If You Thought the First One Was Bad…
Something seemed off to me when the biggest name in this film was Randy Couture, a recent UFC champion. It seems to be a fairly common misconception with low budget action films that a wrestler, MMA fighter, or athlete can also be a good actor. However, Couture’s weak acting performance is not alone. Mathayus, played by Michael Copon, and lead female role Layla, played by Karen Shenaz David also turn in unappealing performances. That may be partly due to their acting abilities, but the script is also largely to blame.
The story begins with a very young Mathayus, who is a mischievous young boy who wants to partake in a traditional fighting tournament that is overseen by Couture’s character, Sargon (what an uber-generic name). His dad disapproves of his interest in combat, but Mathayus’ interest and potential in battle get him sent to a training camp whereby he spends six years and becomes a formidable warrior. Upon returning home he discovers things are not as they once were, however Sargon still rules the land and Mathayus has been made to be his body guard. When Mathayus’ is tasked with executing his friend who spoke out against the King, he decides to turn on Sargon and his forces and he escapes, only to return later with the help of the Invincible Sword he picked up in the Underworld, and several friends who also want to end the dark reign of the Scorpion King.
Personally, I just couldn’t buy into this film. The acting and the script are so clichéd and weak, it’s nearly laughable; I just couldn’t take anything seriously. The same can just about be said for the original Scorpion King, but that’s honestly a better film than SK2 – Rise of A Warrior, and that’s not saying much. Dialogue issues like bad attempts at humor and oh so generic ‘tough’ lines as well as overdone romantic ideas between Mathayus and Layla only add to the cheese factor. The ties to the original Scorpion King, which aren’t too deep anyway, aren’t enough to make this a worthy prequel either.
Straight To Video And Then To Cable
Scorpion King 2 – Rise of A Warrior features absolutely no extra features on this Blu-ray release. The only thing even resembling an extra feature is the ability to bookmark scenes, called My Scenes and play them back. I don’t think this is a useful feature in an Oscar caliber film, much less a low budget cash-in like this one.
About the only redeeming quality to mention is the video and audio presentation. The video looked very good, technically, although from a directorial standpoint the CG was pretty darn lame, especially the minotaur creature and the final scorpion at the end; not terribly surprising given what must have been a relatively low budget for the movie. The DTS audio does a nice enough job, and small snippets of the soundtrack are good on more than a technical level, but ultimately there’s nothing to write home about.