Where to watch The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior
1 1/2 Stars
In Ancient Akkad, Mathayus grows up as the proud son of Ashur, a captain in the world-renowned military corps of Black Scorpions, first-rate bodyguards, most of which are sent to courts wide away. By objecting to young Mathayus joining the corps, Ashur incurs the undying enmity of ruthless generalissimo Sargon, gets killed and the orphaned knave is shipped off to a desolate training camp for six years by king Hammurabi’s clemency. When he returns as a Black Scorpio, Sargon has bloodily seized the throne and demands cruel proof of blind loyalty. Mathayus refuses, becoming a chased hero. With youth friends, the resourceful Greek Pollux and various mercenary warriors, he embarks on a daring quest to obtain a legendary sword from Sargon’s magical ally, the war-goddess Astarte.
Universal Studios unwisely demolished a potentially lucrative franchise in The Scorpion King, banishing the follow-ups to the direct-to-DVD market. This boneheaded decision resulted in The Scorpion Kin 2: Rise of a Warrior, a quickie prequel/sequel that no one was asking for. The film casts a teenage boy as the adolescent warrior, and this move reeks of contempt by the executives and creative forces behind the project.
Highlander helmer Russell Mulcahy does a competent but unremarkable job telling the story visually. The film’s social effects are slightly better than the norm for the genre, but that’s likely due to the production skimping in other areas. The script, credited to Randall McCormick, is uninspired and lacks a compelling villain; Randy Couture is menacing and underused, but the hero and his cohorts are all tasked with side quests that do little to engage the viewer in the story’s action and drama. Universal Pictures reversed its course and brought in an adult actor to play the title character in Part 3, signaling to all that The Scorpion King 2 is an acknowledged failure even by its creator’s standards. The attractive men and women cast members can’t salvage King 2 from being the total dud it was to be.
Directed by: Russell Mulcahy
Written by: Randall McCormick
Starring: Michael Copon, Karen David, Simon Quarterman, Tom Wu