DTV Cinema - Hard Target 2 (2016)

Director: Roel Reine

Cast: Scott Adkins, Rhona Mitra, Robert Knepper, Temeura Morrison

Country: United States

Rating: R

Run Time: 104 min

British martial artist Scott Adkins is direct to video (DTV) and low budget action cinema's hardest working star. I feel redundant every time I write or say that statement, but it's true. In the last 16 years, Adkins has worked his way up from show stealing supporting player to show stopping lead in several of the best direct to video films ever released (i.e. Undisputed II and III, Ninja I and II, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, etc). He has such a huge fandom behind him, that nearly every project of his gains traction simply because of his attachment. I, as well as many others, have gone on to declare him the spiritual successor to "The Muscles From Brussells" himself, Jean-Claude Van Damme. 

It's also simple to declare Adkins the new Van Damme not only because of his martial arts skills and dedication to the action genre, but also because he has appeared in several films alongside Van Damme before (i.e. The Shepherd: Border Patrol, Assassination Games, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, Expendables 2). Therefore, when word got out that he was going to be starring in Hard Target 2, a thematic/DTV sequel to the John Woo/Van Damme 1993 classic, Hard Target, it made perfect sense. There is no doubt about it, not only is Hard Target 2 one of Adkin's biggest starring ventures yet, but also the biggest DTV event of the year.

The sequel comes from director Roel Reine, who is considered one of the best directors in the DTV market alongside fellow vets Isaac Florentine and John Hyams. Adkins has come full circle now, as he has worked with all three of these kings of DTV now. Anyways, Reine mostly specializes in DTV sequels to previously released theatrical efforts, such as 12 Rounds 2: Reloaded and The Man With the Iron Fists 2, as well as standalone ventures. While I have personally only seen two of his films before hand, the bland but admirable The Marine 2 and the hugely underrated Danny Trejo vehicle Dead in Tombstone, Reine is commendable for his ability to shoot dynamic tracking shots and to stretch as much as possible out of his tiny budgets and shootings schedules. Therefore, both he and Adkins seemed like a best fit for Hard Target 2. 

Adkins brings the pain as always with his signature kicks.

After all, if you are going to have the guts to make a DTV sequel to one of the greatest action films of all time and force its creators to work with the littlest amount of time and money as possible, you might as well get one of the best directors and stars of DTV action cinema. Although I was excited for the sequel, my hopes weren't exactly high, as I knew to be wary about a DTV film regardless. Unfortunately, Hard Target 2 never amounts to anything more than a middling but serviceable low budget action film that remains stagnantly mediocre from start to finish. Adkins is in prime form, Reine's ever impressive camera work is on display, and the undeniable hook of its 'Most Dangerous Game Plot' is there, but the limitations of the film's budget and its tonal issues prevent it from being the very good action film that it could have been. 

Adkins plays Wes Baylor "The Jailor", a professional fighter who is up for the championship. When he accidentally kills his opponent and best friend in the ring, he moves to Thailand to live a secluded life of regret. After participating in several underground fights, Wes is approached by Aldrich, a rich businessman who offers him money to participate in the fight of a life time. Unfortunately, Wes has no clue that he is stepping into a trap and becoming the bait for a group of elite hunters who hunt man for sport. With no way out except to fight for his life in the jungles of Thailand, Wes becomes a "hard target" and goes head to head against armed hunters in a martial arts infused action fest.

For a DTV sequel, Hard Target 2 does a great job crafting a plot that is somewhat similar but not a direct retread of the original's. In fact, it does a great job justifying its protagonist's abilities and imbues great empathy within their plight. Whereas Van Damme's character was a nomad who happened to be a bad ass in the original, Adkins' character is a professional fighter who can justify his fighting abilities in the sequel. Whereas Van Damme happened to become a target for a group of hunters whilst getting involved in a murder mystery, Adkins is conned and forced into a 'Running Man' type situation where he must fight for his life. Poor Adkins didn't do anything wrong, and yet he has to sink or swim right off the bat. When he wraps a bag of ruby's around his waist and runs off into the jungle without a weapon at his side, I instantly felt for him. These are great character and story telling decisions that immediately pull the viewer into the protagonist's plight and shake up a needless sequel into an already intriguing one. I also applaud Reine for setting the film within the jungles of Thailand, as it offers up a somewhat similar visual experience to the original film's swamps and woods amidst New Orleans.

