Cast: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Kelly Hu, Bernard Hill, Steven Brand, Grant Heslov, Peter Facinelli, Michael Clark Duncan

Directed By: Chuck Russell

Fans of The Mummy and The Mummy Returns can expect some fun, barbarian action, in high definition 5.1 Surround Sound.  The reason being that "The Scorpion King" is a prequel of sorts to the Mummy series, the second edition which introduced us to "The Scorpion King", a character who was presented as the villain. In The Mummy Returns we learn that the Scorpion King was this great warrior king, but learn nothing of his past. This movie flashes back far into history (3000 B.C. to be exact) before this warrior was the Scorpion King.

The film is set in ancient Egypt and tells the story of the skilled assassin Mathayus (WWF Superstar Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) who is hired by a group of villagers to kill the sorceress of Memnon, the ultra dishy Cassandra (Kelly Hu). Cassandra can forsee the result of any battle and is the right hand of the powerful warlord Memnon (Steven Brand) who is conquering many lands. Cassandra gives him a lot of conquering power. When Mathayus is betrayed during the mission and his brother is killed, he decides to skip the sorceress and go after Memnon instead. Mathayus gathers together an army of his own, including warrior Balthazar (Michael Clarke Duncan), an inept thief (Grant Heslov), a wisecracking kid and Cassandra to take on Memnon.

The picturesque sets, ancient cities, old forts, sprawling deserts and the battle ground look great, although some of the sequences don't seem very inspired and seemed to be ripped off from the thrilling Indiana Jones and the Mummy series.  

As for the ‘The Scorpion King’ music score, it only gets stronger and more memorable theme puts this album off a top star rating. John Debney clearly shows which genre he belongs too. Great performance by the Hollywood Studio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus is another plus for this music.

But when you have The Rock in the film, you know what to expect - lots of fighting, muscle-bound meatheads and cheesy action. And that's what The Scorpion King serves up. The audio goes full-throttle throughout the film with various sound effects flying around the listening space. The color setting is brilliant and even the night shots are sharp, which all goes to watching this film a pleasure.

Rating: ****

Reviewed by Verus Ferreira