The bow - arched like the back of a great hissing cat, pulled taut by muscles worked hard, polished and rippled like rolling marble. The bows sinews were sweet wood and brine and blood soaked horn, hewed from the angry mountain rams of Assur, stripped and peeled, wrapped tight dried slow in rare shade for nine months.

The archer - breath held in full, the poise of practiced technique. The weapon's voice, a single chord, a dull hum of the triple wove tendons of fleet footed beasts, thrummed in the archers hears as he gently twitched his forefinger, sending pent up energy into the sky, a single black shaft, whistling through the empty air. Invisible in the air, it's return from the lofty heights was as lightning, brilliant and instantaneous with shocking results.

The King Priest of Krae - descendant of the Kraese Warriors, direct son of a son of Ortara the Firstborn. He stood mighty and tall upon a raised dais, the slaves of Akren and Thaikos arrayed before him kneeling in supplication. His mouth open, voice raised high in prayer to Krae, and her blood thirsty brothers. In his hand a golden scepter, gem-tipped and glimmering in the light.

Then

Arrow and earth meet, through eye and skull and brain, with a wet burst that covered his attendants face in gore, the arrow from the bow ended it's journey, embedded in an unfortunate slave's foot. So falls the King Priest of Krae, his dreams of eternity fulfilled, his efforts of empire unraveled. For, before his just-dead body could crumple, a hungry mob surged forward to take part in the frenzy of savage revenge.

And the arrow

Was broken. 

Whether we want to admit it or not, Scorpion King 2 is meant to be a period film. It's intended as historical fiction with a fantasy element. It's no Braveheart, but it does take place on Earth, in the past, and involves peoples that existed (Egyptians, Greeks, Akkadians, Mesopotamians). 

Now, the film itself was assembled with a measure of care and skill. There was obviously a budget, and at least one or two of the actors has some experience. But it's the little things that throw you out of the illusion, the details. When the main character, an Akkadian assassin says "easy as a cup of tea", one is forced to wonder, in 2000 BCE, was that really an expression they were using? Or when he "passes with flying colors", again we have to think, did a 21^st century American who barely passed his Western Civ class write this?

Scorpion King 2, in fact, was essentially the same plot as the first Scorpion King - Mathayus must defeat the evil king, by questing for an item. Every DnD player born and yet-unborn knows this quest inside and out. Nothing new here. The cast, a sprawling array of B-list personalities is headed up by Randy Coutoure (UFC drop-out) who delivers his lines with as much passion an understanding as you would expect from a slab of beef, Micheal Coupon - who "earned" his chops as a Power Ranger, and Karen Shenaz David. Together, this coterie of mediocrity manages to strangle the life from an already ailing film.

Production design was good. That is to say they had some money to spend. But by the time they got down to wardrobe (which they probably started with), I felt that they were taking their inspiration from the cover a dungeons and dragons module. The European longsword used as the Sword of Damocles was disappointing. Special effects were below par. The whole project felt as if it was made by some talented filmmakers with a poor understanding of swords and sorcery.