Rating: 
Summary: So he's...the bad guy?
Review: Okay, I'm confused. The Mummy Returns portrays the Scorpion King as some evil tyrant who wants to take over the world by smiting any and all civilizations in his way. But that's exactly the opposite of the same character in his very own movie. In fact he struggles to overthrow an evil ruler for those very reasons.
So when, and why, did he become bad? I'm afraid I'm not following this. The movie, however, is entertaining, if rather short and silly. Chuck Russell tries to cram in loads of fighting and hokum as he can. It works and The Rock is very cool as said King (or Mathayus) and former Jason victim Kelly Hu is gorgeous as the scantily-clad Cassandra. Grant Heslov and Michael Clarke Duncan fill out their usual roles as ethnic comic-relief and big, muscley guy.
The film has slightly less integrity to it than the Mummy movies. This is evident with the fun and lively, but completely inappropriate, score by John Debney. I'm not expecting anything like his Passion of the Christ score but blaring death metal guitars seem kinda out of place in a movie set 3000 years BC.
But this movie is a cheeseburger, not a 17-course dinner. So why bother complaining. After all it's a prequel of a sequel of a movie that was a re-make of a movie that was made in the 30's. But it's well made and loads of fun so just go along with it and you'll enjoy.
Filmed in Panavision the DVD is in perfect 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen with very loud and thrilling Dolby/DTS 5.1 sound. The extras are fluff, but that's to be expected.
Rating:
Summary: Catch this, w/an extra slice of cheese
Review: Chuck Russell did a great job w/this movie in my opinion. He took the Scorpion King (a side story from the fabulous Mummy movies), and made his own dramatic epic. Chris Russell (The Mask, Bless the Child, Eraser, and The Blob) does a wonderful job of creating the characters of the movie. Is the action over the top? Yes, I mean it is starring The Rock.
The Rock does a great job of continuing on w/the traditions that was started way back at Conan. He has fabulous action scenes, smart remarks, and he gets the girl. What more can you ask for? Big muscles, unfluid sword fights, and lackey followers...perfect.
Steven Brand plays a wonderful bad guy. You hate him, his character is developed well by Russell, and he is a ruthless ruler who you hope gets unseated. Grant Heslov (Enemy of the State, Dante's Peak) plays The Rocks lackey, provides comic relief, and is a wonderful character.
Michael Clarke Duncan appears later in the movie, and disappointingly does not have a huge role. He also has smart remarks, and a few cheesy parts of his own. Nevertheless, the interactions between he and the Rock are fun.
As a whole, this is an entertaining movie. That is all it is supposed to be, nothing more. I think if you go into the movie hoping to be entertaining, pointless action, explosions, and smart remarks; you will enjoy this movie. If you intend on seeing the 2000 version of Conan, or a Gladiator type movie you will be disappointed. Did I mention it is staring The Rock? Set expectations accordingly.
Rent before buying, because this movie is not for everyone. It's fun, and entertaining. I would recommend it.
Grade: A-
Rating: 
Summary: Not a patch on The Mummy series - but still good.
Review: I can officially say, hands down, I loved The Mummy & The Mummy Returns. Of course, they both had Brendan Fraser in them - always helps. You know what I hate? When films get released, and then they do a prequel. That's what annoys about me the Stars Wars or whatever movies. What is the point?!But OK, "The Rock", otherwise known as Dwayne Johnson, only had a small, what could almost be called a cameo, in The Mummy Returns. He almost appears from nowhere in the movie, just for a couple of small scenes at the start, and a major scene at the end - but I suppose he's all done by CGI at the end. And to capitalise on his role, Stephen Sommers made a prequel, to explain (albeit not very well) how Mathayus the Scorpion King came to be in The Mummy Returns. And I'm still lost. In The Mummy Returns, Mathayus the Scorpion King looks practically evil, and he really does look different in this. Obviously, they had to give him extensions again, just to keep the continuity, and making me relive my days as a professional Barbie doll hairdresser - I was just itching to braid his hair! I think this was set about 10 years before The Mummy Returns too? What's different between The Mummy movies, and this, is the lack of obvious special effects. Whereas in The Mummy movies, you had people being sucked quite literally dry, or being eaten by beatles, which demanded lots of CGI, there's not very much in this. (If you were a cynical person, which I'm so-o definitely not, then you could say it was due to lack of budget, due to the fact that The Rock got his hands on $5.5million for doing this movie) It's back to basic sword/fist fighting for The Rock, and lots of flexing of muscles. He quite literally romances the clothes off Kelly Hu - which wasn't hard, considering she didn't wear that much during the movie - and does all these weird looks, which totally reminded me of Brendan Fraser/Keanu Reeves/a guy I know! Although I desperately wanted to braid his hair, I think it would have more suitable to have short hair - plus he looks cuter with short hair. Can you imagine having to film days of scenes in the desert with hair like that?! I'd be pulling the extensions out there and then! There's been rumours (or maybe it's truth by now, I'm not totally 'up' on movie/actor news - I need to get down on my hands and knees for that kinda info and beg) that Dwayne will be the next Dirty Harry. HUH?! Where did that come from? OK, so we all know Clint Eastwood is on the wrong side of 70 to be doing anymore Dirty Harry movies. (I've said that now, and thinking he's only 68 or something like that), but Dirty Harry is a character. Maybe if you were to say that he was going to be the next Arnie (with those muscles, hell yeah!), but you can't say someone's gonna be the next so-and-so character. A character is meant to be unique, and the actor who plays him will always be known for playing that character. I'm sorry, but if he does decide to do a Dirty Harry movie, a) Clint will have something to say about it, b) I can't see my mum liking it and c) people reviewing it will make endless comparisons. There's heaps of extras on this, as is on both Mummy DVDs. And they literally take years to get through. Most of them aren't that much worthwhile - unless you're interested in breath-by-breath breakdowns of scenes - so all I was interested was the outtakes! But if you're into those kinda extras (which I'm not, I'd be braindead by the end of them - wait a second, am I?) then you'll be in your element with the DVD. This is a good film. Anyone who follows The Rock in his career as a wrestler, will probably notice little titbits like he uses the same moves or does "the stare", but I'm not. So he's an OK actor, a little bit wooden sometimes, but no one's perfect.
Rating:
Summary: The Legend?
Review: This was a B movie with some interesting references. I remember the TV adcvertisements when the movie was first released -- The LEGEND of The Scorpion King. Well, there were quite a few legends that rated mention through the characters of the movie. We have Mnemnon of the Greeks, Mattithias of the Hebrews, Seth of both Hebrew and Egyptian legend, Isis of the Egyptians, Acadians and a ziggurat of the city of Ur, and a few others. If you have some background in ancient legend, the first mention of one name and you start listening for others. Also deserving of mention is that the city that the Scorpion King takes is Gamorrah of Hebrew legend -- with the mention of Sodom as a rival city. I can't say much more about the plot.
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