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Review by Susan Granger
3 stars out of 4
Reminiscent of "Conan the Barbarian," this a live-action comic-book
and - as such - it's filled with action-packed fun. Just as muscleman Arnold
Schwarzenegger conquered the screen as Conan, wrestler Dwayne Johnson (The
Rock), after making his screen debut in "The Mummy Returns," carves his niche
with this adventure. He plays Mathayus, a heroic warrior descended from
generations of Akkadian assassins skilled in the deadly arts, who rallies desert
barbarians to rebel against the onslaught of an evil, scheming warlord named
Memnon (Steve Brand). Memnon's secret weapon is a seer who advises him how and
where to attack - and he's never lost a battle. So Mathays devises a plan to
sneak into Memnon's palace in the fabled city of Gomorrah and slay the
visionary. But when he discovers it's the beautiful, scantily clad Cassandra
(Kelly Hu), he takes her hostage, jumps on his trusty white camel and disappears
into the Valley of the Dead to determine his own destiny. At his side are a
thief sidekick Arpid (Grant Heslov), for comic distraction, and the giant Nubian
Balthazar (Michael Clarke Duncan). Writer/co-producer Stephen Sommers, along
with fellow writers William Osborne, David Hayter and Jonathan Hales, was
inspired by tales of a legendary Egyptian who ruled centuries before the
building of the Great Pyramid, and director Chuck Russell builds on their campy,
cartoony approach. While coping with fire ants, cobras and human hostility, The
Rock's bulging biceps match Schwarzenegger's "Conan" potential, along with his
stilted, monotone delivery of insipid lines of dialogue. On the Granger Movie
Gauge of 1 to 10, "The Scorpion" is a swashbuckling 7. What you see is what you
get - and, if PG-13 sword-and-sorcery is what you're buying, you get your
money's worth.
Copyright © 2002 Susan Granger
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out of 4
