The Scorpion King

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1:41

The Scorpion King

PG-13

2002

1h 35m

Adventure

Action

Fantasy

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

40%

Tomatometer

135 Reviews

38%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

Inspired by the legendary Egyptian warrior, "The Scorpion King" is set 5000 years ago in the notorious city of Gomorrah, where an evil ruler is determined to lay waste to all the nomadic peoples of the desert. The few remaining tribes, never natural allies, have to unite or perish. Knowing their enemy relies on the visions of a sorcerer, they hire a skilled assassin, Mathayus, to eliminate the visionary.

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Critics Consensus

Action adventure doesn't get much cheesier than The Scorpion King.

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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Dec 29, 2010

3/5

On the silly popcorn scale, it works pretty well.

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Michael Wilmington

Chicago Tribune

Jul 20, 2002

2/4

Another grandiose, hyperactive crock, full of lame jokes and gorgeous, stupefying images.

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Michael Rechtshaffen

The Hollywood Reporter

Apr 24, 2002

All the necessary exposition prevents the picture from rising above your generic sand 'n' sandal adventure.

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Sebastian Zavala Kahn

Me gusta el cine

Feb 21, 2026

3.5/5

A frankly ridiculous action movie, but one made with such sincerity and technical skill that it's practically impossible not to have a good time with it. It's not a good movie in the traditional sense of the phrase. [Full Review in Spanish].

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Leigh Paatsch

Herald Sun (Australia)

Sep 11, 2020

3/5

Just as much big, dumb fun as an A-grade B-movie should be.

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Sean Collier

Box Office Prophets

Jul 27, 2020

2/10

The effects are terrible, the comedy falls flat and the story is an utter mess.

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Robert P

@Superbad Sep 16, 2026

The Scorpion King stinks and the special effects do too!

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Meddy S

@RT51609981 Jul 10, 2026

A movie I loved watching in my teens. The actor is very strong and his colleague is very comical. I highly recommend.

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Babatunde Michael A

@Teeabod Jun 12, 2026

The Scorpion King was such an entertaining throwback. This was one of those movies that didn't try to be overly complicated, it just gave us action, adventure, and a hero you couldn't help but root for. Seeing Dwayne Johnson step into his first leading role was pretty cool, and he brought the perfect mix of toughness, confidence, and charisma to Mathayus. The fight scenes were fun, the desert setting gave the movie an epic feel, and the journey from a skilled assassin to a legendary king kept me invested the whole time. Sure, it has its cheesy moments, but that's part of its charm. It's the kind of movie you throw on when you just want to relax and enjoy a good old fashioned action adventure without overthinking it.

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Justin T

@RT08580778 May 14, 2026

This is not good at all but it is really entertaining, it feels like it’s deliberately bad and they added comedy to carry the film between the mediocre fight scenes. This could definitely be a guilty pleasure. Because it is shorter than The Mummy Returns (2001) it is overall more entertaining but be aware that it has nothing to do with The Mummy (1999). Weirdly watching this made me want to play the original Assassin’s Creed video game from 2007.

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Griffith J

@griffithxjohnson Feb 26, 2026

The most 5-dollar-Walmart-bin movie ever made with macho man fight scenes & cheesy one liners that are actually quite entertaining in their stupidity. Sadly, the second half gives up the ridiculous aspects & falls into something completely forgettable. The action is so overdone with a campiness that borders on intentional comedy. The true failure is the horribly generic writing that can never commit to a tone or vision. There aren’t enough ancient civilization films so the sets & costumes are awesome to look at but this is hardly a Mummy spinoff.

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Oaklee D

@ODie63 Jan 8, 2026

A cheesy and dumb swords and sandals adventure that I enjoyed way more than I should have.

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Chuck Russell

Director

Dwayne Johnson

Mathayus the Scorpion King

Steven Brand

Memnon

Michael Clarke Duncan

Balthazar

Kelly Hu

The Sorceress

Bernard Hill

Philos

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Synopsis

Inspired by the legendary Egyptian warrior, "The Scorpion King" is set 5000 years ago in the notorious city of Gomorrah, where an evil ruler is determined to lay waste to all the nomadic peoples of the desert. The few remaining tribes, never natural allies, have to unite or perish. Knowing their enemy relies on the visions of a sorcerer, they hire a skilled assassin, Mathayus, to eliminate the visionary.

Director: Chuck Russell
Producer: Stephen Sommers, Sean Daniel, James Jacks, Kevin Misher
Screenwriter: John Hales, William Osborne, David Hayter
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Alphaville Films, Universal Pictures
Rating: PG-13 (Some Sensuality|Intense Action Violence)
Genre: Adventure, Action, Fantasy, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 19, 2002, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 24, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $90.3M
Runtime: 1h 35m
Sound Mix: Dolby SR, DTS, Dolby Stereo, Surround, SDDS, Dolby A, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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