Directed by:
Chuck RussellCinematography:
John R. LeonettiComposer:
John DebneyCast:
Dwayne Johnson, Steven Brand, Michael Clarke Duncan, Kelly Hu, Bernard Hill, Grant Heslov, Peter Facinelli, Ralf Moeller, Branscombe Richmond, Roger Rees (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
In the notorious city of Gomorrah, 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. After infiltrating the enemy camp, Mathayus discovers that the sorcerer is in fact a beautiful woman. Rather than eliminate her, he takes her deep into the desert badlands, knowing that the ruler's henchman will stop at nothing to rescue her and bring her back. Seriously wounded in the ensuing battle, Mathayus must find the strength to lead his scrappy band of allies back to Gomorrah for a final confrontation. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (5)
A mediocre action flick laden with a thousand clichés. Surprisingly, I didn’t mind The Rock, but he is very hammy every time he tries to bring some insight to his role. Arnie did much better with that in Conan the Barbarian.
()
A solid action-fantasy C-movie, the kind we haven’t had since Conan the Barbarian. No more, no less.
()
Any speculation about whether The Rock would be suitable for this role was completely unwarranted. He fits it like a glove, and he can handle his sword just as quickly as his tongue. He delivers one wisecrack after another while maintaining an unusually likeable detachment. And this is how the whole film is structured. Despite being burdened by a ton of adventure clichés, it is relatively easy to watch. The action is fast-paced and visually impressive, the main villain is not a problem (the scene in the training area is fantastic), and Michael Clarke Duncan is irresistible in disguise. Easygoing entertainment with no ambitions for anything more than a one-off and a solid contribution to the genre.
()
It's a simple story through and through, but it has a certain, ahem, barbaric charm. It doesn’t dazzle cinematically and rather comes across as a narrative episode of TV's Hercules, but despite some annoying supporting characters, it entertains, passes by quickly, and doesn’t leave you feeling robbed. I was intrigued by John Debney's score, which intersperses very honest and catchy orchestral pieces with almost contemporary electronic music without clashing. Why not.
()
A rock star with long hair, digital effects that were good for their time but terrible now, a fairly classic revenge story that involves a beautiful woman, and some familiar faces thrown in for good measure. What more could you ask for? I don't even know. This film seems so ordinary nowadays... It’s a classic mainstream film that is supposed to entertain. I think that it does. It is indicative of the fact that it is only a short film. In a single day, I watched too many similar films, leaving me with a bad aftertaste that influenced my rating of this one. However, I don't consider my rating to be overly subjective.
()