To
be perfectly honest, I wasn’t expecting too much, when I popped a copy
of THE SCORPION KING into my DVD play. However, I have to admit
that I was pleasantly surprised by the movie. No, THE SCORPION KING
isn’t great cinema, nor is leading man Dwayne Johnson (aka The Rock)
going to win an Academy Award anytime soon. With that said, I found THE
SCORPION KING to be an entertaining, albeit mindless, popcorn movie
and Dwayne Johnson the perfect embodiment of the title character. If you
are like me, with a fondness for sword and sandal action movies- with an
emphasis on the action, I think you’ll cozy right up to THE SCORPION
KING.
The
plot of THE SCORPION KING takes place long before the events in THE
MUMMY RETURNS, which introduced the film’s title character. At the
point in time at which the story takes place, The Scorpion King is not yet
a king, but instead a warrior/assassin named Mathayus (Johnson), who is
engaged to kill the sorcerer that has rendered an evil warlord and his
armies completely unstoppable. When Mathayus zeros in on his quandary, he
discovers that the sorcerer is in fact a beautiful sorceress, and she
actually saves his life when he is captured. Eventually, Mathayus is able
to make an escape and he kidnaps the sorceress, instead of killing her.
With the sorceress at his side, Mathayus has effectively rendered the
warlord vulnerable to attack, so he musters his forces to launch a
preemptive strike against the warlord and his army.
As
you can see, the plot to THE SCORPION KING isn’t particularly
complex, but it serves the movie well as a springboard to one solid action
sequence after another. Additionally, THE SCORPION KING is infused
with good doses of humor; allowing it to follow the same kind of formula
as the HERCULES: THE LEGENDARY JOURNEYS TV series, except with much
higher production values. Director Chuck Russell keeps the film moving at
rapid pace and he has staged the film’s numerous action sequences quite
well. The cast of THE SCORPION KING also includes Steven Brand,
Michael Clarke Duncan, Kelly Hu, Bernard Hill, Grant Heslov, Peter
Facinelli, Ralph Moeller, Branscombe Richmond and Roger Rees.
Universal
Studios Home Video has made THE SCORPION KING available on DVD in a
2.35:1 wide screen presentation that features the anamorphic enhancement
for 16:9 displays. Without a doubt, this is a gorgeous transfer. The image
displays stunning clarity and detail; a tribute to the impressive
cinematography of John R. Leonetti. Of course, considering that this is a
big budget movie just coming off of theatrical distribution, there is
absolutely no reason that the DVD shouldn’t look this good. Colors tend
to be wonderfully rich and vibrant, while the flesh tones are always
rendered in an appealing and generally natural manner. There are no signs
of chroma noise or smearing to mar the fidelity of the color reproduction.
Blacks appear deep and velvety, while whites are clean and stable.
Contrast is very smooth and the picture produces an excellent level of
shadow detail. The dual layered DVD does not exhibit truly any noticeable
instances of digital compression artifacts.
THE
SCORPION KING comes with a rock ‘em
sock ‘em Dolby Digital 5.1 channel mix, which is certain to please any
action movie fan. The soundtrack is aggressively mixed, with the sound
designers making extensive use of the split surround channels to take the
film’s action way over-the-top (and this reviewer loved every second of
it). Weapons whoosh by the viewers’ ears during the battle sequences,
just before hitting their on screen targets, which brings one right into
the middle of the action. Dialogue is crisply rendered, with excellent
intelligibility, although I tend to doubt anyone will be watching this
movie for its dialogue. The bass channel is wonderfully deep and fully
authoritative- creating a ground shaking rumble during a couple of key
moments. Additionally, music is reproduced with very good fidelity and a
nice spatial quality. A French 5.1 channel track is also encoded onto the
DVD, as are English and Spanish subtitles.
Full
motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD’s interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to the standard scene selection
and set up features, as well as the supplemental features. THE SCORPION
KING includes an enhanced viewing mode, which will allow the viewer to
access alternate footage by pressing "enter" on their remote
control, whenever a sword icon appears on the screen. Two audio
commentaries are also featured on the DVD, the first is with director
Chuck Russell and the second features performer Dwayne Johnson. Chuck
Russell goes into a great deal of technical detail on the production,
while Johnson’s commentary isn’t particularly insightful. However,
there are times when Johnson’s comments are augmented by video, which
allows the viewer to see "The Rock" as he talks about certain
sequences in the film.
About
three minutes of outtakes are also provided on the DVD, as are alternate
versions of key scenes. A fourteen-minute making of featurette is also
provided, as are other brief featurettes on production design, stunts
& fight choreography, the two leading actors, working with four legged
co-stars and special effects. The Godsmack music video for the song I
Stand Alone has also been included, along with a text essay on the
possibility of a real scorpion king, production notes, a theatrical
trailer and filmographies. THE SCORPION KING is also DVD-ROM
enabled with links to on-line content.
As
mindless popcorn movies go, THE SCORPION KING is a whole lot of
fun. Universal has provided the film with an incredible looking transfer,
which when combined with the rocking soundtrack and the great extras makes
this a terrific DVD. If you are even mildly interested in seeing THE
SCORPION KING, you can't go wrong by picking up a copy of the disc.
Additionally, those just looking for something new to feed their killer
home theater system will definitely find that this DVD delivers the goods.
