While The Mummy Returns was The Rock's movie debut, it was little more than a gloriied cameo and half of that was CGI. The Scorpion King was his debut as a leading man.
Seventeen years later and Dwayne Johnson is one of the busiest people in Hollywood but it wasn't a sure thing.
Watching The Scorpion King so soon after the Mummy Returns, there's big disconnect between the noble and heroic Matthyias seen in this movie and the villianous Scorpion King in the Mummy Returns granted there was some time between the two stories but as we get more sequels with a heroic Scorpion King the harder it is see Matthyias' heel turn (The Scorping King 2 was a prequel to this movie but 3 - 5 are set after this movie)
I do wonder if the Scorpion King was never meant to be connected to the Mummy and the sudden success of The Mummy meant that they used ideas from The Scorpion King in the Mummy Returns.
There is an entry on TVtropes that Sommers considers the Mummy Returns Scorpion King to be the lookalike grandson of this Scorpion King. Ican't find the actual source for that but It's an interesting way to look at two franschises.
The movie itself is quite enjoyable Sword and Scorcery film in the vein of Conan or Hercules. (which reminds me I want to see the Hercules Movie that Dwayn Johnson made a couple of years back)
Kelly Hu as the sorceress Cassandra is quite good in her role and is quite able to handle her own in some of the fight scenes. The Rock is charismatic and really good - it's hard to beleive that his is his second movie and first leading role, he hold his own with Michael Clarke Duncan's Balthazar.
Hey i wouldn't complain if every few years another DVD exclusive in this series was come out.
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