The Scorpion King battle from The Mummy Returns is considered a nadir for CGI effect, but Brendan Fraser is right about it being kind of perfect. In reimagining the titular monster for a new generation of moviegoers, The Mummy 1999 decided to make him a CG creation. In hindsight, many of these effects shots don’t hold up well at all – but they’re so much worse in 2001’s The Mummy Returns. This sequel greatly up the amount of action and setpieces, resulting in some very cartoony shots. The most infamous is the CGI Scorpion King battle, turning Dwayne Johnson’s villain into a janky video game character.
That’s exactly how Mummy Returns star Fraser described the monster in a GQ career retrospective. Setting himself apart from the many videos and articles that have ripped the scene apart for how bad the Scorpion King looks, Fraser thinks the jankiness of the effect is “perfect” for the scene. In a sense, he’s not wrong. In fact, the tone of The Mummy Returns is like a live-action cartoon, right down to its blatant disregard for the laws of physics or gravity, such as the Airship chase setpiece. The subpar CG wasn’t the intention, but all it does – as Fraser suggests – is underline the cartoon elements of the sequel.
Why The Scorpion King’s CGI Was So Bad
YouTube channel Corridor Crew once posted a video where they “fixed” the shot unveiling Johnson’s CGI Scorpion King. In 2022, they spoke with John Berton Jr. – who served as visual effects supervisor on The Mummy Returns – who explained why the shot came out so poorly. Benton Jr. claims the production badly needed reference footage of Johnson for his CG double. They requested a day to photograph the star’s face, but as Johnson was busy with WWE at the time, they couldn’t get the necessary footage.
While he cites the movement of the Scorpion King was always intended to be “cartoony,” the lack of texture or any real detailing on the skin hurts close-up shots of the monster. Berton Jr. defends some of the shots of the creature but concedes the result is very much lacking. Of course, CG wasn’t in the same place back in 2001, so when viewed through modern eyes, many CG shots from that era didn’t hold up. The Mummy Returns‘ Scorpion King now looks like something from a PS2 video game, lending it a certain charm.
Why The Scorpion King’s CGI Didn’t Hurt The Mummy Returns
The Scorpion King battle is the most widely-mocked element of The Mummy Returns – but it took many years for that backlash to emerge. During its release, the sequel was even considered a visual spectacle. The sequel was another success and it even landed Johnson his own spin-off with 2002’s The Scorpion King, his first lead in a movie. This marked the beginning of a long career and even led to a series of Scorpion King movies – though Johnson only appeared in the original. Fraser’s outlook on the Scorpion King CGI might be kind – but it’s the best way to frame it.
