The Scorpion King

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1:41

The Scorpion King

PG-13

Released Apr 19, 2002

1h 31m

Adventure

Action

Fantasy

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

40%

Tomatometer

135 Reviews

37%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

Inspired by the legendary Egyptian warrior, "The Scorpion King" is set 5000 years ago in the notorious city of Gomorrah, where an evil ruler is determined to lay waste to all the nomadic peoples of the desert. The few remaining tribes, never natural allies, have to unite or perish. Knowing their enemy relies on the visions of a sorcerer, they hire a skilled assassin, Mathayus (Dwayne Johnson), to eliminate the visionary.

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Critics Consensus

Action adventure doesn't get much cheesier than The Scorpion King.

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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

On the silly popcorn scale, it works pretty well.

Rated: 3/5

Dec 29, 2010

Full Review

Michael Wilmington

Chicago Tribune

Another grandiose, hyperactive crock, full of lame jokes and gorgeous, stupefying images.

Rated: 2/4

Jul 20, 2002

Full Review

Michael Rechtshaffen

The Hollywood Reporter

All the necessary exposition prevents the picture from rising above your generic sand 'n' sandal adventure.

Apr 24, 2002

Full Review

Leigh Paatsch

Herald Sun (Australia)

Just as much big, dumb fun as an A-grade B-movie should be.

Rated: 3/5

Sep 11, 2020

Full Review

Sean Collier

Box Office Prophets

The effects are terrible, the comedy falls flat and the story is an utter mess.

Rated: 2/10

Jul 27, 2020

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Tim Brayton

Alternate Ending

It's hard to follow and doesn't reward the effort of following it. It's not good drama, and it's not good spectacle.

Rated: 1/5

Aug 26, 2019

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MexiCanadian 0

2000's action and adventure that you don't get these days. Early in the Rocks career that he wasn't an unstoppable good guy coasting on his fame. He actually put some work into acting in those early days. Super fun and cheesy. Just an early 2000s classic IMO. Miss these movies!!!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/07/25

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Thomas J

How can anyone not like this movie?

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/02/25

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r96 s

'The Scorpion King' isn't one to take seriously, but based on sheer entertainment factor I did suitably enjoy this. It was, at least for yours truly, a fairly breezy 90 minutes, they did a solid job at keeping the action paced well across that run time. The casting is good too. Dwayne Johnson isn't the best actor here in terms of how he says his lines and all that (his acting has improved since), but I'd say he makes up for that by fulfilling the physicality requirements. Michael Clarke Duncan, Kelly Hu, Grant Heslov and Bernard Hill are ones I liked seeing too. Steven Brand is the only actor that I wasn't sold on whilst watching. I do think his Memnon character is just about passable, but at the same time I'd consider him as the weakest link. Elsewhere, the special effects seemed minimally used (at least compared to the originals) - that's a plus. It always fascinates me when I find out about these sorta franchises, simply because it is somewhat difficult to believe that they could produce five releases and have none of them enter my knowledge - until now, of course. I am interested in checking them out though, no question.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/18/25

Full Review

Cudalbu R

One of tne few times I honesly saw Dwayne Johnson with hair compared to today. Rather nostalgic.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/23/24

Full Review

Henry C

Great film the chemistry is amazing

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

11/22/24

Full Review

Andrew L

The Rock's first big role is nothing to rave about as the plot of the movie has nothing to do with The Mummy Movies.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

08/06/24

Full Review

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Chuck Russell

Director

Dwayne Johnson

Mathayus the Scorpion King

Steven Brand

Memnon

Michael Clarke Duncan

Balthazar

Kelly Hu

The Sorceress

Bernard Hill

Philos

The Scorpion King: Official Clip - Hail to the King

2:59

The Scorpion King: Official Clip - Swords of Fire

3:02

The Scorpion King: Official Clip - Soldiers in the Cave

3:10

The Scorpion King: Official Clip - Cobra Roulette

2:53

The Scorpion King: Official Clip - Capturing the Sorceress

3:20

The Scorpion King: Official Clip - Scorpion Venom

3:01

The Scorpion King: Official Clip - The Great Memnon

1:14

The Scorpion King: Official Clip - Fire Ants

2:37

The Scorpion King: Official Clip - Punishment for Stealing

2:28

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The Scorpion King: Trailer 1

1:41

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Synopsis

Inspired by the legendary Egyptian warrior, "The Scorpion King" is set 5000 years ago in the notorious city of Gomorrah, where an evil ruler is determined to lay waste to all the nomadic peoples of the desert. The few remaining tribes, never natural allies, have to unite or perish. Knowing their enemy relies on the visions of a sorcerer, they hire a skilled assassin, Mathayus (Dwayne Johnson), to eliminate the visionary.

Director: Chuck Russell
Producer: Sean Daniel, James Jacks, Stephen Sommers, Kevin Misher
Screenwriter: John Hales, Stephen Sommers, Stephen Sommers, William Osborne, David Hayter
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Alphaville Films, Universal Pictures
Rating: PG-13 (Some Sensuality|Intense Action Violence)
Genre: Adventure, Action, Fantasy, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 19, 2002, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 24, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $90.3M
Runtime: 1h 31m
Sound Mix: Dolby SR, DTS, Dolby Stereo, Surround, SDDS, Dolby A, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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