Review of Hard Target 2 (2016) by Harry W — 07 Feb 2017

As with any action film headlined by Scott Adkins, Hard Target 2 sounded like an exciting thrill ride.

The general existence of Hard Target 2 takes me by surprise. The first Hard Target (1993) remains one of the greatest films in Jean-Claude Van Damme's career, a man who remains one of my all-time favourite action stars. But why someone would give the film a direct-to-DVD spin-off 23 years after the original is beyond me. The concept for the film is cool enough to explore again, but there is little chance that a home media sequel can live up to the spectacle of John Woo's cinematic action classic. Given the change of director, the odds of transcendence are exceedingly minimal. However, the presence of legendary martial artist Scott Adkins as the lead gives a huge boost of credibility to Hard Target 2. The man has worked with Jean-Claude Van Damme on multiple occasions as well as starring in the two direct-to-DVD sequels to Undisputed (2002) which both triumphed the original. He did the same thing as the lead of Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (2012) which was the best of the series, so all in all this film really had a fair amount of potential.

The first plot error in Hard Target 2 is the fact that in Wes Baylor's fight with Tim Sutherland, there is a clear moment where he has defeated his foe before delivering an execution kick to him. Though suspension of belief is acceptable in this situation, we learn soon after that the two are actually best friends. This pushes the story into farfetched territory as it's hard to believe that anyone could be as merciless against an opponent they are so close with. It's hard to honestly believe this relationship due to the aggressive nature of Wes Baylor. This is clearly thinking too much into the plot of a film which has a low standard of story. It is part of the formula to reveal the background of the protagonist's quest for redemption in an action film, but it is more of a challenge to tolerate when the drama is mishandled like this. And even though Hard Target hardly had much of a plot to it, the film still commented on the fact that America was poor in its treatment of war veterans and homeless people which gave a greater sympathetic edge to the film. In Hard Target 2, the Western domination of Eastern cultures is a plot point which has been used in heavy surplus from countless other films and just lacks the same interesting hero or villain to make up for it this time. In essence, Hard Target 2 maintains the same interesting concept as its predecessor.

However, amid the awkward display of storytelling in the intro to Hard Target 2 is also a display of the film's action potential. We get to see Scott Adkins doing what he does best as he dolls out the harshness against Troy Honeysett and foreshadows a feature length film of him kicking ass at every turn. But as far as the action ultimately goes, Hard Target 2 is a film with mixed results. The film isn't a perfect fit for the talents of Scott Adkins as he spends the majority of the film running from his enemies more than combatting them. And when he does fight, the film is inconsistent in utilizing the man's fighting skills. There are many moments which make a clear display of his magnificent physical capabilities as a martial artist, but they tend to be very brief bursts of action followed by more extended periods of him running. You can see that Roel Reine has made an active effort to maintain some of the John Woo elements in his sequel such as the elements of slow motion, while the use of motorcycles and many jump kicks help to reinforce the nostalgia. But the glory of the original only receives a modicum of replication in Hard Target 2. The choreography is good, but the cinematography sometimes captures the fight up too close for audiences to take the entirety of the fight in. The mediated touch of slow motion is effective, but it still doesn't glorify the action with any significance. The film aims to have a variety of action with shootouts and chases including themselves in the mix, but it nevertheless appears too briefly to make a major impact on the film.

Still, the film does deserve credit for its slick production values. Given that the setting for the film is characterized as a hundred square miles of jungle, the scenery does a powerful job in reinforcing this with the cinematography utilizing tracking shots to capture the scale of the jungle. Given that the sights include waterfalls and elephants, there is quite a versatile setting to enjoy. The absence of an urban setting means that there are less explosive set pieces, but it nevertheless means the film is a relatively colourful experience.

And Scott Adkins definitely deals justice in the lead. The man is essentially a flawless martial artist, and while Hard Target 2 may not capture this in its entirety there is nevertheless an amazing burning passion for fighting that he puts on display with his ferocious jump kicks and quick punches. Despite some awkward plotting and thin characterization, he still manages to make a relatively compelling lead with a restrained anger in his line delivery. In his silence, he manages to humanize the character through the subtle expression of vulnerability in his facial expressions. We really gather that he has regrets in his past which contrast with the raw display of aggression displayed in his more intense fight scenes. The film is clearly more of a physical effort than anything else as much of the film is shots of him running through the jungle, but his sheer athleticism keeps him going throughout the entire journey while his versatile displays of flexibility remind audiences why he's so popular in the first place. Scott Adkins manages to deliver as best as he can with the material given to him in Hard Target 2.

Hard Target 2 has some nice scenery as the backdrop for Scott Adkins' natural ass-kicking abilities, but the story is less powerful the second time around while the action scenes are often too brief and inconsistently captured.