Starring:

The Rock (Dwayne Johnson), Steven Brand, Michael Clarke Duncan, Kelly Hu, Grant Heslov, Bernard Hill

Story

This non-stop action adventure ‘prequel’, if you like, to ‘The Mummy Returns’ tells of the days before “Mathayas” (The Rock) became the “Scorpion King”.

The old world of Gomorrah and its surrounding lands, is run with an iron fist by “Memnon” (Steven Brand), who wishes nothing more than to become King. He, with the aid of “Cassandra the Sorceress”, is able to defeat his enemies by knowing any battles outcome before it is actually fought.

The surviving tribes and townships not under “Memnon’s” rule have banded together to destroy the Sorceress and thus, destroy “Memnon” and his hopes to become King. Enter “Mathayas” and let the action begin.

I don’t want to give too much away, but suffice it to say the hero wins the girl, and good once again, triumphs over evil!

Cast

Director, Chuck Russell made ‘The Scorpion King’ an enjoyable ride of action, comedy and adventure. He brought the best out in his cast, especially The Rock. The on and off screen chemistry between The Rock and Oscar Nominee for the ‘The Green Mile’, Michael Clarke Duncan (Balthazar) was utilised for every scene they were in together. The two were great friends before the film even began and it was The Rock who asked Michael Clarke Duncan to join the cast.

Little known Kelly Hu as “Cassandra” did an outstanding job as the Sorceress and her dazzling costumes are sure to steal scenes. Steven Brand (Memnon) is an extremely well cast villain and truly is evil incarnate. The martial art like sword fighting sequences between “Memnon” and “Mathayas” are sure to be remembered, if not duplicated. Grant Heslov (Arpid) of ‘True Lies’ fame and Bernard Hill (Philos) {Lord Of The Rings - The Two Towers} rounds out the cast and are mostly comedy relief.

Bonus Material

The Bonus Material on ‘The Scorpion King’ is filled with extras including an Extended Version In Enhanced Viewing Mode of the film, which includes alternative versions of selected/deleted scenes. It makes for quite interesting viewing.

The Alternative Versions can also be seen separately later on in the Bonus Menu.

There are also the obligatory Feature Commentaries by Director, Chuck Russell and ‘The Scorpion King’ himself, The Rock.

The Outtakes - more like a Bloopers Reel - are really quite hilarious even though they are few. Not to be skipped.

Spotlight On Location - The Making Of ‘The Scorpion King’ is just that. A brief documentary on how they made the film. This includes Interviews with the Cast and Crew and the shooting of the film.

Ancient World Production Design documentary. Forget exotic lands, ‘The Scorpion King’ was filmed on location in sunny California - sorry to disappoint, although Set Designer, Ed Verreaux did such a good job, you really wouldn’t have known it! For fans of classic films, the Palace of “Memnon’s”, is actually the old “Sparticus” set.

Shooting A Fighting Sequence includes Preparing The Fight and The Fiery Swords Scene. Sword Master and Fighting Sequence Choreographer, Al Leong, had his work cut out for him as the Director, Chuck Russell wanted these sequences to look as real as possible. This includes the swords, which were real folks. Also, look out for Al Leong in the film.

The Rock and Michael Clarke Duncan - this section looks at the friendship between the two stars as well as some quite funny interviews and outtakes from the film.

Costume Design - Costume Designer, John Bloomfield enjoyed working on this film and it showed. The costumes for each actor helped bring their characters to life.

Working With Animals - There are horses, monkeys, birds, lions, tigers and of course, camels, not to forget the scorpions and cobras on this film. This short documentary looks at them all. Suffice it to say, don’t work with camels!!

Special Effects includes The Cobras and The Fire Ants. Centropolis created the special effects for “The Scorpion King”. It has been broken up into two parts to SHOW how the cobras and the fire ants were incorporated into the film.

Godsmack - I Stand Alone Music Video. The bands hard guitar riff featured throughout the film and in some places, really didn’t belong.

The Theatrical Trailer - The Trailer released in theatres.

“The Scorpion King” Console Game - Preview of the Game with The Rock introducing it.

Bonus DVD Rom Features which has an additional interview with The Rock. Also includes the musical score and the full storyboard and extra information about “The Scorpion King”.

And finally, the DVD Trailer for “ET - The Extra Terrestrial”.

Overall

If you are a fan of “The Mummy” and “The Mummy Returns”, you will most certainly like this film. “The Scorpion King” is a full on action, adventure ride from beginning to end and really, quite enjoyable. The cast works well together and director, Chuck Russell, wanted as much realism as possible throughout the film, especially those fighting sequences. The only disappointment is the soundtrack - there are tracks that just don’t belong in this film.

Overall, a good film and the Extras make it even better!