Unfortunately, the sequel offers up far less in the form of narrative, as it only provides a basic hunt to hinge its action packed proceedings upon, and than quickly settles into a relaxed groove after a promising first act. Whereas the original was more of a murder mystery that transitioned into a balls to the wall hunt, the sequel is nothing more than a hunt. The problem with this simplicity is that there isn't enough narrative nor tension to fill the entire feature. The screenwriters try to make up for this lack of narrative by squeezing in a forced sub-plot about a brother and sister who live in the jungle and work alongside Adkins' character. However, it's in no way compelling, and instead a complete time waster. If you pay careful attention to the film while watching it, you'll notice that there is a surprising amount of screen time given to every character, including the miniscule hunters. With so little going on with Adkins' character from beat to beat, the film tries to ring as much material as possible out of its slim story and cast, only to come out painfully dry very quickly. There's only so much you can do with a 'Most Dangerous Game' plot when you boil it down to basics.

Knepper brings his wonderfully villainous chops as always.

Another shame about the sequel is that Reine doesn't understand how to convey the tone of a fun and ridiculous action movie, such as the original. While the first film was an absurdist tongue in cheek action fest in the vein of Commando, the sequel is fairly serious, and more representative of the bland contemporary DTV crowd. These signs abound, as seen through the sequel's minimal comedic relief, overly serious dialog, and dry direction. There's also some cruel and unnecessarily mean spirited parts that hamper the viewing experience, such as an attempted rape and a supporting character's rather depressing outcome. The cruel and depressing turn of events surrounding the seemingly innocent but doomed son of the father/son duo reminded me of the horrid events from Ringo Lam's In Hell regarding a similar innocent but doomed prisoner. I just love when a movie introduces a wimpy supporting character, traumatizes them with a life altering event, belittles them by having another character call them a coward, and than proceeds to show them blow into smithereens a few scenes later. Now that's what you call a picker upper. Damn you Reine and your cruel action movies.

All criticisms aside, the one thing that Hard Target 2 exceeds at best is its casting, as the three leads within the picture act as perfect replacements for the most notable characters from the original. Scott Adkins, who is already the spiritual successor to Van Damme, is the best bet as far as physically inclined action stars come. He does as fine a job as always, whether it be acting intense and heated to visibly performing many of his own stunts. 

In the villain role we have Robert Knepper, who makes for an excellent replacement to Lance Henricksen from the original. Knepper, who I have always enjoyed from his multi-season turn as Teddy Bagwell from the Prison Break television series, is cold, calculated, and business like in his performance. His take on the character matches Henricksen's mega-acting beat for beat, and makes him the best candidate for the part. There's even a nice easter egg towards the end where he pulls out a single shot pistol that is meant to connect him as Henricksen's brother, although apparently Universal shot the idea down. As to why they were concerned that was a bad idea, I will never understand, as it would have been awesome to connect both pictures, meaning that both Van Damme and Adkins would exist within the same cinematic universe. And finally, Temeura Morrison plays Knepper's loyal right hand man , filling in for Arnold Vosloo's shoes from the original. Morrison, who has always been a reliable actor, from Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, to Speed 2: Cruise Control, to even Reine's own The Marine 2, brings the intensity that makes his supporting player formidable and imposing. 

Don't get your hopes up for lots of Mitra.

