The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior

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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.

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