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The Scorpion King 2002 |
Review by Jonathan Cornwell |
Directed by Chuck Russell
PG-13, 93 min. (violence, brief nudity, sexuality) |
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Starring: The Rock, Steven Brand, Kelly Hu, Michael Clarke Duncan, Grant Heslov, Peter Facinelli
Producers: Sean Daniel, James Jacks, Kevin Misher, Stephen Sommers
Screenplay: David Hayter, Will Osborne, Stephen Sommers
Cinematography: John R. Leonetti
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Released: 4.19.02 (Wide) |
Rating:
 (out of ) |
To better understand how bad this latest installment of The Mummy series, Universal Pictures' cash cow, is, consider that
its predecessors, The Mummy and The Mummy Returns, seem like masterpieces in comparison.
The Scorpion King will no doubt inflict some major damage to its competitors at the box office, however, many fans of the
series will leave the theater disappointed and cheated at the complete laziness and ineptitude of its filmmakers to at least
put forth a watchable product. The film seems more of a vehicle for up-and-coming action star The Rock (pro wrestling's biggest
star) to show his muscles and look tough than to purport to be about anything in particular. Although a supposed plot
is thrown at the audience in its opening moments, the remainder of the film is one big indecipherable mess. It's hard to
imagine even diehard fans of The Mummy will be impressed with what they see here.
The Rock's character, Mathayus, based on a character from The Mummy Returns, is the leader of a band of mercernaries
who kill for money. When hired by the last "free" people of the time to assassinate Memnon (Steven Brand), an evil
dictator who consorts with a sorceress, Cassandra (Kelly Hu), to expand his empire, Mathayus runs into a trap and watches
his friends killed. Now, with revenge as his ally, he kidnaps Cassandra, turns her to the "good side", and together, along
with a respected warrior Balthazar (Michael Clarke Duncan) and a thief (Grant Heslov), they storm Memnon's fortress.
There is absolutely no reason to subject yourself to this film unless the thought of mundane action scenes or a few glimpses
of Kelly Hu's naked body seem inspiration enough to fork over the money. The film is basically about nothing, and, as I sat
in the darkened theater trying to ascertain the nonexistent storyline, I finally realized that it was merely a watered-down
version of The Mummy, dumped on audiences in order to make a lot of money to cover for some other project the studio
had mistakenly greenlighted. Surely a film this empty-headed wouldn't constitute serious work by any filmmaker worth his
salt. This is a picture that was made with one thing in mind - duping the paying movie-goer into handing over their hard-earned
money. Sadly enough, this strategy will probably work.
To make matters worse, the visual effects (usually a strong staple in this genre) are borderline disastrous. There's not one effect
in the film that doesn't appear completely fabricated, right down to the spitting cobras writhing in Cassandra's hands. It's
like adding insult to inury to those who paid to see the film, only angering them further. While the visuals are pathetic,
the acting is likewise abysmal, including a disappointing turn from Clarke Duncan, who is a good actor (nominated for his
work in The Green Mile). Not much is expected from The Rock, who correctly plays his role with a wink at the camera,
but the supporting characters must be strong to compensate for a silly premise of a film. Unfortunately, Hu and Brand
are bland, uninspired characters here. I find it very difficult to produce a single reason to even rent this debacle on video,
mainly because The Scorpion King is unapologetic in its shallow, hollow, and insipid production value.
© 2002 Jonathan Cornwell
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 |
 | Masterpiece - Film perfection |
 | Excellent - A Must See |
| Good - Highly Recommended |
| Fair - Worth seeing |
| Average - Viewable, but not recommended |
| Below average - View at own risk |
| Poor - Avoid at all costs |
| Very poor - An embarassment to the film industry |
| Zero | Awful - One of the worst films ever made |
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