Most notable of the miniscule supporting players is Doomsday's Rhona Mitra, who happens to billed on the film's DVD and poster even though she is barely in the film for some reason. There's a cool line where she mentions that she is the daughter of a hunter, and I'd like to believe that it connects her as well to Henricksen's hunter from the original. But alas, I guess I'll leave that for my Hard Target fan fiction. Overall, the rest of the hunters are quite forgetful, and feel more like meat from a slasher film who are somewhat defined but obviously disposable, as anyone watching the film knows that they are going to die by Adkins' hands.

Lastly, the action within the film is solid all around, although not very memorable, unique, or lengthy. For those who don't know, Hard Target 2 was shot in 20 days and for less than $5 million. That's extremely impressive when one takes into account the scope of the film and how impressive some of its shots and action sequences are. Therefore, one needs to handicap the film in order to fairly review it. It's a shame that the film wasn't allowed more time or money, because just as every shootout or fight gets going, it quickly ends and segways into the next story beat. For example, there's a great confrontation atop a train track where Adkins and Morrison aim guns at each other. When they finally come face to face, they fight one another while shooting their guns, backed by some affective score. Unfortunately, the fight lasts about twenty seconds, and Adkins immediately jumps off of the train tracks and into a river. Shortened moments like these pepper the entire film, which thereby prevents any sort of notable action sequence from ever realizing its full potential. But as I said, there's a handicap here, and Reine only had so much time to work with. 

Reine acts as his own director of photography as usual, and works in several technically impressive shots. There are a couple of his signature oners, such as a great dialog sequence where Knepper introduces all of the hunters to Adkins in one take, which goes on for several minutes. There's also a notable tracking shot toward the final action sequence where Adkins leaps off of a boat, punches a soldier, takes his gun, and than works his way up a beach as he takes out soldiers along the way. When the shot ended a few seconds later, I was saddened, as it had me on the edge of my seat. Even The Marine 2 featured longer tracking shots. But alas, 20 days only affords you so much time, and that we even got two impressive shots alone is enough to commend the film for. However, Hard Target 2 features the same bland lighting and unappealing grey colors that plagues most of Reine's DTV work. It's not nearly as drab as some of his previous efforts, as the jungles of Thailand at least appear tropical, but it's not nearly as colorful as it could/should have been. 

Boyka vs. Django Fett, need I say more?

When the sequel was originally announced, director John Woo was attached as an Executive Producer. Reine was even on the record stating that he loved Woo, the original, and wanted to pay tribute to the kind of films Woo used to make in the 90s. However, Woo's name has since mysteriously vanished from the project, as there was no official announcement as to why my favorite director of all time was suddenly detached from the sequel to one of his greatest films. While I highly doubt that Woo was ashamed to be attached, he must have become busy and simply could not work on the film. But alas, it's a shame that the Woo himself dropped out for whatever reasons. That being said, Woo fans will be able to spot several visual homages to the director and his films throughout, including slow motion shots of doves, a flying arrow smash cutting to the film's title, abundant Beretta handguns, and the single shot pistol used within both Hard Boiled and Hard Target.

For action and martial arts fans, Hard Target 2 was just about the DTV event of the year. Everyone knew it was never going to be anywhere near as great as the original, but fans of DTV cinema were going to turn out regardless, and hopefully legally. Overall, Reine's sequel to one of the greatest action films of the 90s is a fairly bland but technically proficient thematic sequel. It does a great job paying tribute to the original through both its visual homages and unique shake up to the formula. While the action is solid all around, it leaves much to be desired, as no set piece is ever very memorable or lengthy. Small bouts of action abound, but nothing really to write home about. However, even with the film's technical woes set aside, which are excusable, the true crime of the film is its meandering narrative and dreadful tone, which both fail to conjure up a fun sense of energy or worthwhile feature material. The characters and performances are all fine, but it's a shame that they don't have a better script to work with. All in all, Hard Target 2 is about exactly as I expected it to be, but I still wish that it could have been a few notches better than it turned out to be.

Rating: 5/10 - For a DTV sequel made in 20 days for only $5 million, Reine did a very good job when given the most impossible of limitations.