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:

Dead Boy | Sword And Sorcery | Dream Sequence | Explosive | Young Boy

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 Rock's payday of $5.5 million made the Guinness Book Of Records for the highest salary for a first-time leading man.

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:

Along the Way

A reasonably unrealistic "Kimmerian" movie

To put it short, "The Scorpion King" is not a bad movie - for the genre. Just don't expect it to be realistic or have some deep plot.

If you have ever seen "Conan" movies, you probably know the setting: early ages, a bunch of "lost" civilizations, some "emperors" whose armies march the world and a lonely hero who tries to stop him. Blend in a touch of magic (old technologies, paranormal, whatever - just to taste), add some "slashnig" sequences - and - voilà - you get the movie.

Well, it sounds quite simple, but since "Red Sonja" I can't remember anything worth watching. Now this is the film: reasonably bad, quite cliché and not very imaginative. Still, it has quite a bit of eye-candy, and, in some sense, it's superior even to the famed "Gladiator" as it doesn't pretend to be any more than it is. Probably, it could have been at least 20 minutes longer, but let's blame it on the rising cost of production. Worth watching if you know perfectly well what you want. 7/10.