More about this DVD  •  DVD Info  •  Movie Main Page  •  Message Board

The plot of this action-oriented flick is simple enough. Mathayus (Dwayne Johnson) is one of three surviving Akkadians, fierce and driven assassins for hire. He, his brother, and an associate are recruited by King Pheron (Roger Rees), the leader of one of the myriad of tribal fiefdoms that were scattered all over Egypt before pharaohnic unification. Against the wishes of the King's son, Takmet (Peter Facinelli), the assassins are sent to kill the power behind a seemingly invincible invader Memnon (Steven Brand) whose horde is laying waste to the land and its peoples. Memnon employs a sorcerer that has the power of foresight, a very handy tool when planning battle; the sorcerer is the target. Eliminate that advantage, and the surviving cowering tribes will unite to defeat Memnon and his army. The remaining plot is a series of action pieces and fights, loosely held together by Mathayus' attracting allies along the way including Balthazar (Michael Clarke Duncan) for some high testosterone violence, Cassandra (the lovely Kelly Hu) for a sexy love interest, a fast-talking horse thief named Arpid (Grant Heslov) for comic relief, and a street urchin (Tutu Sweeney) to awaken Mathayus' paternal instincts.

It's easy to criticize Johnson's acting in his first effort to carry a film, but as we watched Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1970 opus Hercules in New York, who would have predicted that he would become such a successful and bankable star? Johnson moves well and he does have a screen presence that may serve him well, so any flaws must be laid at the feet of the director, Chuck Russell. He permitted Johnson to bring to the show some of the overacting so prevalent in the wrestling ring; Russell apparently never attempted to convey that on the big screen, less is more. And we can blame Russell for the anachronisms that pull us out of ancient Egypt to current time: rock riffs, complete with a fuzzy electric guitar, are inserted into John Debney's otherwise effective action score; and, Johnson's colloquial American accent contrasts with those around him ("Why didjou help me in the tent?"). A little more discipline on Russell's part could have elevated the material. As it stands, we seem to have a $60 million Xena: Warrior Princess.

Video: How Does The Disc Look?

The film's theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 is presented in anamorphic video. Unlike many DVDs prepared by Digital Video Compression Center, this transfer does not seem to have had all the detail-robbing high frequency video information filtered away. Consequently, textures and small object detail are quite good. Halos are present, but are more subtle and modest than DVCC usually produces; I would characterize them as unobtrusive.

Also impressive are the colors, which are accurate, vivid, and noise-free. Brightness and contrast have great dynamic range, with admirable shadow detail in the many night scenes. Mosquito noise and blocking artifacts are absent. This is a very nice transfer marred only by modest haloing that will most likely not be visible on screens of fifty inches or less.

Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is excellent. The surrounds are used very aggressively to envelop the viewer in the action, especially arrows and axes in flight. EX decoding should be avoided; many of the effects are brought equally to the left and rights surrounds, for which EX will collapse the surround sound field to the center surround. Deep bass will require a capable subwoofer; the sandstorm will impress, as will the gong gag, stolen from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. John Debney's effective orchestral score (excluding the rock lapses that Silvestri and Goldsmith were not tempted to include in their scores to the two Mummy films) is presented with authority and within a believable acoustic space. The dialog remains clear and intelligible throughout the film.

The French alternate language track is also in Dolby Digital 5.1. Subtitles are offered in English and Spanish.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

This Universal Collector's Edition offers a generous assortment of extras, presented in either non-anamorphic widescreen or full screen. (Unless you've seen the film before, avoid the supplements until you've watched the feature, as the extras are full of spoilers.) The film is preceded by two DVD teasers for much awaited titles: E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and the Back to the Future trilogy. They are shown in non-anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen and full screen respectively. (If you wish to skip directly to the feature, you can watch them by searching for title 28 at any time.)

The first item on the three-page "Bonus Features" list is the Alternate Version in Enhanced Viewing Mode. Selecting this feature enables the display of a red sword icon in the lower right while watching the film. Press Enter or Select when displayed branches you to an alternative version of the scene. I would suggest ignoring this feature for several reasons. The alternate versions are in non- anamorphic widescreen, so unless you have one of the rare displays that responds to an anamorphic flag (or are watching on a computer or a 4:3 video display), the alternate scenes are displayed incorrectly. When the alternate version is complete, the DVD player branches back to the point where you accepted the icon, repeating the sequence in its original form. This seriously disrupts the flow of the film. Finally, it isn't necessary; Alternate Versions of Key Scenes is another selection on the Bonus Materials menu, permitting access to precisely the same material independent of the film.

