Hard Target 2
| Hard Target 2 | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Roel Reiné |
| Produced by | Chris Lowenstein |
| Written by |
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| Starring |
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| Music by | |
| Cinematography | Roel Reiné |
| Edited by | Radu Ion |
| Distributed by | Universal 1440 Entertainment |
Release dates |
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Running time | 104 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Hard Target 2 is a 2016 American action film directed by Roel Reiné. It is a direct-to-video sequel of the 1993 American action film, Hard Target[1][2] and stars Scott Adkins, Robert Knepper, Ann Truong, Rhona Mitra, and Temuera Morrison. It continues the human hunt theme in the jungles of Myanmar (then known as Burma) and Thailand.[3][4][5] It is available on DVD, Blu-Ray and Digital HD.[6]
Plot
Wes Baylor takes on his friend in a mixed martial arts fight in Los Angeles. After two rounds, Baylor gets mad with the judges score, freaks out, and tries to knock out his friend. His friend ends up dying, so Baylor goes into a funk and leaves the USA for Thailand.
After six months, he still dreams about the fatal fight; he competes in the street fight clubs of Thailand to take his mind off things. One day, Aldrich sees him in a match. He offers him 1 million dollar to fight MMA. However, when he reaches in the jungles of Myanmar, he realizes that he's been tricked into becoming a bait for the hunter's. Baylor flees from seven thugs armed with crossbows with only a ruby-filled money belt and a water bottle. The hunter's are wealthy woman Sofia, the bullfighting Mr. Esparto, Jacob "Texas" Zimling, his son Tobias Zimling, Maduka, game designer Landon, and Aldrich with his right-hand man Madden along with the help of Myanmar's soldiers.
Maduka hunts Wes with a sniper rifle at a waterfall, but Wes goes underwater, sneaks up on Maduka, and kills him. Aldrich's GPS device, hidden in the money belt, tracks Wes, and he gives the hunter's different weapons. While running away from them, Wes comes across a local woman named Tha (Ann Truong) who helps him get to the border. As the hunt continues, Aldrich gives the hunter's motorcycles equipped with guns and rocket launchers. Wes beats them and steals a motorcycle, leaving Tha alone. The father-and-son duo of Jacob and Tobias attempts to kill Tha, but Tobias runs away because he is not ready for all of this. Jacob meanwhile tries to kill Tha, but she kills him instead. Wes fights with Sofia. After he beats Sofia, he finds Tha and runs away. Tha takes Wes to her house to treat wounds, where Wes learns something about Tha and her village.
After running towards the border, Tha and Wes come across a field full of landmines. Aldrich and his hunting group come towards the minefield with the help of the GPS. There the hunter's are given M16s to fight Wes. Tobias, angered by the killing of his dad, enters the minefield and dies by stepping on one. The explosion gives Wes and Tha enough time to hide in a cave, where Tha finds her missing brother who in the beginning of the film was being hunted.
In the morning, Tha and her brother run away and leave Wes behind. Later, Tha and her brother are captured, and Wes rescues them by capturing Landon. After escaping, Tha and Sofia have a fist fight where Tha kills Sofia. Later, Landon is killed by Aldrich for recording all the events, which was forbidden. Wes, Tha, and her brother all reach the border and wonder how Aldrich continuously captures them. They realize there is a chip in the money bag. Then Wes splits with Tha and her brother to take on the whole Myanmar army and remaining hunter's alone while they hide. Mr. Esparto goes after Tha and her brother and he is killed. Meanwhile, Wes runs away with the boat from the army camp toward the border.
Wes saves himself from the multiple bullets and rocket launcher, and reaches the border bridge. There, he has a final showdown with Aldrich and Madden. Finally, Tha uses the money belt to save Wes by buying the General of the Myanmar army, who then kills Aldrich. Later, Wes and Tha teach Thai children MMA.
Cast
- Scott Adkins as Wes Baylor
- Robert Knepper as Aldrich
- Rhona Mitra as Sofia
- Temuera Morrison as Madden
- Ann Truong as Tha
- Adam Saunders as Esparto
- Jamie Timony as Landon
- Peter Hardy as Jacob Zimling
- Sean Keenan as Tobias Zimling
- Troy Honeysett as Jonny Sutherland
- Gigi Veliciat as Maduka
Reception
Tyler Foster of DVD Talk rated it 1/5 stars and wrote, "As mindless entertainment, all Reine and screenwriters Matt Harvey and Dominic Morgan really need is some consistency, but none of them seem to care."[7]
Joblo.com rated it 5/10 and described it as "A disappointment". [8]
References
- ↑ Heath, Paul (June 16, 2016). "There is a 'Hard Target 2' and it looks amazing". thehollywoodnews.com. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ↑ "Hard Target 2, Blu-ray & DVD (Universal)". cityonfire.com. July 11, 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ↑ Vo, David (June 15, 2016). "Action Maestro JOHN WOO Set To Produce HARD TARGET 2 Starring SCOTT ADKINS.". MAAC. maactioncinema.com. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ↑ "HARD TARGET 2 - 2016". blu-ray.com. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ↑ McNab, Spencer (June 18, 2016). "This Exists: HARD TARGET 2 Trailer, Starring Scott Adkins And Rhona Mitra". screenanarchy.com. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ↑ Saathoff, Evan (2016-08-26). "HARD TARGET 2 Hunts Down Some Decent Low Budget Action". Birth.Movies.Death. Retrieved 2016-11-17.
- ↑ Foster, Tyler (12 September 2016). "Hard Target 2 (Blu-ray)". DVD Talk. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
- ↑ Arrow In The Head Reviews, HARD TARGET 2 (2016), Retrieved 2 December 2016