The Scorpion King

A series of action set-pieces poorly disguised as a movie, "The Scorpion King" has a lot more in common with star The Rock's spawning place the WWF than it does with any version of traditional cinema narrative construction that I can think of. Essentially a series of scripted bouts between the title character and an array of foes, replete with shifting alliances and bad guys who become allies (think "Smackdown"), the picture achieves its extremely limited goals with a modicum of style. The Rock himself, who doesn't act so much as he flexes, is not without a certain self-effacing screen appeal, but whether he has what it takes to become the Next Big Action Star remains to be seen.