Premise - A long, long time ago in a desert far, far away Mathayus (Dwayne Johnson) is an assassin hired to kill Memnon's (Steven Brands) sorceress (Kelly Hu) so that the people may rise against Memnon's Tyranny. A spin-off from the unexplainably popular 'Mummy' movies, The Scorpion King fleshes out the origins of the titular character. Essentially what you have here is a starring vehicle for Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. Something for him to cut his acting teeth on as he bids to leave the WWFE's ring to find success on the silver screen. So, how does he do? Surprisingly well is the answer. The Rock has a natural charisma that he has been honing on WWFE television for years. It's a style that transfers easily to the big budget action film and he seems at ease throughout the film's rather slender running time. Even though he has few lines in the movie, the ones he does have are delivered solidly and with confidence. Sure, he's not going to be bothering Ed Norton or Robert De Niro in the acting stakes, but Hollywood has been looking for a new action star for some time and Dwayne might just fit the bill. The rest of the cast are fine, although the standard action movie 'comedy sidekick' does become tiresome. Kelly Hu is certainly a nice piece of window dressing and gives the guy's something to look at. Although posted missing for most of the film Michael Clarke Duncan gives a nice little supporting performance and is a suitably imposing presence. They wheel out the standard British guy as bad guy, but Steven Brand does okay and is certainly slimy enough to pull it off. The script is weak, it's standard fare for the most part. Borrowing heavily from the likes of Conan and it's ilk. I hope that writer Jonathan Hales has made a better job of the Attack Of The Clones script which he co-wrote with Mr Lucas. I certainly don't want to see Obi Wan telling Count Dooku to 'Catch this' as he throws a lightsaber at him. Director Chuck Russell has had a few stinkers recently (Bless This Child & Eraser) so The Scorpion King is something of a return to form (if you can call The Mask & The Blob form). The action scenes are handled competently and are quite stylish. He doesn't give in to the current trend of throwing 'bullet-time' into action scenes just because you can. The film does get bogged down between the action scenes, but the charisma of The Rock ensures that these moments don't become too tiresome. The Scorpion King is a film that I had incredibly low expectations for and not only were they met, but I found myself really enjoying the movie. If Dwayne Johnson can pick his future projects wisely there's no reason why he can't be an Arnie or a Sly and not a Van Damme. A solid action movie that in my mind is good bit better than 'The Mummy Returns'.

6/10 for The Scorpion King. Poster Quote - Can you smell what the Scorpion is cooking?