Extras:
Alternate Version of the Film, Audio Commentaries, Outtakes,
Alternate Scenes, The Making of the Scorpion King, Production Design,
Preparing the Fight, The Rock and Michael Clarke Duncan, Special
Effects, Music Video, King Scorpion, Theatrical Trailer, Production
Notes, Cast and Filmmakers, Universal Showcase.
Director:
Chuck Russell
Screenplay:
Stephen Sommers, William Osbourne, and David Hayter
Cast:
Mathayus: The Rock
Cassandra: Kelly Hu
Memnon: Steven Brand
Balthazar: Michael Clarke Duncan
Arpid: Grant Heslov
Philos: Bernard Hill
Prince Takmet: Peter Facinelli
A spinoff from the Mummy series?
You'd think this would feature a story
about, oh I don't know, mummies or something. But instead we get a
spinoff featuring a villian who we saw very briefly in
The Mummy Returns.
His appearance in said movie was better and more enjoyable than
this 92 minute waste of time. Plus the vehicle for a WWE wrestler is
guarenteed to suck.
The Scorpion King tells a somewhat muddled up story (too many authors
spoiling the screenplay broth I think). A ruler is using his sorceress
to see ahead of time the outcomes of his battles. Thus, he wins all the
time and everyone fears him blah blah blah. When assassin-for-hire
Mathayus (The Rock) comes along to put Memnon and his sorceress out of
commission. Along the way he encounters a swarmy side kick who spits out
all the usual stereotype comedy phrases. Together they find the
sorceress, Cassandra. Instead of killing her, Mathayus kidnaps her and
decides she's worth more alive than dead. Now Memnon is on the hunt and
his key to ruling the world must be found.
For being the first feature for The Rock things don't look too good. I'm
sure he'll do more but this movie will be a thorn in his side. Boring
story, ridiculous characters, and dry acting drag this down. You have to
love the one scene where Mathyus plays the "slasher" and jumps out a
random to grab his enemies. At 92 minutes you'll find yourself restless
and regretting even subjecting your DVD player to this filth (I know I
was).
What a boring movie. This could have been a fun little action romp
but instead comes off as a studio wanting to make a quick buck ($80
million to be exact). This movie's success shows how little it takes to
get an audience riled up. Dark days are ahead when a movie as bad as
this makes a lot of bank.
Universal pulls off a nice transfer though. Too bad it has to be for
this movie. Presented in anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen, colors are bold
and sharp. Fleshtones are balanced and blacks are deep. Edge Enhancement
is thankfully absent. There was some minor pixelization noticed in dark
areas but nothing that would ruin the viewing DISpleasure. I did notice
a lot of moire on small objects such as clothing and items. Overall
pretty decent. A seperate full frame (pan and scam) release is also
available.
The sound fares well as well. The clatter of swords and the howling of
the desert storm wind are portrayed very well. This track really shines
in the end obviously and was as good as I expected it to be. However, I
did notice a couple of instances of dialouge fade.
Universal crams quanity over quality onto this disc. Here's how the
extras stack up. All features are non-anamorphic.
Alternate Version of the Film:
Differently cut scenes are interlaced into the film via a branching system.
Been a long time since I saw a branching option.
Audio Commentaries:
One features The Rock (complete with video segments) and the other features
director Chuck Russell (wish I could have heard an apology).
Outtakes:
Little over 3 minutes worth of outtakes. Most are not funny
except for the first one as The Rock attempts to catch a bag of rubies.
He drops it over and over and is the only clip worth watching.
Alternate Scenes:
Different cuts of certain scenes, presented in alternate version of the film as well.
The Making of The Scorpion King:
14 minutes long. Another "making of"
that does not give what it says. Instead we get a series of interviews
and clips from the movie that have them talking of The Rock and the
plot. Don't bother.
Preparing the Fight:
5 minutes long. Features info on the choreography of key fight scenes.
The Rock and Michael Clarke Duncan:
Some info on the friendship of the two actors. This should have just been in the "making of".
Working With the Animals:
No it does not feature Steve Irwin by any
chance (given the lackluster supplements I wouldn't be suprised). A 2
minute long segment on the different animals of the movie........I'm
serious.
Special Effects:
One segment features the cobra scene and the other focuses on the red ants.
Music Video:
A music video by Godsmack featuring the theme song: "I
Stand Alone". A good song, forever tainted by it's association with this
film.
King Scorpion:
A text based series of facts on the real life Scorpion King.
Theatrical Trailer:
The trailer seems to warn you to stay away... I wish I would have listened.
Miscellaneous:
Production notes (they still make these?), cast and
crew info, an offer for the Scorpion King Movie Club (LOL), a trailer
for WWE Legends (a show not a movie), and a Universal Showcase featuring
trailers for The Hulk and Taken.
It may look like a lot of supplements but it only adds up to some 40
minutes or so of time.
Very annoying animated menus accompany this. Press menu during a
supplement and instead of going back to the extra menu you'll go back to
the menu.
Overall, the picture and sound presentation are the only thing that save
this from disaster. A terrible movie and some pretty bad extras are what
you'll get for $26.98. Let me give you some advice: skip this all
together and buy Blade II instead.
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
