The Scorpion King 2 (2008) Movie Review

The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior (2008) IMDB AMZN

The Scorpion King 2 movie poster

The Scorpion King 2 is a prequel to the first Scorpion King movie showing how Mathayus, originally played by Dwayne Johnson (The Rock), became who he was. It is also as noted on IMDB:

This film is a prequel to a prequel of a sequel of a remake. That is, it is the prequel to The Scorpion King (2002), which is a prequel to The Mummy Returns (2001), which is a sequel to The Mummy (1999) which can be considered as a loose remake of The Mummy (1932).

So there is that. But there is no Dwayne Johnson in this movie. We do get a former wrestling/UFC star with Randy Couture though. Overall this is not a very good movie. The acting is sub-par and the story is just ok. The movie centers around a quest to retrieve the sword of Damocles that is found in the underworld so Mathayus can avenge the death of his father. While completing this quest they enter a labyrinth and must defeat the minotaur. Should I have said spoiler ? Other things happen, more quest, there is fighting, blah blah blah, bad acting, skip it.

I give it a 4/10.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) Movie Review

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) IMDB AMZN

Dungeons and Dragons Honor Among Thieves movie poster

Before I review this movie I want to put it in a larger context, and that is with a maze movie that has been re-made. Cube (1997) is an original horror sci-fi classic that takes place in a large mazelike cube. Cube (2023) is the Japanese remake with essentially the same plot but a major difference in IMDB rating, 4.5 vs. 7.1. Because the original found success late and not in theaters the Japanese version did more than 4X the box office !?! Dungeons and Dragons was a 2000 movie with a horrible 3.6 rating and this is the new version of it (not really a remake). So how is it?

Well it feels like a good Marvel movie to me. A fantasy adventure quest with witty banter and over the top characters. You get action and laughs all around a fun story in an interesting fantasy world. I enjoyed it. Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez do a nice job taking on the bad guy played by Hugh Grant, and they do it surrounded by a cast of interesting characters. During the last section of the movie the team enters an arena where teams attempt to solve a giant maze that includes treasure, traps and monsters. And of course sometimes the walls move !

I give it a 7.3/10.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023) Movie Review

Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023) IMDB AMZN

Shazam Fury of the Gods movie poster

I was sitting back watching this movie when out of nowhere I hear the word labyrinth and need to go back and re-watch a portion of the movie. In Shazam’s world there are doors to different realms. One of the charcters comes out of one and they mention that that door is just a labyrinth.

As far as the movie, this sequel is lacking some of the fun of the first movie. There are a few laughs and a few nice scenes but overall it is a bit bland. While I enjoyed the performances from Helen Mirren and Lucy Lui - is anyone scared of them as the opponents in a superhero film ? Overall, eh.

Maze movie ? Not really. Worth seeing - only if you like DC comics/films.

I give it a 5.8/10.

Cube (2021) Movie Review

CUBE (2021) IMDB AMZN

Cube (2021) movie poster

Japanese remake of the sci-fi mystery classic Cube (1997). This remake starts in the same way - 6 men and women wake up in a Cube shaped room and they all speak Japanese and don’t know why. OK, ok. Actually while they do speak Japanese the real problem is they do not know why or how they got there and they need to work together to escape the mazelike cube that is boobytrapped. Then I watched the entire movie and found out the REAL REAL problem is that this movie is not very good. At all. Not every movie needs to be remade, and while I was excited for this one I was very very wrong. But, I did enjoy the movie more than the reviews which were very very. Overall it is a skip for me.

I give it a 5/10.