The Scorpion King - The Mummy’s distant cousin (once removed)

If you’ve watched ‘The Mummy Returns’ you may be aware that it was Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s first on-screen role.  His contribution to the film was hardly iconic (due to arguably the worst special computer generated effects ever committed to film!), but it appeared to be career-defining enough to give him his own spin-off movie, ‘The Scorpion King.’ Ignoring the fact that he was a baddie in 'The Mummy Returns,' he’s now our hero.  And for good reason – he’s so damn loveable!

It’s hard not to root for him, even in a film that really isn’t that good.  Not that that applies to 'The Scorpion King.' It’s great fun.  Hardly a classic, but just good fun.  And, I’ll wager that the demographic most likely to appreciate it would be young boys (or men like me who are still into sword and sorcery etc – I think that qualifies me as a ‘geek’).  I can see gangs of young lads crowding round the telly on a Saturday afternoon to watch the Rock beat countless faceless baddies to a pulp.  It fits into the category of an 'Indiana Jones' movie (or the original Brendon Fraser 'Mummy' film to a lesser degree) - and, no, I'm not saying it's even nearly as good as either, just that it's a similar action/adventure style that doesn't take itself too seriously.

You certainly don’t need to have seen any of the 'Mummy' movies to enjoy this.  Although both films are definitely in the ‘action/adventure’ genre, they don’t really feel alike.  It’s basically a ‘stand-alone’ movie which is only related to its predecessor by the one central character and it’s more at home among the ‘sword and sandals’ films than with the 'Mummy' trilogy.

It has a very basic plot, i.e. good guy must defeat the bad guy and get the girl in the process.  Every scene is a set-up for the next and everything everyone says is an important plot point that will have some significance later on.  The goodies are good and the baddies are very easy to spot.  Sometimes a film uses the tool of having the hero and the villain constantly squaring off against each other, playing off each other.  However, here we have possibly the most stereotypical villain ever.  He shouts.  He bawls.  He wants to marry women who he knows hate him.  He wants to conquer the world and has a habit of killing any of his men who displease him.  He’s not that great to be honest, but, seeing as it’s The Rock’s movie and not his, it doesn’t really matter.  This guy simply fills the ‘villain’ role.

Besides the Rock’s charm as a leading man, it’s also worth mentioning his helpers.  You have Kelly Hu as ‘the Sorceress’ who absolutely smoulders in her role and Grant Heslov as ‘Arpid’ who basically plays the part that John Hannah’s played in the Mummy trilogy as the ‘comic relief’ of the film.

Like I said, this isn’t an amazing movie, but if you’re looking for a ‘family friendly’ Conan-type action film that will keep the boys entertained on a west afternoon, then this is it (or you’re just a big kid at heart!).

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that