In the same way that the Conan movies are set in a fantasy parallel of ancient europe, The Scorpion King is set in a similar middle eastern setting. Once you accept that nothing here is claiming to have any connection with reality, you can get on a enjoy what is a great fantasy yarn. By using a background that has a familiar look and feel, albeit a Hollywood gloss, of ancient Sumeria you automatically get some handy points of reference and an idea of the world the film is set in.
The film is based around the exploits of an Akkadian called Matthias, played by The Rock, American wrestler turned actor. (read American actor turned actor for the cynically minded.) He does have the required mix of cheesy charm and macho screen presence to fill the role, but like Arnie before him has the look of someone who spends all day between the gym and the manicurist whilst trying to convince us that he spends his life crawling round the desert and living off of meagre helpings of food.
With out giving the plot away, Matthias sets out to kill a sorcerer, falls in love, fights the evil warlord and generally saves the day, all pretty predictable and standard fare for the fantasy genre. Although totally unoriginal, what makes the film watchable is the way the story is played out. Thankfully it is all very tongue in cheek, it has to be as it would be too much if it ever started taking itself seriously. It is also visually rewarding and sets some well coregraphed action scenes against some fantastic back drops.
This film does fall into the trap of older fantasy films, whereby everyone seems either to be a body builder or a model, the only exception being anyone playing the comedic role. Though the urban settings of the film are well thought out, the tents and ziggurats having a believable feel, the costume department seem to have gone for the easy or obvious option.
Most characters are dressed in the time honoured skimpy leather giving it the slightly unnearving feel of a tame S&M production. Even though this may be done to appeal to the teenagers in the audience it is a plot device that we should have grown out of by now.
Although the acting is adequete, Bernard Hill is the only part, small though it is, that stands out amongst the main characters who are happy to resort to flashing the flesh in place of acting. That said if you want a mindless bit of escapism, are a fan of the likes of Indiana Jones and Conan the Barbarian and dont mind a bit of well presented cheese, then you will probably like this film. It does preach to the converted, that is you have to already like these types of productions, but it does do it well.