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The Scorpion King
Story
Set in around 3000 BC, the scorpion king follows the story of Mathayus, an Akkadian assassin and one of three brothers who are the last of their kind, who is hired to kill a sorcerer who works for an evil king called Memnon and allows him to rule by predicting the outcome of every battle. They find the sorcerer, who is not what they were expecting and is actually a sorceress, but are caught in her tent by Memnon's men. Mathayus's brothers are killed but he is able to escape through the sorcereress's help as well as the aid of a hose thief called Arpid. He then begins a one-man campaign to kill Memnon and avenge his brother's deaths.
MY OPINION
The story was well written, there were a lot of twists in it and it wasn't linear which is always a bonus. For a historian like me, there were too many historical inaccuracies in it for my liking but it is still a film at the end of the day so I guess I'll just have to put up with them. The story flowed well and made the film fun to watch, however, it does seem a bit unoriginal and many similar films have done it all before. 3/5
Characters / Performances
Mathayus (The Scorpion King): I loved this character's development throughout the film. He begins as a die-hard, bad-man assassin/ mercenary who is only interested in money, completely. Following the death of his brothers, he then begins a vengeance mission, determined to kill Memnon and avenge his brothers' deaths. At this point he is
still the die hard assassin but seems much less interested in money. In Memnon's city (Gomorrah) he is stolen from by a young thief. It is here where the first signs of his softer side begin to show, he spares the boy and offers him a chance to make some money by showing him into Memnon's palace. He later sacrifices his chance to kill Memnon in order to save the boy, who is about to have his hand cut off for stealing. This exposes him which means he has to run, he then kidnaps the sorceress as bait but eventually falls in love with her and it is this which causes the much more caring side of this warrior to shine through. As a wrestler, 'The Rock' (Dwayne Douglas Johnson) fits the role of the merciless warrior both in physique and attitude but I was more impressed with his ability to convey the emotional scenes as well as the character progresses.
Memnon: The primary antagonist, he is after nothing but power. He cruelly imprisons to sorceress Cassandra in order to win every single battle he fights using her gift of foresight. He also plans on forcing her into bed with him when he has conquered the world (he cannot do so beforehand or she will supposedly loose her gift) He is a member of a group of people who elect their greatest warrior as their king, and he is definitely that, being a sublime swordsman with incredible reflexes. He is merciless and evil and makes an excellent bad guy. Steven Brand plays the role well and provides a good performance as well as a good image of the character.
Cassandra: A very mysterious characters at the start of the film. She is feared by Memnon's enemies and even her gender is not known at the start, she is referred to as 'the sorcerer'. However, as the film progresses it becomes clear that she is actually a good character and Memnon was keeping her against her will. When Mathayus kidnaps her, she seems grateful to be rescued but initially fears him so tries to escape. However, by the end of the film she falls in love with him. Kelly Hu was a perfect actress for the role; her acting really brought the character to life and made her very believable.
Arpid: He begins as a horse thief who falls in with Mathayus. He is also the film's main source of humour and perfectly fills the role of the bumbling wimp who's out to save his own neck. There is not much development with this character, with the exception of a few brave acts, there is not much development to this character; he pretty much remains as he begins. Grant Heslov was perfect for this role as he both looks and acts the part.
Thorak: Memnon's second in command, he is obviously just sticking with the biggest bully in the playground and has no real loyalty. He is sadistic and ruthless and makes an excellent secondary antagonist. Ralf Moeller was a first-rate choice for the role and delivers the character beautifully, making him very believable.
Balthazar: Initially an overly-proud character, he starts of as an enemy of Mathayus due to his unwillingness to be humbled. However, he comes through at the end of the film and helps Mathayus defeat Memnon, showing that, deep-down, he has a great love for his people. There was some nice development with this character which was fun to watch. This character was played by Michael Clarke Duncan who was a very believable actor and made the character seem real.
Overall, a wide variety of characters, each of whom had something to bring to the film. 5/5
Special Effects
This film had some amazing action scenes. For example, Memnon's swordplay was excellently choreographed and when he blocked arrows with his sword it looked very cool and realistic. There were also two excellent battle scenes at the start of the film as well as lots of miniature fight scenes throughout the film and 2 good stealth scenes. The final battle between Memnon and Mathayus also had some cool slow motion work and well as good choreography. Furthermore, all the weapons, props, costumes and locations were realistic and brilliantly designed and more than played their part in sucking you in to the reality of the film. 5/5
Soundtrack
Impressive uses of soundtrack to enhance a film, all the sound effects were perfectly placed and there were some brilliant songs in all the right places. The songs on the soundtrack were:
"I Stand Alone" by Godsmack "Set It Off (Tweaker Remix)" by P.O.D. "Break You" by Drowning Pool "Streamline" by System of a Down "To Whom It May Concern" by Creed "Yanking Out My Heart" by Nickelback "Losing My Grip" by Hoobastank "Only the Strong" by Flaw "Iron Head" by Rob Zombie Feat. Ozzy Osbourne "My Life" by 12 Stones "Along the Way" by Mushroomhead "Breathless" by Lifer "Corrected" by Sevendust "Burn It Black" by Injected "27" by Breaking Point "Glow" by Coal Chamber
4/5
How does it compare to similar films and films by the same director?
It is on par with some of the best action films, with only a few of them being good enough to outclass it, obviously the story wasn't very original and there are many films out there with better story lines. It is one of Chuck Russell's most recent films and is of a different genre to most of his original work so is not really comparable. However, his newer film, Collateral, took in much more revenue and is in some ways better. 4/5
Value for Money
Definitely worth buying, I have watched this film several times and not gotten bored of it. 5/5
Pictures of The Scorpion King (DVD)
Mathayus and Balthazar
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
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Inspired by the hugely successful 'Mummy' series, 'The Scorpion King' is an action-packed ... more
epic adventure filled with spectacular stunts and fight sequences. In a time of darkness and in the face of evil, one man dared to fight back. Utilising his comba...
In the notorious city of Gomorrah evil warlord Memnon is determined to lay to waste all ... more
the nomadic peoples of the desert. Because the few remaining tribes are virtually powerless against him they decide to hire a skilled assassin Mathayus to elimi...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Advantages: Great performances, full of action and excellent fighting scenes, excellent storyline Disadvantages: The Scorpion King is made out to be evil in The Mummy Returns
Advantages: brilliant acting, great special effects, tonnes of special features, cheap Disadvantages: feels as if special effects are prioty over acting, storyline wasn't as good
![The Scorpion King [DVD] [2002]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78542247.jpg "The Scorpion King [DVD] [2002]")
Nov 9th, 2008
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