This movie stank, so why did I like it so much? I don’t know, it's hard to lay my finger on. Let me try to break it down, and maybe we can discover the answer together.

The Plot

The writing in this movie is very sound, and the story sweeps you up effortlessly. It opens with a great battle of The Scorpion King, and this is one of the most brutal, fascinating hand to hand combat scenes that I have ever seen (with the exception of my two cousins after sharing a bottle of Wild Turkey and then arguing over who had the nicest truck). Very nice action, and I’d say some of those guys came away from this bruised and battered. The movie introduces you to some of the main characters with a tense moment: Rick O’Connel (played by Brendan Fraser) is creeping tentatively into the bowels of an obviously ancient tomb; he is jumpy, staring blindly around every darkened corner, while from behind sneaks…his son, Alex (Freddy Boath). Ok, nice beginning. I’m beginning to feel the atmosphere.

Brendan Fraser, his wife, Evelyn (Rachel Weisz) and his son are all on a little family archeology expedition in Egypt, happily digging up dead people and their property. Enter the bad guys (some of them, anyway), three thuggish buffoons who, of course, aren’t working for themselves, but someone even more nefarious. The bad guys are initially thwarted (what did you expect: the movie would have been awfully short if the bad guys won in the first fifteen minutes of the film.)

Anyway, even though the dastardly trio is sent on their way with their tail tucked between their legs, the little family is still threatened, this time by booby traps set off by Fraser’s inquisitive wife. With the help of their son they manage to escape a watery doom, and live to revel in their historical find. Little do they know that, once again, they have begun the process of awakening an ancient curse.

The movie has an excellent sub-plot in the story of the Scorpion King, played by WWF’s The Rock. Menacing and magnificent, this sub-plot is one of the best aspects of this film, for reasons that I will cover directly. A bit of background: The Scorpion King was an ancient warrior heck-bent on achieving domination over all those that did not follow him, and he was pretty darn near successful, too…but not quite. After a bitter defeat, The Scorpion King is driven into the desert with what was left of his legions, where they all, except the King himself, subsequently perished. The Scorpion King felt kind of bitter about the whole affair, and still had a hankering to rule the world, so he made the proverbial deal with the devil. He beseeched Anubis, dog-headed god of the Underworld, to help him achieve his goal. Anubis consented in a grand fashion in exchange for the Scorpion King’s soul. Cut to the present.

To summarize without giving everything else away to those who still haven’t seen it: Oh no, the O’Connels have awakened Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo), who, with the help of his reincarnated lady-fair, Meela/Anck-Su-Namen (Patricial Velasquez), plans to awaken The Scorpion King, kick his butt and take his power, and then wreak havoc and domination on the world as we know it. The O’Connels must now do some quick thwarting, with the help of Evelyn O’Connels brother, Jonathan (John Hannah), and mysterious Eastern warrior, Ardeth Bay (Oded Fehr). In their way are scorpions, flesh eating beetles, grumpy mummies, dog-headed demons, and some silly yet ferocious pygmies. Everything you need to make a fantastic film, right? Maybe not.

The Cast

Brendan Fraser—Brendan Fraser (Rick O’Connel) was the first big disappointment of this film. His performance was lackluster, at best, and I left the theater feeling that he would have better suited this role if Pauly Shore had been cast as The Mummy. Don’t get me wrong, I love Brendan Fraser (and I definitely appreciate his value as eye candy), and I thought he was great in some of his other movies, such as Encino Man, but he was just not believable here, although he did provide small amounts of humor here and there in the dialogue with his wife, and he also managed to produce miniscule amounts of chemistry with Rachel Weisz (Evelyn O’Connel).

Rachel Weisz—Honestly, Rachel Weisz’s performance stank. She was not believable in her role of wife, mother, or archaeologist, and her dream sequences could have been played better by the female lead in any high school production of “Our Town” on the planet. The only portion of the movie where this actress truly shone was the fight sequence in ancient Egypt between Nefertiri (Evelyn’s former self) and Anck-Su-Namen; the entire scene played out like an erotic, ancient ballet.

Freddie Boath—One of the best actors in the film, Freddie Boath played the part of Rick and Evelyn’s son, Alex. Cute, mischievous, smart, and ready to spit in your eye if he thought you were on the wrong side, this little boy fit the part to a “T”, and I hope to see him in more films.

Arnold Vosloo—Cast as Imhotep, this man’s performance was simply brilliant. The character he played was materialistic, shallow, and slightly evil, but his acting managed to turn a two-dimensional character into flesh and blood pseudo-reality. I sympathized with Imhotep the most of any character, even while I rooted for his downfall. Arnold Vosloo managed to convey deep, passionate emotion with every gesture, every look, with a skill that rivaled that of legendary leading man, Lawrence Olivier.

Patricia Velasquez—Playing the part of Imhotep’s sultry lover, Anck-Su-Namen, Velasquez performed her role well. Her performance was flawlessly fluid, and her character stayed true to form until the very end.

The Rock—Surprisingly enough, The Rock was quite convincing and very enjoyable to watch as The Scorpion King. This may or not be because the acting required for this part was quite similar to his regular duties as a WWF superstar, but still, The Rock delivered, his fans will not be disappointed, and he just might pick up some new ones with this performance.

Oded Fehr—Oded Fehr delivered a great performance as the mysterious protector-knight Ardeth Bay. Dark, intense, sexy…this opinion might not be shared by everyone, so that is all I will say on the subject (but if you are into dark, handsome, and sexy……).

Direction and Special Effects

The overall direction and special effects of this movie were fantastic. The rich colors used and the lighting of each scene was dead on perfect. The movie flowed from point to point flawlessly, with no dead points jerking you back into reality and sending you running to the concession stand for popcorn. The action scenes were tight, especially the beginning battle of The Scorpion King, and the realistic aspects of the film blended nicely with the generated special effects.

Some of the best scenes of the movie were those depicting Ancient Egypt; the colors were fantastic, the lighting was perfect, and the costumes were chosen well, making these scenes treats to simply look at. I remembered, while watching this movie, how much I had enjoyed that old film about Cleopatra as a child, and for similar reasons. Ancient Egypt holds the power to spellbind and fascinate, and this movie utilized that power.

The Conclusion

This movie contained a lot of cheesy groaners (“May the force be with you, young Magi”? Give me a break.) However, even with all the cheddar, the poor performances from both Fraser and Weisz, and the ridiculous pygmies, the other talented actors, the special affects, and the overall magic make this a film that had me leaving the theater on an adrenaline high, wishing for one moment in the sun as a gold adorned Egyptian princess with the mystical forces of countless gods at my disposal (woohoo!). In my opinion, any movie that can do that with the things working against it that this one had is a pretty good film and worth a look.


Recommended:
Yes

Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older