So how does a bloodthirsty warlord from one film become a hero in another? Saddle him up against an even more malevolent bad guy, which is what this The Mummy Returns spinoff does by default. Dwayne Johnson (a/k/a "The Rock" of World Wrestling Federation fame) is back as the warring being of the title, except in this prequel of sorts he's not the arachnid/man beast he was in the aforementioned film. He's an assassin trying to knock off a sadistic tyrant (Steven Brand) who also happens to be the deadliest swordsman in all of Mesopotamia -- he can deflect a battery of arrows with a swish of his blade. There's plenty of battle, too much banal political jockeying, some beefy bonding with Michael Duncan Clarke as the Nubian warrior king, and, of course, a scantily clad babe -- in this case a supple and curvy Kelly Hu as the sorceress who can see the future.

The main pitfall with this actioner is that there's no character development. The Rock looks the part, but the paper-thin characterization and dumb dialogue leave him all brawn and no brain. Mummy and Rock fans can rest assured that the sword-swinging acrobatics, choreographed frenetically by director Chuck Russell, are enthralling, even if the climax is more letdown than smackdown. At the Apple Valley, Entertainment, Flagship, Holiday, Hoyts, Narragansett, Showcase, and Tri-Boro cinemas.