The Rockuary: The Scorpion King

Are prequels ever a good idea?

Welcome to the second installment of "The Rockuary."  So, after the snafu of the Scorpion King's character in "The Mummy Returns," we get treated to a movie that everyone (including me) wanted to see.  We wanted to know the back story of the Scorpion King.  After that pandering steaming hot pile of garbage that we got in the intro to "The Mummy Returns," Hollywood decided to give us, "The Scorpion King."  And while yeah, this movie was considered a success at the box office, it didn't do nearly as well as they thought.

The budget of this movie was less than that of "The Mummy Returns," at about 60 million dollars, and world-wide it grossed 165 million, which was far less than its predecessor, but considering this was the Rock's first role as a leading man, and getting paid 5.5million dollars for his rookie attempt, one has to admit, this was pretty awesome.  But now through the eyes of nostalgia, I have to admit... this movie had its glaring flaws and its rather stupid moments.

What do I like about this movie?  Well, the effort of The Rock, and the vision the director had for this movie.  I liked Kelly Hu.  And of course, the late, great, and incomparable Michael Clarke Duncan, who was in this movie.  I liked the sword fighting, and I liked how all of the actors took the time and effort to learn some basic sword fighting to make the movie seem a little more authentic.

So, with likable characters, what don't I like about this movie?  Well, anyone who has ever read any of my movie reviews would know that pacing is key to my enjoyment of the movie.  If it's too fast, you don't get to know your characters, and you tend not to give a shit about their motivations, if it goes too slow, you end up resenting these characters, and hating them... and unfortunately, despite these great characters driving the story... the pacing feels too clunky.  It's too fast and doesn't explain shit in some parts of the movie, and sometimes it just slogs on until you wish everyone was dead just to end the movie quicker.

Also, I really didn't like the villain all that much.  The villain's name here is Memnon, and I have to admit, in my opinion... that's not a very villainy name.  It sounds like a name you could give to "Random villager #5" and get away with it.  And he's weak.  Not as in physical strength weak, but his characterization is weak.  His goal is basically to become the Scorpion King, become immortal, and take over the world.  But there's little if any motivation.  Hardly any character development, little screen time to explore this villain's facets.  Which is a shame, because I feel that Memnon could have had golden scenes.

While "The Scorpion King" is, in my opinion a bad movie, there are enjoyable moments.  The stuff that works in this movie, really works.  But the clunkiness of the movie and the blandness of our villain pretty much takes me out of the movie for the most part.  Provided this is the Rock's first movie as a leading man, and given what the actors, and director had to work with, this was a pretty gutsy movie in general.  I would recommend watching it, at least once.  But don't come into this movie with the expectation that it's "The Mummy" caliber.  On a scale of one to Super Ultra Awesome, I'd rate this move a "Reasonably Good."

Next time on The Rockuary, "The Rundown"