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THE SCORPION KING
Widescreen
Review by Gordon Justesen
Stars: The Rock, Steven
Brand, Kelly Hu, Bernard Hill, Grant Heslov, Peter Facinelli, Michael Clarke
Duncan
Director: Chuck Russell
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1
Studio: Universal
Features: See Review
Length: 92 Minutes
Release Date: October 1, 2002
“Will
you stand alone before the fury of his armies?”
“YES.”
Film *** (On the cheese scale)
If I were to
explain the concept of The Scorpion King,
you’d probably think I was describing the synopsis of a new syndicated weekend
television series that would fit right in with the likes of Hercules
and Xena: Warrior Princess. But truth be told, The Scorpion King has its place on the big screen for two reasons;
it’s the ultimate movie role for a superstar of pro wrestling, as in this case
is The Rock, and two; the character has already made a notable appearance in an
earlier popular movie. That movie was last year’s The Mummy Returns, a sequel I was entirely let down by simply
because I have a great deal of affection for its 1999 predecessor, which
didn’t pretend to be a campy B-movie romp. The title character of this movie
popped up both in the beginning and the end of The
Mummy Returns, and since The Rock is perhaps pro wrestling’s biggest star,
a marketing maneuver was made and it was clear that the Scorpion King would soon
have his very own movie. Some have even speculated that based on this movie’s
success, The Rock will go on to be the next Schwarzenegger. I can certainly see
that happening in the near-future.
The result is not a
bad one, and I’d go on record to immediately say that I found it much more
entertaining and enjoyable than The Mummy
Returns. The Scorpion King is
essentially a sword and sorcerer-like story formula we’ve experienced before,
but is abound with endless action, some impressive effects, and an unexpected
level of charisma from its leading star. Set 2,000 before The Mummy, The Rock stars as Mathayus, a lone warrior who is the
last of his kind, the Arkadians. His nemesis is an evil warlord named Memnon
(Steven Brand), whose superior strength and power makes him feared by anyone,
including those who even dare to challenge him. Memnon’s most powerful weapon
is the beautiful and hypnotic sorceress, Cassandra (Kelly Hu), who extreme
psychic powers help in mapping out where he will strike next. Her seductive
powers do come in handy in, tough Mathayus’ charm might come in handy in
helping her change sides (like you didn’t see that one coming).
After losing the
last of his brothers to the hands of Memnon, Mathayus vows to extract some much
deserved revenge in Memnon’s direction, along with the help of some fellow
warriors, including Balthazar (Michael Clarke Duncan) who, in a fun sequence,
dukes it out with Mathayus before allying with him. The rest of the movie is
essentially a lengthy climatic battle sequence with the warriors invading
Memnon’s desert castle, which involves endless combat, many killings, and
plentiful effects.
As for The Rock, I
certainly believe we’ll be seeing a lot more of him in the movies, and in The
Scorpion King, he displays a certain level of charm and charisma for a role
that doesn’t require much of him acting-wise, but is one that is physically
perfect for him. I not a wrestling fan, and to be honest I wasn’t really
anticipating much, but The Rock really went beyond my expectations with his
debut, and he fits the role perfectly. The humorous lines between him and
Michael Clarke Duncan are among the movie’s best moments.
The main pleasure I
got out of The Scorpion King was
pretty much the same kind I got of watching The
Mummy, in terms of being a movie that isn’t afraid to know that it is one
filled to the brim with camp and goofiness and does nothing but embrace this
notion. To be honest, not enough movies are made like this. I’m all for a
riotous romp of a B-movie, and in that regard, The Scorpion King gets the job done.
Video ***1/2
Since the movie is
pretty much set in similar landscapes as The
Mummy, upon which Universal delivered one of their best all time transfers,
it comes as no surprise that they would deliver in similar areas on this
release. While not at the level of the video quality of The Mummy, Universal still comes out strong in their transfer of
this release. Shot mostly in desert settings, these scenes are by far the best
looking in the presentation, and the movie’s plentiful visual effects are
brought to a larger than life format. It’s only in a couple of darker lit
sequences where the presentation is flawed, with a bit softness, which is very
brief, and thus does not strain from the overall quality of the transfer.
Audio ****
Truly a boom-bastic
quality sounding disc. The Scorpion King
is ferocious in its sound presentation right from its opening scene. Everything
from the clanging of swords, to explosions, to vast whirlwinds, to a rock
infused musical score, everything you come to expect from an action adventure
movie on a DVD is delivered flawlessly in this thunderous 5.1 presentation.
Features ****
Universal returns
to their Collector’s Edition roots with this loaded arsenal of extras. First
off, there are two commentary tracks, one with director Chuck Russell, and the
other with The Rock himself, who can also be seen at various points as he
records the track (a scorpion icon will pop up in the lower right hand corner
for this option), and it is a truly fun and humor-loaded listen. Also featured
is the always enjoyable enhanced viewing mode, which offers an alternate version
of the movie.
Also included are
endless featurettes on the making of the movie, including a Fight Sequence
featurette, a special effects documentary, a special segment with The Rock and
Michael Clarke Duncan, a working with animals featurette, and a documentary on
the production design. Featured in addition are an outtakes reel, a music video
for Godsmack’s song “I Stand Alone”, a trailer for the movie, as well as
coming attraction trailers for the upcoming feature The Hulk and the
television special “Taken”. There is also some extensive DVD-Rom content as
well.
Summary: