Following on from the success of The Mummy Returns, and the short cameo (and much publicised) role of the WWF superstar as the mighty and evil Scorpion King, the big cheeses at Universal (with strong demands from Stephen Sommers, director of both Mummy movies) have taken the risk of giving rank amateur actor Dwayne, a shot at heading a $70 million feature film. Naturally there was a worry of this flopping, ending up with 90 minutes of what Van Damme would classify as cinematic genius, but thanks to heavy re-shooting and a surprisingly good performance from The Rock, it�s quite good.
Let me say now, this is NOT a prequel; this is intended as a stand-alone story of how assassin Mathayus (The Rock) becomes the mighty Scorpion King. There are however, hints as to his dark future, which is a nice touch I thought. The basic plot (and it is basic) follows Mathayus� quest to avenge his brother�s death (original) at the hands of an evil King, who is wiping out all rebels and enemies thanks to the help of a sorcerer who can see the future. Mathayus is hired to kill the sorcerer, thus increasing the chance of overthrowing the evil King, but when our hero finds out the sorcerer is in fact a babe, and a nice babe, he decides to alter his plan.
That�s about it, without giving too much away. It is simple and straightforward, but effective for 90 minutes of non-stop action. The story moves at a good pace, never lacking in grabbing your attention. Performances are okay across the board, with Kelly Hu, Duncan and the Rock coming across very well, stopping this becoming a corny, one-liner fest. Actually, there are a few thrown in there, but that�s what you expect for a 12-certificate movie. Fight scenes are original, fluid and exciting, with some nice Indiana Jones-like humour in there. Special effects are nicely done without being over the top, and there is some nice heavy rock music thrown into the soundtrack, a refreshing touch.
Many people will criticise this movie for being too much like the Conan movies, but I think you�ll enjoy every no-brain minute! Besides, Arnie has stated he wants The Rock (dubbed already as the next big action star by many) to play his son in the next Conan movie, which will go into production after Terminator 3. Cool. |
