WARRIOR. LEGEND. KING.

Desert warrior Mathayus (Dwayne Johnson) is hired to kill a sorceress (Kelly Hu) in an attempt to stop an evil king (Steven Brand) from taking over the world.

“The Rock” returns from The Mummy Returns (2001) in a film that desperately wants to be the next Indiana Jones. Or perhaps a third Conan? There’s plenty of sandy swordplay here without getting all hysterical like The Mummy Returns.

The story may be for the birds, but the whole thing is reasonably fun and Johnson, in his first lead role, a decent stand-in for Schwarzenegger.

2002-U.S. 88 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed by Chuck Russell. Screenplay: Stephen Sommers, William Osborne, David Hayter. Cast: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (Mathayus), Kelly Hu (Cassandra), Steven Brand (Memnon), Michael Clarke Duncan, Grant Heslov, Peter Facinelli.

Trivia: Co-produced by Sommers. Followed by four direct-to-DVD films, starting with The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior (2008).