THE SCORPION KING: BOOK OF SOULS (2018)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *fair*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *metaphysical*

After the mediocrity of SCORPION KING 4, I would not have believed that anyone could do much with this played-out franchise. But Don Michael Paul and his two writers made at least a decent if unexceptional formula-flick.

Naturally the most absurd tropes from the fourth film, that all magic in this sword-and-sorcery world was really super-science, is discarded. Paul et al even place this version in a dour desert-world that resembles the milieu of the original movie, and even visually evokes the 1982 CONAN THE BARBARIAN at times. It's another new actor taking over the role of barbarian Mathayus, Zack McGowan, but he'd worked with director Paul before on the fourth of the current of the current DEATH RACE series, so possibly McGowan benefited from that experience here.

Almost all jokiness is cast aside, and the mood is more like the third installment, with Mathayus mourning lost relations. He doesn't really care much that the despot Nebserek has gained control of the Fang of Anubis, a sword guaranteed to give its wielder supreme power. In fact, Nebserek's soldiers invade Mathayus's village to capture the famed Scorpion King. A warrior princess, Tala of Nubia (Pearl Thusi), frees the reluctant hero and invokes the name of her dead father, one of Mathayus's past allies, to gain his help. In the name of vengeance, the hero agrees.

Tala only has a vague prophecy about how the Fang of Anubis can be countered, through some usage of the "Book of Souls." On their way to find the Book, the duo fall into the clutches of a desert-tribe, the Black Arrows, who always execute trespassers. Mathayus challenges the tribe's warriors to chase him down in a hunt. The chieftain agrees, with the result that Mathayus manages to overcome all the hunters without taking their lives-- which ensures that the tribe as a whole lets the hero and his companion free. This seems like a time-burning device, but the tribesmen do appear later to help the good guys battle the forces of Nebserek.

They arrive at a secluded temple, inhabited only by Amina, an immortal woman (possibly some offspring of the world's gods) and her golem-guardian, a huge man of clay named Enkidu (Nathan Jones). (The Enkida of Mesopotamian myth is not a golem, but is created from clay in roughly the same way Yahweh gives rise to Adam.) Though Enkidu tries to keep his charge confined to the temple as his "programming" commands, Amina reveals that she herself is the incarnation of the Book of Souls. Therefore to help Mathayus and Tala conquer the evil despot, she deserts the temple. Enkidu reluctantly follows, for though he's big and immensely strong, he fears fire, which can turn his clay body into stone.

It's a slow slog to the big confrontation scene, but SOULS does deliver a pretty good end-battle, with Mathayus squaring off against Nebserek while Tala takes on the villain's female lieutenant Khensa (Mayling Ng). I can't claim that either Mathayus or Tala are very interesting characters, though I suppose the absence of a predictable romance-arc is a small blessing. Yet Enkidu, the inhuman servitor with a fear of torches, provides a few moments of levity along the way. I won't reveal the outcome of Amina's arc, but it has a decent dramatic pathos for a sword-and-sorcery film. My verdict is that though no one would place SOULS high on a list of good S&S movies, at least it would be a fair finish for the King of Scorpions.