Today, I’m covering The Rock’s first major foray into Hollywood, The Scorpion King. This was not his acting debut as he appeared on an episode of Star Trek Voyager in 2000 and he played the Scorpion King in The Mummy Returns a year later. However, he was just the villain in The Mummy Returns and was mostly CGI. Here in Scorpion King, a spin off of the The Mummy series, Dwayne has the starring role as Mathyus.
The movie opens with a daring rescue by Mathyus of his brother Jesup, played by Branscombe Richmond, from a band of Barbarians. Branscombe would later star alongside Dwayne in the movie Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. It just so happens that the Barbarian Chieftain is played by Tyler Mane. Tyler is a former professional wrestler turned actor. He was trained in the infamous Hart Dungeon and wrestled in Japan for AJPW and in Mexico for CMLL. You may know him as Big Sky, his role in WCW, where he wrestled alongside Vinnie Vegas, better known as Kevin Nash. Nash himself is no stranger to film.
Tyler Mane as Barbarian Cheiftain
Mathyus is among the last of the Akkadians, an almost mythical tribe, he along with his brother are hired by a local chieftain to kill Memnon’s sorcerer. Memnon, evil ruler and main villain is played by Steven Brand, mostly known for voice acting and TV roles. On the way to kill the sorcerer there is a scene where a horse thief is being tortured. One of the torturers is played by Nils Allen Stewart. Stewart had a brief stint as a wrestler in Eddy Mansfield’s IWF, as The Stomper. IWF is known for producing stars such as Billy Gunn and Rob Van Dam. Stewart is known for his many roles in film, however, much more is known about his son “BooBoo” Stewart, famous for his role in the Twilight Breaking Dawn films.
This movie is an action packed romp through the desert and a perfect vehicle for The Rock to strut his stuff action wise. You’ll notice some mannerisms in this film that will later be hallmarks in his other films. You can even see a bit of his comedic timings that would be more fully realized in a series of family films and more recently Central Intelligence. If you’re a fan of action films, or a fan of The Mummy franchise, it’s really a must watch. Although The Rock never would reprise his role as Mathyus , The Scorpion King would spawn three sequels; The Scorpion King: Rise of a Warrior which starred UFC star Randy Couture, The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption starring WWE star turned actor, Batista and the late Kimbo Slice, boxer, mixed martial artist and once to be professional wrestler, the most recent sequel The Scorpion King 4: Quest for Power, starring Royce Gracie UFC super star, former WWE superstar Eve Torres, and UFC Star Antonio Silva.
I’d also like to take the time to share that I had the privilege to write for local Pittsburgh Wrestler Shirley Doe’s movie blog B&S About Movies this month for Christmas Cinema Week. Although the movies I reviewed do not star pro wrestlers, if you’re interested in reading about what other stuff I like to watch you can check those out below. As of the posting of this only two of my reviews are up there but one for Mother Krampus is coming soon.
Wrestling With Film 