To say the omens for this blood'n'guts adventure yarn aren't good would be veering towards the understatement.

The publicity uses the dread word "spin off" from the superlative Mummy series, the main character - The Rock - is primarily known as a World Wrestling Federation star and, wait for it, the director is called Chuck.

However, Chuck Russell, whose resume includes Arnie in Eraser (boo!) and Jim Carrey in The Mask (hurrah!), is more than up to the task and if your are up for an action epic fuelled on pure adrenalin then this is for you.

The Rock, who resembles a streamlined Steven Seagal with the hair but without the paunch, plays accomplished Akkadian assassin Mathayus.

He's enlisted to rub out evil warlord Memnon (Steven Brand), a bit of a rum cove whose barbarian hordes have enslaved those they didn't slaughter.

When Mathayus penetrates the notoriously decadent city of Gomorrah - Memnon's powerbase -he discovers that the dastardly villain's visionary is a woman, the beautiful Cassandra (Kelly Hu).

Rather than kill her, Mathayus takes her hostage (after a rather rocky journey through Gomorrah's drainage system) and carts her off to the desolate Valley of the Dead.

Together with former foe Balthazar (Michael Clarke Duncan) and maverick explosives expert Philos (Bernard Hill), Mathayus plots the downfall of Memnon - and realises he will have to return to Gomorrah.

This is the sort of movie that needs to be watched with a six-pack and a barrel of popcorn to hand - it's not high art but neither does it pretend to be.

The Rock makes an adequate debut as the lead without taking himself too seriously and even attempts a couple of gags which you may find yourselves smirking at even if you don't feel you should.

The special effects are pretty faultless, as is commonly the way these days, with Mathayus' subterranean battle with Memnon's assassins a particularly impressive fight to the finish.

Those who enjoyed the Mummy series won't be disappointed - it's good old fashioned fun, pacily directed and stunningly shot. What you see is what you get.

Tim Evans