Rating: PG-13
Starring:
Michael Copon as Mathayus
Karen Shenaz David as Layla
Randy Couture as Sargon
Chase Agulhas as Noah
Natalie Becker as Astarte
Simon Quarterman as Ari
Tom Wu as Fong
Andreas Wisniewski as Pollux
Jeremy Crutchley as Baldo
Shane Manie as Jesup
Pierre Marais as Young Mathayus
Warrick Grier as General Abalgamash
Az Abrahams as King Hammurabi
Special Features:
Deleted Scenes
Gag Reel
Becoming Sargon: One on One with Randy Couture
Fight Like an Akkadian: Black Scorpion Training Camp
And Much More!
Other Info:
Widescreen (1.78:1)
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Spanish and French Languages
Spanish and French Subtitles
Running Time: 1 Hour 45 Minutes
Synopsis:
The following is from the official synopsis of the film:
“See how the legend of The Scorpion King began! When a young Mathayus witnesses his father’s death at the hands of the king (UFC Champion Randy Couture), his quest for vengeance transforms him into the most feared warrior of the ancient world. From the director of ‘Resident Evil: Extinction’ and ‘Highlander’ comes a heroic adventure filled with heart-stopping action and thrilling visual effects!”
“The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior” is rated PG-13 for violence, and sexual content including references.
Mini-Review:
If you knew a movie was going straight to DVD, you probably wouldn’t expect it to be very good. And if that movie was a sequel to a spin-off of a sequel, you probably wouldn’t expect it to be very good, either. And if you heard none of the original actors appeared for any of the roles, yet again you wouldn’t expect much from the movie. Discovering a wrestler is the headliner would probably be the kiss of death. Well, you’d be right in the case of “The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior.”
This movie is rather boring. In fact, it’s so dull I had to stop of halfway through and watch the rest of it a day later. It’s also utterly predictable. You can pretty much figure out who is going to live and die and how the movie will end. There’s no suspense here. And despite the fact that this is a sequel to “The Scorpion King,” it has almost no connection with its predecessor or “The Mummy.” This is a standalone film with little hint of Mathayus’ dark future. It’s little more than an effort to create something like a “Conan” movie.
Despite this, it is successful in some respects. It does feel like a “Conan” movie at times, for better or worse. We see fantasy characters going through magical realms and battling gods and monsters. The film also has a few good ideas behind it. The idea of Mathayus fighting the Minotaur in the Labyrinth is a good concept though the execution is weak. And the cast is certainly attractive. Michael Copon as Mathayus handles the action well and Karen David as Layla is tough and beautiful. Unfortunately, these things alone aren’t enough to make “The Scorpion King 2” any good.
I think if this had been the pilot to a TV series, it might have been OK. It’s kind of TV series writing combined with movie quality production. I’d only recommend this movie to fans of fantasy films and the absolute, most die-hard “Scorpion King” fans. Most audiences won’t be impressed with this.
You’ll find a respectable offering of bonus features. There are deleted scenes, a gag reel, featurettes showing the training of the actors, featurettes showing the visual effects, and other goodies.
