How sad is this?

Fantastic!

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Exotic looking Victor Webster has assumed the title role taking over in a mostly deadpan fashion. The Akkadian king has fallen from grace and is now on a quest from King Horus (Ron Perlman in a minor role) to go after his rival brother Talus (Billy Zane). Talus is on the march against Horus' ally in the eastern kingdom (India) in order to obtain the "Book of the Dead."Webster is forced to work with the oafish Olaf (Bostin Christopher) from northern Germania. He has a wife Olga and 17 daughters. There are many stereotypes and if I started in on how this film is an anachronistic and historical nightmare, I would be writing a tome after the first 10 minutes. The movie takes on the aspect of a "B" comedy by adapting modern sayings to its age. For instance, a prisoner gets his ear ripped off by Talus who then holds the ear to his mouth and says, "Might you hear me now?"The movie is dotted with this type of humor.Dave Bautista plays Argomael the head of the Indian group. They also speak English but with an accent unlike the Akkadians, Egyptians (?), and the frequently belching Olaf. There is a fourth party in this...a person named "Cobra." Krystal Vee, a trained Thai kick boxer, plays the princess who must be rescued. Lex de Groot, who plays a messenger, is also listed as Billy Zane's stunt double, although I couldn't tell when he needed one.There is a quest within a quest, an oriental harem, a blond Japanese warrior, and ninja style warriors complete with cg ninja action. Billy Zane was excellent as the bad guy. The movie works when it is a "B" comedy. The serious scenes highlight the bad script and acting. Some of the fight scenes had me scratching my head such as when fighters "ride" elephant tusks to propel them 2-3 feet in the air across the span of 5 feet. They had to slow-mo the scene to make it look effective. It might have been better deleted. The movie was intended for a younger audience. If you keep your expectations low, view the movie within its context, and simply want an enjoyable film without it being an epic or requiring a lot of thinking, then this would be a worthwhile teen rental.No f-bombs, sex, or nudity. Use of "P" word. Urination. Krystal Vee showing off leg and midriff. Good movie for Billy Zane fans.

Considering I didn't rate the big Hollywood blockbuster The Scorpion King (2002) I sure as hell didn't expect I'd think much of the straight to DVD sequels.The second surprised me and was actually really quite fun, a great take your brain out fantasy outing.This one, was closer in quality to the first but still better than you'd expect all things considered.Starring Ron Perlman, Billy Zane, Temuera Morrison, Kimbo Slice and Dave Bautista it's straight to DVD status is blatant but it's not entirely awful.Set after the 2002 outing it tells the story of our Scorpion King protagonist fallen on hard times and becoming a mercenary. Sadly The Rock by this point had become too big a star to return so Victor Webster stepped in. Now I do hate characters being recast but under the circumstances I think he did a decent enough job both in his performance and appearance.With an odd level of comedy Battle for Redemption delivers the goods to a degree but not the ones you'd be seeking from a movie like this. The fight sequences are poor, the story is cliched to hell and the likes of Perlman are barely on camera at all.Not bad, not good, just passable stuff.The Good:Couple of great charactersBilly ZaneSome surprisingly good comedyThe Bad:Selina LoAction scenes are underwhelmingI do hate recastingThings I Learnt From This Movie:This film is a sequel to a prequel to a prequel of a sequel of a remake (No seriously!)Last time I saw Olaf he was called Donald Gibb

Mathayus (Victor Webster), the Scorpion King, has lost his sorceress-queen and his kingdom. He returns to live out the rest of his life as a mercenary. He is hired by King Horus (Ron Perlman) to stop his brother Talus (Billy Zane) from stealing the Book of the Dead and taking over the throne. He is paired up with Germania warrior Olaf. They travel to the Far East kingdom ruled by Horus' ally Ramusan who guards the book. Tallus has kidnapped Ramusan's daughter Silda. The kingdom is facing a revolt by the mysterious Cobra. With no gold in reserve, Ramusan offers her hand in marriage in exchange for her rescue. Mathayus discovers hidden secrets and conflicting schemes while looking for a medallion.The writing is a mess. The acting is generally bad. The production is a mixture of bad and wow, they have elephants! The action is chaotic but at least, there is lots of it. There are plenty of extras. And did I mention the elephants? This is strictly B-movie time here. Even the action gets tiresome after awhile.

Once I read the reviews about this movie, I couldn't help but watch it. Being a teenager in the early 80's, I grew up with the low budget sword and sorcery flicks. Deathstalker, Ator, Barbarian Queen, Amazons and several others. I've always enjoyed those "films", no matter how bad. After watching this one, all of those titles flashed into my head. I would compare this one to those. Just a little more modern day cheese.Is it a good movie, no. If you like those bad 80's titles, you may be able to make it through this one. If your taste is not those type of movies, don't watch it. It's always good to see name actors in these type of movies. Go through the motions and cash the check. Easy money.