The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption (2012)

Directed by: Roel Reiné | 104 minutes | action, adventure, fantasy | Actors: Dave Bautista, Bostin Christopher, Tanapol Chuksrida, Kevin ‘Kimbo Slice’ Ferguson, Geoffrey Giuliano, JD Hall, Stephane Lambert, Selina Lo, Damian Mavis, Temuera Morrison, Jason Pace, Ron Perlman, Krystal Vee, Victor Webster, Billy Zane

Could it be? Does it take a Dutchman to deliver a decent genre film today? That would be the upside-down world, because our cold little country doesn’t really excel in stories about supernatural phenomena and heroic warriors. Yet it is precisely the Dutch Roel Reiné who manages to put down an extremely entertaining genre adventure with the third part of the ‘Scorpion King’ series.

In this third part of the testosterone-filled saga we find the formerly mighty Scorpion King back as a pathetic pile. The ponytailed gorilla mourns the death of his beloved and the death and destruction he has brought upon his people. Reason enough to leave his royal title for what it is and start a life as a mercenary. Now you can already feel it coming, but of course it is quickly over with the rest. Before Mathayus (that’s the name of our protagonist) realizes it, he is still engaged in a battle between two Kingdoms and will have to fight to make good over evil.

Enough story, because of course what really matters is how much violence there is to experience and who or what gets to take a punch. Well, dear readers, that’s quite a motley crew. In just an hour and a half, Mathayus clashes with Roman-looking soldiers, an entire army of elephants, a herd of ninjas and a few resurrected warriors. Add to that the fact that the bad guys are led by none other than the always jolly Billy Zane and you’ve got a camp adventure to beat.

Such ingredients would normally have been more than enough to yield a scathing review, but surprisingly Roel Reiné knows how to find just the right tone not to take it all too seriously. Fortunately, because that’s what more than enough movies are going to do these days. Instead, we are presented with a film that is old-fashioned absurd for a change and that is not afraid to put things into perspective. Billy Zane, in particular, deserves another kudos here for the way he plays his king Talus as a drunken power-hungry who knows all too well how evil he is. Yet all the nods to the genre are never too dominant and ‘The Scorpion King’ remains above all a fun adventure to kill some time with. What a relief to have a director at the helm who doesn’t try to turn every B-project into the new ‘Lord of the Rings’
to make.

Still a point of criticism? Okay then, the editing is really too fast during many a fight. It may be a great way to disguise the quality of the film, but with the pace at which the fights sometimes rage past, the film should at least receive a warning for epileptics. Nothing but praise for this striking dime-a-dozen adventure!