The movie made more than triple the one right beneath it (Jackson versus Affleck in “Changing Lanes,” the previous week’s leader) and is 10 times dumber. That, of course, was not the point of “The Scorpion King.” Complaining about its dumbness is like being mad at a book for having pages. There really weren’t many throwaway action-comedies like this back then. They’re less rare now and still often starring Johnson, who’s among the last bankable names. This one was a prequel spun off from the “Mummy” franchise, and the world wanted both the familiarity of an old hit and Johnson’s novelty. His stardom over at what we now called the WWE had been predicated upon a blend of bad-assery and charm. He wrestled through the company’s so-called attitude era, which insisted personality be, at least, tantamount to skill.

The Rock controlled crowds with catchphrases and eyebrows that seemed to bench press themselves. He thrilled them with his populist finishing move, the People’s Elbow. “The Scorpion King” applies some of that to a video-game plot (vanquish evil ruler). The people who made this movie include Johnson’s wrestling boss, Vince McMahon, and you can tell none of them wanted to take any chances. To ensure that Johnson remains the Rock, they keep him on a high-intensity action schedule. Every 10 minutes, there’s a fight or a chase or an assassination attempt. Seems right for a sword-and-sandal fantasy that brims accordingly with cheesecake and cheese. Kelly Hu plays a fugitive sorceress, and I gasped anew at her witch-wear: a cape, a bikini. At some point, Michael Clarke Duncan, as the Nubian king, swings his sword and doesn’t make contact with the handful of guards he’s aimed for. But in the spirit of Johnson’s day job, they go flying over a castle wall, anyway.

We showed up for this terrible movie because we knew the Rock’s sports-entertainment stardom would make sense at the megaplex. He’s so bright and cheerful. “Get ready,” he says to the spunky child who just ripped him off. “I’ll kill half, you kill half.” No one this big (6-foot-5, several tons), should be this light. But for long stretches of time, he’s not even here, leaving the action to side players.