adonis98-743-186503 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. The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior is the sequel that nobody asked for to the 2002 suprisingly awesome Scorpion King that starred Dwayne Johnson and Michael Clarke Duncan and who do we get for the sequel? Randy Couture that's right, that man can barely act his way out of a paper bag except The Expendables Trilogy and in here? He is no different. (0/10)

MaximumMadness I'm a big fan of the "Mummy" franchise. I'm the guy who actually liked "Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" and thought the first "Scorpion King" was a fast, fun film. So when I saw this prequel on Netflix (after seeing the third film in the store the other day), I figured I'd give it a go. I knew the basics- it was directed by Russel Mulcahy (who I quite like as a director, actually), it was direct to video (which is generally not a good thing), and I of course know that it is a "prequel of a prequel/spin-off of a sequel of a remake." Try saying that ten times, fast! I will start off with faint praise- this isn't as bad as it could have been. In fact, it has some moments that I quite liked, to be honest. But like many other sequels/prequels, particularly direct-to-video ones, it fell into one big flaw- it wasn't really needed, and they clearly didn't know what to do with it. As a fan of the first "Scorpion King", it seems obvious that a sequel should bridge the gap between it and "The Mummy Returns", and explain just how Mathayus went from being a championed hero of the people into being a fairly violent villain. This movie does not cover that.This film is a prequel of the first film (itself a prequel), adding an unnecessary and often confusing backstory that more than once causes continuity problems with the rest of the franchise. (A character speaks of seeing the pyramids, whereas the first film took place "before the pyramids", being an example)We start with a young Mathayus, who yearns to train to be a "Black Scorpion", famed warriors. He and his childhood friend Layla sneak into the training session. Layla disguises herself as a boy, as she yearns for adventure that women are often denied, but is soon found out by Sargon (Randy Couture), a ruthless leader who trains the Black Scorpions (I guess, I never really understood who Sargon was meant to be, asides from the villain). A fight breaks out, and young Mathayus helps Layla escape. The king witnesses Mathayus's natural talent as a fighter and demands that Mathayus become a Black Scorpion, despite his father's (a Black Scorpion himself) wishes.Soon after, his father is murdered by Sargon (via some strange magic spell), and Mathayus is sent out for training. Returning several years later (now played by Michael Copon), Mathayus at first serves as a Royal Guard to Sargon (who became king after murdering the past king), but is forced to work against him when Sargon tries to make him kill his own brother.Now, Mathayus, Layla and others who join them must devise a way to beat Sargon and stop his cruel rule over the lands.It's a very basic plot. And I will say, it isn't absolutely abysmal. There are some cool moments, such as a sequence where Mathayus and co. enter the Underworld seeking a sacred sword held by the goddess Astarte, and a scene that references "The Spear of Anubis" (the weapon that would later kill the Scorpion King Mathayus in "The Mummy Returns"), but all in all, it's a very clichéd plot, and the way the movie flows feels like it was written as a TV-pilot. There was more than one moment where I said to myself "Here's where the commercials go."And to be honest, if this WAS a TV-pilot, it would've been a lot better, and would've been more forgivable, as it flows like one. But that fact that it is meant to be an honest-to-god "movie-movie" makes it feel cheap and tacky.The acting is mixed beyond belief. Copon is actually pretty charming and isn't half bad as Mathayus, though he isn't a strong actor by any means. He's like Bruce Campbell in his earlier roles- bad actor, but a lot of charm. Karen David tries way too hard as Layla, the hot-yet-tomboyish female lead, and comes off as more annoying than fierce and fiery. Simon Quarterman as Ari, the Greek comic relief, is actually pretty decent, but the poor writing hurts him. And Randy Couture is just... bad. He doesn't act, he just broods and talks deeply and loudly. He was boring.Mulcahy's direction is OK, given the lower budget, but at times it felt too basic. Like his heart wasn't in it. The action wasn't particularly good. The CGI effects ranged from "acceptable" to "abysmal." It was all low quality in terms of production.But like I said, I've seen far worse direct-to-video films. I'd give this a 4 out of 10. If you liked the rest of the "Mummy" franchise, and can see it for free, give it a watch, but don't expect much of anything.

cinefreakdude The Scorpion King is hands down one of the worst movies on earth. The acting is HORRIBLE; terrible, confusing plot; TERRIBLE special effects; annoying; a rotten film film score, I could keep going on! This is just a BAD movie in EVERY sense! NOT RECOMMENDED!!!! I liked the first Scorpion King OK, and I wasn't expecting much from this, but it was worse than I could possibly imagine! Throughout the movie, I keep thinking, "was the budget for this 5$ ?" There's one part where there fighting a minotaur, and the minotaur looks like its made out of black duct tape and melted tootsie rolls! Like I said, the special effects are truly laughable, just like every think else, in the scorpion king 2. If I could I would give this movie zero stars, as it does not even deserve one!

Pumpkin_Man When I heard about a sequel to The Scorpion King, I wanted to see it. I bought this with Prom Night and The Wizard of Gore remake. I thought it was just alright, but something confused the crap out of me! Mathayus's brother died in the first one, but this one takes place before the original, and his brother dies in this one. Unless he had two brothers, that did not make sense. Other than that, the storyline was okay. Mathayus wants to avenge his father's death, so he trains for six years. When he comes back, the man who killed hid dad became king. Later, Mathayus and his girlfriend Layla end up in the Underworld. There are some funny moments, but it's still not as good as the original Scorpion King! I probably wouldn't recommend THE SCORPION KING 2: RISE OF A WARRIOR!!!