WFG RATING: B-

Republic Pictures presents a Tiger Style Media production. Directed by Bruce del Castillo. Produced by Ryan Jaeger, Shannon McIntosh, and H. Daniel Gross. Written by Stephen Carolan, H. Daniel Gross, and Bruce del Castillo. Edited by Todd Busch.

Stars Cynthia Rothrock, Caitlin Dechelle, Sofia O’Brien, Jose Manuel, David W, Rice, Miguel Peralta, and Jeff Fahey.

A martial arts legend teams up with someone destined to be the next generation female action star in this action thriller that is the third of Tiger Style Media’s Action 4-Pack.

Alena Moore is a FBI agent who for two decades has trailed and followed crime boss Lucien in hopes to one day stop him. Lucien has decided to finally retire from the game as his old age may prevent him in the long run from making deals with rivals. Hoping to one day infuse his son Sonny as the new leader, a botched deal results in a vicious beating of a rival and Lucien realizes Sonny may be in way over his head. Despite this, he wants Alena to leave him alone upon his retirement. 

To ensure Alena will follow through not to stop him, he has Sonny kidnap her 10-year-old granddaughter Ariel on her birthday. Alena’s estranged daughter Lacy, a martial arts instructor, attempts to stop Sonny and his men but is knocked out. When Alena has realized what has happened, she decides to find Ariel. However, she’s not going alone as Lacy decides to go along and get her daughter back. 

The third of Tiger Style Media’s martial arts action films from producers Ryan Jaeger, H. Daniel Gross, and Shannon McIntosh proves to be middle ground between its first installment, Art of Eight Limbs, and the second film in the series, The Lockdown. The reason is that while there are some pretty good action pieces, there are certain elements that seem to hinder the film but not overall. Overall, it’s a pretty decent effort that makes use of a legend and someone destined for greatness. 

2024 is shaping up to be the year of the Lady Dragon. Cynthia Rothrock continues to show why she is one of the best and biggest female action heroes out there. The last four decades have shown her rise up the ranks to earn the title “legend”. Appearing in The Last Kumite and Darkness of Man along this film, she also has the Western Black Creek, Dying for Living, and Prey of Wrath set for release this year. 

Rothrock is excellent in the role of Alena Moore, a DEA agent whose work has somewhat made her estranged from her family, notably her daughter and granddaughter. There is a great scene where she is talking with drug lord Lucien, played by a seething and somewhat slick Jeff Fahey, and when he announces he plans to retire, he asks her to let him do so in peace. However, she is determined to take him down once and for all. This becomes the catalyst for the series of events that become the basis for the film.

The one destined for big things is martial arts champion Caitlin Dechelle. After a fantastic debut in 2012’s Chinese Zodiac, Dechelle has worked primarily as a stunt performer while continuing to win championships. Here, her intro is reminiscent of Loren Avedon’s intro scene from No Retreat, No Surrender 3 where she is seen getting attacked and unleashing her skills, only to be revealed she’s a self-defense instructor. It is when her daughter is kidnapped that mother and daughter have to overcome their differences and work together to save her. 

One thing that could have worked better is utilizing the skills of Jose Manuel, who plays the hot-headed Sonny, Lucien’s son. His debut was Puerto Rico’s first martial arts film, The Witness, and since then, he’s shown some great stuff in films like Jarred Crooks’ Displaced among others. Here, he has a few action scenes, including a sparring scene with his enforcer and it doesn’t look too great. Knowing his skills set, I was hoping Manuel would really get to stru his stuff. Perhaps Kung Fu Games will give him that chance. 

If there is a highlight of the film in terms of action, it comes in the form of Lucien’s two enforcers, who have an excellent sparring scene and even get to take on the mother-daughter duo. Then there’s David W. Rice’s Bobo, Sonny’s enforcer who will be reminiscent of a character in another Rothrock film, Honor and Glory as he tends to be not so much the bad guy everyone expects and that’s due to certain events. 

Lady Scorpions is not bad, but it’s not great. It’s decent thanks in part to the performances of Cynthia Rothrock and Caitlin Dechelle. The film could be seen as a “passing of the torch” in a way, but certain elements make this a “watch once” kind of film.