The Scorpion King (4 Stars)

Amazon Friday #35

This is the first time I've watched "The Scorpion King" for more than 15 years. I saw it on television, which shows how long ago it was. I stopped watching television in 2006. I could hardly remember the film, except that I didn't like it enough to buy it on DVD.

"The Scorpion King" is a prequel to "The Mummy Returns". More accurately, it's a prequel to the introductory scenes which take place 5000 years in the past. In "The Mummy Returns" we see the Scorpion King as a fierce warlord who's cursed by Anubis. It's not clear how many years earlier "The Scorpion King" takes place, but we see him as a noble warrior. Power corrupts.

The film takes place in the area where Jordan is located today. Memnon, a brutal king from the east, has conquered all the kingdoms in the vicinity. It's impossible to defeat him, because he has a sorcerer who tells him how to face his enemies. The remaining kings hire an assassin to kill the sorcerer. The assassin is an Akkadian warrior called Mathayus, played by Dwayne Johnson in his first lead role.

Mathayus breaks into Memnon's camp, and he's about to shoot the sorcerer from behind, but he stops when he sees that the sorcerer is a woman. No gentleman fires an arrow at a woman! In the credits she's called Cassandra, but I don't remember her name being mentioned in the film itself. Mathayus' hesitation causes him to be captured, but the sorceress tells Memnon that he mustn't die by the hand of a man, because it would bring disaster. Mathayus is buried neck deep in the desert to be eaten by ants, but a cunning horse thief called Arpid helps him escape.

Memnon's palace is in Gomorrah. Mathayus enters the palace and kidnaps the sorceress. He still can't bring himself to kill her. She tells him that she's been kept as Memnon's slave since her childhood, and he's been using her powers of foresight to win battles. She now wants to act against him. Mathayus was paid to kill the sorcerer, but now he decides to kill Memnon himself.

Mathayus isn't yet a king in the film, but we see how he became associated with scorpions. He's shot with an arrow laced with scorpion venom. Normally this would be fatal, but the sorceress heals him. She says, however, that the scorpion venom will flow in his veins for the rest of his life.

"The Scorpion King" isn't a bad film, but I can see why I didn't want to buy it. It's an enjoyable action film with a lot of spectacular fight scenes, but it's not a film I want to watch more than once. Or twice, as it is now. Maybe if I forget the film again I'll watch it again 20 years from now. It's what I'd call a popcorn movie, if I ate popcorn. I felt a certain excitement when I watched it, but the film didn't have enough emotional depth to draw me in. It's not up to the level of the Mummy films.

In the film's credits Dwayne Johnson is listed as The Rock. It's not usual for wrestlers to use their professional names when they make a film. The exception was made because Vince McMahon was an executive producer.

Success Rate:  + 1.0

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