Gimly

Jan 22, 2019

4.0

Mathayus the Scorpion King, a character now played by an American Samoan, a Filipino German, a French Canadian, and a Jewish American (and seemingly getting smaller with each incarnation) is a ruler supposedly from Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq). Now I was never one to **demand** the nationality of the actor match that of the character (particularly one from so long ago that there is no way to be 100% certain exactly how said character may have looked). But it might be an idea to lock down a rough appearance to hold consistent throughout **your own franchise**. _Book of Souls_ purports to be the final entry in this very loose series of _The Mummy Returns_ spinoffs. If they had continued in the vain of the third entry, that's something I might be sad about, alas, these last two entries have decided to once again take the absurd _Scorpion King_ premise seriously (_Book of Souls_ admittedly less so, but still far too much to really get into). Pretty cool ending credits animation though. _Final rating:★★ - Had some things that appeal to me, but a poor finished product._

r96sk

Feb 20, 2025

6.0

'The Scorpion King: Book of Souls' is, surprisingly, almost good. Well, that's what I think anyway - the average rating says otherwise! The story is what lets it down, because it is underwhelming, but I the cast and characters are ones I didn't mind watching. Zach McGowan makes for the fourth actor to appear as the titular character, he isn't no worse than those that have preceded him; I prefer him to Victor Webster, even if I warmed to the latter due to his double appearance in the series. McGowan and Pearl Thusi work as a two. Katy Louise Saunders is decent too, while Enkidu (played by Nathan Jones) is honestly impressive for a flick of this level - great make-up and effects, even if the character is clearly superhero movie inspired. I will say that the antagonists aren't as positive as the the aforementioned, but are still fine. There is also a good end credits song, which I appreciate. It seems the majority rank this with the other sequels, for me though it is the best - if still not actually good - since the Dwayne Johnson original. Speaking of The Rock, he is reportedly behind an upcoming reboot of this series - it'll be interesting to see how that turns out.