flick, one might think that I wasn't looking forward to this. It's actually the other way around; with Sommers out of the director's chair, there was hope for something good. And really, as long as you don't think that this is more than it is, you may enjoy it. Think of Conan. Yes, this is a sword-and-sorcery adventure picture. No, it's not that compelling of one, but it can be entertaining. If you wondered where the titular character of this came from, well, here is... uh... some of that story. They do say that the first step of any journey is the hardest, so perhaps it is fitting that this isn't that great of a movie. The Rock has zero charisma(he needs to assign experience points to that), and while there are one or two talented actors(Michael Clarke Duncan... why?) in this, there is no impressive performances. Steven Bland... sorry, Brand... makes a decent enough villain. The kids are nearly the worst of the bunch, second only to the never chuckle-worthy, always irritating comic relief(thankfully, he gets bashed in the head a few times). While I don't understand why they went for so much Jackie Chan(meaning, with props) martial arts, I gotta say, the fighting is pretty cool and can be exciting. Director Chuck Russell(of The Mask and Eraser) gets about all that he can out of the extremely clichéd script, and makes a film that can be fun, if you're in the mood for it. Also, it deserves mention that he, probably realizing that it wasn't going to turn out that excellent, peppered it with hot chicks, many of them showing off cleavage. My god, Kelly Hu spends what appears to the majority of her screen-time with her legs entirely uncovered(well, as close as she could possibly get without this losing its PG-13 rating)! There is sensuality and mild violence, as well as a bit of potentially disturbing content in this. I recommend this to any fan of this sub-genre. 6/10