When The Mummy spin off film The Scorpion King hit theaters in 2002, it not only kicked started Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s acting career but also a whole new franchise. The rest of the films in the franchise have shifted to home entertainment with the second film being a prequel, then shifting focus back to following up the original with the third and fourth films with Victor Webster taking over the role of Mathayus. Now Zach McGowan is taking over the lead role alongside Pearl Thusi and Peter Mensah for the latest chapter Scorpion King: Book of Souls, but does it bring anything new to the franchise or is it time to bury it in the sand once and for all?

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The Scorpion King: Book of Souls follows The Scorpion King who teams up with a female warrior named Tala, who is the sister of The Nubian King. Together they search for a legendary relic known as The Book of Souls, which will allow them to put an end to an evil warlord. It continues to surprise me that these movies keep getting made, but there is clearly an audience for them. This latest one had me a bit more interested than the previous past the Rock with Zach McGowan in the lead. He did a good job in the previous outing of Death race and stepped right into this role well. He doesn’t have the charisma of the Rock, but who does. Instead he brings that rugged action hero look and execution that makes you believe him in this role.

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The story itself is average at best with it trying really hard to be bigger in scope, but falls flat at times. There is nothing here that hasn’t been seen numerous times before, but is still a decent time if you enjoy these kinds of films. I was happy to see them use man in suit as opposed to CGI for a Golam, but didn’t like that they made him too comical in tone. In the end if you like the previous entries into this franchise then you will no doubt like this one as well. If you are on the fence look at it as all of those sword and sorcerer like films from the 90s then you know what you are getting into.

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Either way return to the battle with Mathayus with Scorpion King: Book of Souls available now on Blu-ray and DVD from Universal Home Entertainment.