March 9, 2008
This is a movie in the time-honoured tradition of pairing a bulging hard-man (Arnie, Vin Diesel) with an adorable little moppet. It's not a bad variation on this theme, allowing Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson to send himself up agreeably while learning the usual lessons about not being a selfish git. Johnson has had a couple of dry-runs for this sort of role by making a guest appearance on the Disney Chanel's Hannah Montana, where he revealed a kind of goofy charm and a great willingness to look silly. Clearly he is a man not unaquainted with skincare products in real life, and very gamely allows himself to appear vain, to be sprayed with gunk at regular intervals, and to don a disturbingly snug pair of tights while assisting his adorable moppet in her ballet show. He wasn't half bad, for a chap whose neck is wider than his head. There's a delightful scene in which he suddenly exchanges his charming smile for the more familiar Scorpion King enraged glare - it is genuinely scary - nice to know all those years as a professional wrestler weren't completely wasted then. The moppet, played by Madison Pettis, is a frighteningly brilliant child star who generously declines to steal absolutely every scene she is in. It's a well-crafted vehicle, not startlingly original, but a pleasant enough way of whiling away a wet afternoon.