Director: Don Michael Paul
Writer: David Alton Hedges, Frank DeJohn (Screenplay)
Starring: Zach McGowan, Nathan Jones, Peter Mensah, Mayling Ng, Katy Kouise Saunders, Howard Charles
Plot: The Scorpion King teams up with a female warrior named Tala, who is the sister of The Nubian King. Together they search for a legendary relic known as The Book of Souls, which will allow them to put an end to an evil warlord.
Tagline – New quest, new villains, one legend – the Scorpion King returns.
Runtime: 1 Hour 42 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Fun Adventure Movie
Story: The Scorpion King: Book of Souls starts as Nebserek (Mensah) gains the power of Anubis destroying the land around him, becoming desperate to hunt down the last Akkadian, Mathayus, The Scorpion King (McGowan). When Mathayus is captured, he is saved by lone warrior Tala (Thusi), daughter of Balthazar who wants him to take his throne back on the land.
Mathayus and Tala travel to the underworld in search for a way to stop Nebserek, being the only ones that bring about the stop to his evil tirade against the land.
Thoughts on The Scorpion King: Book of Souls
Characters – Mathayus the former Scorpion King is now living as a blacksmith away from the world in a small city, a place where he is encouraged to return to his warrior wars, he is left no choice when Nebserek comes for him, he must reluctantly go on a quest to defeat him and save the land. Nebserek is the new tyrant who has been looking to control the land, he is invisible in battle thanks to his weapon and people are left with little choice than to join or fight him. Tala is the daughter of Balthazar, the warrior Mathayus fought alongside in the first film, she has been searching for Mathayus believing he could bring hope back to the land, showing she is just as deadlier as her father. Amina is the guardian of the book of souls, the one thing that could finally defeat Nebserek, she is amazed by the real world, finally free from her prison. Enkidu is the clay golem guardian of Amina, he will always protect her no matter what the odds, bringing a lot of humor the film, which is much needed.
Performances – Zach McGowan is the latest name to step into the role of the Scorpion King, he does bring something fresh to the role too, not being a fierce as Dwayne Johnson, but looking like the broken man in need of redemption. Peter Mensah is great in the villainous role, showing the evil his character has through the film. Pearl Thusi brings us the fierce warrior with ease, Nathan Jones however is a complete scene stealer through the film, getting so many laughs.
Story – The story here continues the adventures of the Scorpion King, he is trying to live away from the world, only for him to get drawn back into the battle with a new evil, forced into a quest that will one day free the land once again. The Scorpion King is now five films big of a franchise, which is amazing to think about, this is the first chapter to actually feel connected to the original though, by bringing back the daughter of one of the characters in that film to show that Mathayus was once the fierce warrior and still could be. The quest is everything we would expect, given us some moments of humor along the way. We do have a story that does feel strong, playing into the mythology that could have happened around the mysterious weapon that could bring fear to the land.
Action/Fantasy – The action does give us fight scenes which are entertaining to watch without being too much bigger than we have seen before, with the fantasy being about the world Anbus and the underworld.
Settings – The film uses the settings to keep everything looking fresh, with the open desert areas, with different people’s in it, the underworld looks great and use of lighting helps bring everything to life.
Scene of the Movie – The visit to the underworld.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Not enough of the villains actions.
Final Thoughts – This is a fun adventure that breaths new life into the Scorpion King character, much needed life too, bringing us back to the roots of the character.
Overall: Return of the King.