To
be perfectly honest, I wasn’t expecting too much, when I popped a copy
of THE SCORPION KING into my DVD play. However, I have to admit
that I was pleasantly surprised by the movie. No, THE SCORPION KING
isn’t great cinema, nor is leading man Dwayne Johnson (aka The Rock)
going to win an Academy Award anytime soon. With that said, I found THE
SCORPION KING to be an entertaining, albeit mindless, popcorn movie
and Dwayne Johnson the perfect embodiment of the title character. If you
are like me, with a fondness for sword and sandal action movies- with an
emphasis on the action, I think you’ll cozy right up to THE SCORPION
KING.
The
plot of THE SCORPION KING takes place long before the events in THE
MUMMY RETURNS, which introduced the film’s title character. At the
point in time at which the story takes place, The Scorpion King is not yet
a king, but instead a warrior/assassin named Mathayus (Johnson), who is
engaged to kill the sorcerer that has rendered an evil warlord and his
armies completely unstoppable. When Mathayus zeros in on his quandary, he
discovers that the sorcerer is in fact a beautiful sorceress, and she
actually saves his life when he is captured. Eventually, Mathayus is able
to make an escape and he kidnaps the sorceress, instead of killing her.
With the sorceress at his side, Mathayus has effectively rendered the
warlord vulnerable to attack, so he musters his forces to launch a
preemptive strike against the warlord and his army.
As
you can see, the plot to THE SCORPION KING isn’t particularly
complex, but it serves the movie well as a springboard to one solid action
sequence after another. Additionally, THE SCORPION KING is infused
with good doses of humor; allowing it to follow the same kind of formula
as the HERCULES: THE LEGENDARY JOURNEYS TV series, except with much
higher production values. Director Chuck Russell keeps the film moving at
rapid pace and he has staged the film’s numerous action sequences quite
well. The cast of THE SCORPION KING also includes Steven Brand,
Michael Clarke Duncan, Kelly Hu, Bernard Hill, Grant Heslov, Peter
Facinelli, Ralph Moeller, Branscombe Richmond and Roger Rees.
Universal
Studios Home Video has made THE SCORPION KING available on DVD in a
2.35:1 wide screen presentation that features the anamorphic enhancement
for 16:9 displays. Without a doubt, this is a gorgeous transfer. The image
displays stunning clarity and detail; a tribute to the impressive
cinematography of John R. Leonetti. Of course, considering that this is a
big budget movie just coming off of theatrical distribution, there is
absolutely no reason that the DVD shouldn’t look this good. Colors tend
to be wonderfully rich and vibrant, while the flesh tones are always
rendered in an appealing and generally natural manner. There are no signs
of chroma noise or smearing to mar the fidelity of the color reproduction.
Blacks appear deep and velvety, while whites are clean and stable.
Contrast is very smooth and the picture produces an excellent level of
shadow detail. The dual layered DVD does not exhibit truly any noticeable
instances of digital compression artifacts.
THE
SCORPION KING comes with a rock ‘em
sock ‘em Dolby Digital 5.1 channel mix, which is certain to please any
action movie fan. The soundtrack is aggressively mixed, with the sound
designers making extensive use of the split surround channels to take the
film’s action way over-the-top (and this reviewer loved every second of
it). Weapons whoosh by the viewers’ ears during the battle sequences,
just before hitting their on screen targets, which brings one right into
the middle of the action. Dialogue is crisply rendered, with excellent
intelligibility, although I tend to doubt anyone will be watching this
movie for its dialogue. The bass channel is wonderfully deep and fully
authoritative- creating a ground shaking rumble during a couple of key
moments. Additionally, music is reproduced with very good fidelity and a
nice spatial quality. A French 5.1 channel track is also encoded onto the
DVD, as are English and Spanish subtitles.
Full
motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD’s interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to the standard scene selection
and set up features, as well as the supplemental features. THE SCORPION
KING includes an enhanced viewing mode, which will allow the viewer to
access alternate footage by pressing "enter" on their remote
control, whenever a sword icon appears on the screen. Two audio
commentaries are also featured on the DVD, the first is with director
Chuck Russell and the second features performer Dwayne Johnson. Chuck
Russell goes into a great deal of technical detail on the production,
while Johnson’s commentary isn’t particularly insightful. However,
there are times when Johnson’s comments are augmented by video, which
allows the viewer to see "The Rock" as he talks about certain
sequences in the film.
About
three minutes of outtakes are also provided on the DVD, as are alternate
versions of key scenes. A fourteen-minute making of featurette is also
provided, as are other brief featurettes on production design, stunts
& fight choreography, the two leading actors, working with four legged
co-stars and special effects. The Godsmack music video for the song I
Stand Alone has also been included, along with a text essay on the
possibility of a real scorpion king, production notes, a theatrical
trailer and filmographies. THE SCORPION KING is also DVD-ROM
enabled with links to on-line content.
As
mindless popcorn movies go, THE SCORPION KING is a whole lot of
fun. Universal has provided the film with an incredible looking transfer,
which when combined with the rocking soundtrack and the great extras makes
this a terrific DVD. If you are even mildly interested in seeing THE
SCORPION KING, you can't go wrong by picking up a copy of the disc.
Additionally, those just looking for something new to feed their killer
home theater system will definitely find that this DVD delivers the goods.