There are two commentaries on this DVD: one is a feature-length, screen- specific commentary by director Chuck Russell, and the other is an Enhanced Feature Commentary by Johnson. Russell's commentary is great. He discusses the making of the film in some detail, like the sword shattering scene having been filmed with hilts only; the blades were added with CGI. His is an informative and enthusiastic monologue; I wish I could say the same for Johnson's. As you watch the film with the wrestler-actor's commentary enabled, he may be heard in two modes. His voice will be heard over the onscreen action, as with familiar commentaries. However, from time to time, a red scorpion with an "S" encircled in its claws will appear on the lower right of the screen. Press Select or Enter and the anamorphic presentation switches to non-anamorphic widescreen and Johnson pops into a small video window at the lower right, so we may watch him watching the film as he comments. But this feature has several annoying problems.

The first I mentioned; it switches back and forth between anamorphic and non-anamorphic, so just like the Alternative Versions feature, the aspect ratio may be wrong. And as in the Alternative Versions feature, the DVD player branches back to the point where you accepted the icon, repeating the sequence without Johnson's comments. Since the fast scan mode is disabled while the red icon is on the screen, you can't even move ahead quickly for a while. Fortunately, Johnson only has about three interesting anecdotes to share; the rest of his commentary is a narration of the onscreen action. If you do have the patience to sit through this feature, count how many times he says, "This is one of my favorite scenes." (Hint: You'd better use a pencil and paper. Johnson's comments in the enhanced mode are not duplicated in the normal mode, so you must sit through these inconveniences if you wish to hear them all. We would have been better off if Universal had made this a conventional commentary.)

Outtakes is a collection of flubs and goofs that runs 3:16. For example, Johnson might be an athlete, but he seems to have trouble catching a bag of glass jewels. Fun. Spotlight on Location: The Making of Scorpion King (14:27) is a typical fluff piece and may be considered an elaborate trailer punctuated with many self- aggrandizing comments by the principals. Which brings us to the second page of extras, and more featurettes...

Here you will find a collection of shorts that examines various aspects of the making of the film in considerably more detail than the Spotlight On Location. In Ancient World Production Design (3:26), production designer Ed Verreaux takes us on a conceptual tour where we learn what was built and what was CGI. Film buffs will be interested to learn that a practical set from Spartacus was used for the filming. Preparing the Fight (5:56) focuses on fight choreography. The Rock and Michael Clarke Duncan (3:58) shows the actors working together in their big fight scene, and discusses Duncan's accidental decking. Working With Animals (2:55) is something W.C. Fields advised against; here we find out why. The Special Effects (The Cobras, 1:44; and The Fire Ants, 2:27) is an interesting explanation of how CGI was used to create those credible creatures.

Next is the Godsmack "I Stand Alone" music video. Why do some filmmakers seem to think that running a contemporary source track over the closing credits of a film not set in current time is appropriate? Annoying and superfluous. The last extra on this page is King Scorpion, a series of nine interesting text screens that speculate on the historical existence of an ancient scorpion king, over five thousand years ago.

Moving on to the third and last page of Bonus Materials, we have the theatrical trailer, twelve pages of Production Notes, and brief biographies and filmographies for eight of the players and two of the filmmakers in Cast & Filmmakers. Finally, Universal Showcase offers two teasers: one of next year's summer movies, The Hulk directed by Ang Lee; and, a Steven Spielberg produced "epic event" for cable television's Sci-Fi Channel about alien abduction called Taken. The Scorpion King Movie Club is an odd and mysterious list of people who've apparently collected a lot of ultimates. Next is a teaser for Universal's Total Axess web site, inviting the view to log on. The Scorpion King Special Offers are two advertisements: one is for Universal's two theme parks; the other is a preview of the PlayStation 2 Scorpion King video game. Finally, there is a one-minute promo for wrestling in the form of WWE Legends.

DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC?

Start the DVD in your PC and the Universal skin loads on top of the InterActual DVD software player. Most prominent is a link to Universal's Total Axess web site that promises to offer an even greater variety of supplements. The Scorpion King link is not yet active as of this early review, but based on Universal's previous Total Axess efforts, we can expect an impressive depth of materials.

Parting Thoughts