makonxmonkey

First, I have to put you in my mind set when I watched this film. I had just come home from watching the Transporter 2 (one of the most hollow movies I have ever seen.) which was incomparable to the first Transporter on any level. So having just witnessed that debacle I had to redeem my evening. My brother had purchased Ong-Bak but, had not yet watched it so we set about reclaiming our Friday evening. Spastic chimpanzee seizures are the only description of the anguish I had to suffer through to get through this film. Comparing Tony Jaa to guys like Jet-Li and Jackie Chan is just unforgivable; those guys are in a different league than he is. Now I am not saying that he can't one day reach their level but, even mentioning his name in the same sentence as Bruce Lee is a shame. Bruce Lee helped reinvigorate martial arts movies and make them accessible to a wider audience. Tony Jaa studied Muay Thai for four years in preparation for this film (http://www.tonyjaa.org/bio.shtml). All the previous martial arts legends I listed previously had years of experience before they started making films. In the end all the hype for this film should have been toned down so that people could accept Tony Jaa for what he is, a possible future legend not a replacement for the old guard. So, it is possible that I was already dumb-no-plot-action movied out by the time I watched this movie or it could just be a dumb, slow, nothing new venture into old familiar territory.

The Scorpion King is nothing more than an action movie. The previews didn't promise anything more and it delivers just what it promised. The director and executive producer (who just happens to be Vince McMahon, the Rock's boss on the WWF) sculpted the movie around the Rock. Since it was his first leading role they wanted to make it easier for him to adjust to the big screen. They applied some of the concepts of the World Wrestling Federation to the movie. That is why the movie is so very action oriented with small bits of story and character development inbetween. The fans of the Rock will more than likely enjoy this film, while the casual movie watcher may not find it chessy and over acted. At any rate I give this film a 7 out of 10, it was a very impressive first outing for the Rock as a leading man but, nothing special to add to the action genre.