THE SCORPION KING 2
RISE OF A WARRIOR

"Get the sword!"

After seeing his father killed for defending him, Mathayus (Copon) swears revenge and trains to become the most feared warrior that the Akkadian nation has ever seen. Now he has come of age, he confronts Sargon (Couture), now King and the man responsible for killing his father but he has dark magic on his side making him unbeatable in combat. Escaping, Mathayus meets Aristophanes the Greek (Quarterman) who tells him about a fabled sword that can cut through anything, even magic but the sword is the treasure of Lady Astarte (Becker) and she calls the Underworld her domain.

With 'The Mummy' franchise returning to the silver screen, the spin-off film 'The Scorpion King' gets a direct-to-DVD sequel but can 'Rise of a Warrior' rise to the occasion?

After appearing as the villain in 'The Mummy Returns', the Scorpion King and the actor that played him, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnston, appeared in a spin-off movie that turned him from the villain into the hero. While never explaining why he fell from grace to become a conquering warlord, portrayed at the beginning of 'The Mummy' sequel, it did show him as an action hero of the ancient world and showed how he became the Scorpion King. So you would think that a sequel would show his fall to become tyrant but with Dwayne Johnston moving onto bigger and better things, the story of Mathayus' childhood and how he became a warrior took centre stage but unfortunately the plot reflects the budget of the movie.

The story of 'The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior' is one that takes moviemaking back to the fantasy era of the early 80s, only with worse acting and visual effects. While some direct-to-DVD sequels try to recreate the look and feel of the original, with a lesser budget, 'Rise of a Warrior' tries its best to look like 'The Scorpion King' but instead looks like a really cheap TV show. Mixing Greek and Egyptian mythology, the story is a simple one of revenge that sees our hero head to the underworld to find the weapon that will allow him so slay the dark magic using King Sargon of Akkad. This, of course, leads to a journey that sees Mathayus pick up travelling companions along the way, each of which have a pivotal role to play. There is also an evil witch/demon in the shape of Lady Astarte, who is manipulating the King to do her bidding. While this might sound like a decent plot to a fantasy movie, it is executed so poorly and so visually unappealing, that even fans of the original will want to stay well clear of this.

The acting isn't any better either. Former 'Power Ranger' and 'One Tree Hill' actor Michael Copon tries his best as Mathayus and almost looks like a young 'Rock' but doesn't have the screen presence of the former WWE superstar. Karen David makes an acceptable love interest as wanabe warrior Layla but doesn't really have enough to do. Simon Quarterman becomes a little annoying Aristophanes the Greek but former UFC heavy weight fighter Randy Couture is embarrassingly bad as Sargon of Akkad, he can fight but he certainly can't act.

'The Scorpion King: Rise of a Warrior' is a missed opportunity. While it might have been impossible to continue the story with Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnston, a prequel must have seemed like a good idea but this is so poorly executed that fans of the original film with be severely disappointed.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, the transfer is good.

BONUS FEATURES

Deleted Scenes (4.39 mins)
A collection of alternative, extended or deleted scenes that suffer from the lack of an introduction or commentary track to explain why they were removed.

Gag Reel (2.14 mins)
Watch the cast and crew make a hash of their lines and having fun on the set.

The Making of the Scorpion King: Rise of a Warrior (14.14 mins)
Director Russell Mulcahy and stars Michael Copon, Karen David, Simon Quarterman, Tom Wu and Randy Couture take you behind the scenes of South Africa sets and the filming in the desert as the movie's thirty-day shoot.

Fight like an Akkadian: Black Scorpion Training Camp (6.09 mins)
Stunt coordinator Mo Marais and stars Michael Copon and Randy Couture take you through the training and choreography need for the five man fight scene.

Becoming Sargon: One on One with Randy Couture (4.29 mins)
Star Randy Couture is joined by director Russell Mulcahy and stars Michael Copon and Karen David talk about what he brings to the role and how the UFC star became involved.

On set with Beautiful Leading Ladies (3.52 mins)
Stunt coordinator Mo Marais and stunt trainer Francois Grobbelaar and stars Karen David and Natalie Becker talk about the training involved in preparing for their on screen fight.

Creating a whole new world (8.33 mins)
Director Russell Mulcahy, production designer Tom Hannam and stars Michael Copon, Karen David and Tom Wu talk about the Akkadian city and place.

The Visual Effects of the Scorpion King 2: Rise of the Warrior (6.54 mins)
Visual effects producer Andre van der Marive and his creative team talk about creating the effects for the port, desert and the underworld.

OVERALL

The DVD treatment for 'The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior' is one that is filled with some good bonus features. The featurettes cover most aspects of the film's production but the lack of a commentary track is a little disappointing. Fans of the film, if there are any, will be pleased with this DVD.

DVD

The Scorpion King

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2008