Adkins plays retired mixed martial artist Wes “The Jailor” Baylor who takes up street fighting in Bangkok after a terrible accident in the ring. After being offered a huge pay day, Wes agrees to return to the ring for a final fight. However, he arrives in Myanmar only to find he’s been tricked into becoming the target of human hunt. Carrying only water and a ruby-filled money belt for the last person standing, Wes must outsmart the heavily armed group that has paid to kill him.
While the film’s title has it positioned as a sequel to the original, in reality, it’s a reboot. All of the elements of Hard Target are here; it’s essentially the same story, updated for a modern audience. There is also no connection between the characters in the two film to be found.
Director Roel Reiné (Death Race 2) does a good job of framing the action, truly capturing the martial arts abilities of the actors involved, as well as the scene around them. Scott Adkins has been a direct-to video star for a while now and watching a film like this makes me wonder why he has become a major Hollywood player. Couldn’t he be an action star along the lines of Jason Statham? Just a thought.
Also worth noting is the appearance of Rhona Mitra as one of the baddies. Though her screen time is limited, she handles the action sequences with ease. Also along for the ride, Robert Knepper channeling Lance Henriksen as the main bad guy.
While Hard Target 2 is probably best left for diehard fans of the martial arts genre, Scott Adkins’ skills make this an interesting watch.
Presented in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio, Universal Studios 1080p transfer offers a crisp and clean image. Details are impressive, as you would expect from a digitally shot film. Black levels are deep and inky. Colors are bright and vivid. Skin tones appear normal and there are no artifacts to report.
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 won’t blow anyone away, but it serves the film well. The action scenes are provided with ample kick. Sound and dialogue are well balanced, allowing for clear distinction between the two. Explosions, gunfire and the like give the subwoofer a pretty good workout.
English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Bulgarian, Cantonese, Czech, Greek, Hungarian, Korean, Mandarin (Traditional), Polish, Romanian, Russian, Thai and Turkish subtitles are included.
The following extras are available:
- Audio Commentary with Director Roel Reiné and stars Scott Adkins and Robert Knepper, Composer Trevor Morris, and Camera Operator Rolf Dekens:
- Deleted Scenes (HD, 9:47)
- Deleted Shots Montage (HD, 1:59)
- A Fighting Chance: Behind The Scenes of Hard Target 2 (HD, 5:13) Interviews with the cast and crew. The director talks about his desire to pay homage to the original film and Scott Adkins discusses his favorite actor, Jean Claude Van Damme.
- Hard Target 2 Through The Lens (HD, 2:43) EPK fluff about the director.
- Into the Jungle: On Location of Hard Target 2 (HD, 2:25) A very quick look at what it’s like shooting in Thailand.
- Thrill of the Hunt (HD, 3:13) Actors playing their characters during interview confessionals talking about hunting people.
- DVD Copy of the film.
- UltraViolet Copy of the film
