Hard Target 2

Uh, I'm sorry I gave up my time to watch this. The main issue is how dumb, clichéd, and slow it is.

After the first few minutes I should have stopped watching it - I must be just as dumb, if not more so, that the creators of this movie because I watched most of it.

Watching it became painfully painful, like being softly but incessantly clubbed. I kept thinking, 'oh, this is so weak .. it has to get better.' It didn't.

I gave up before the end - I'm lucky that I didn't keep watching until the end because I probably would have died from head injuries. Still, I'm pretty damaged from just watching the three quarters.

The makers of this movie should have rather have donated the investment money to poor folks, honestly. They just wasted it.

I didn't go into this with high expectations, even as a guilty fan of Scott Adkins and Rhona Mitra, but lo and behold it was too subpar to enjoy. That said, they shot on location which has to be appreciated so there's some meritable authenticity with the "sets." However most of the acting is painfully wooden, and while Adkins isn't an Academy nod he's still passable; his fighting is what you really want to see. Unfortunately a lot of the fight choreography wasn't that great, and you know you're watching a low-grade movie when you can blatantly discern punches and kicks not connecting. Adkins still had a few cool scenes but they get lost in the slew of sappy clichés, cringey dialogue, and laughable plot. Robert Knepper was really the only credible character, who, besides Mitra's fleeting scenes, added some personality to the cesspool.

Yours truly is a Belgian, and was a teenager during the 1990s, so as a matter of course I went through a fanatic Jean-Claude Van Damme phase. "Hard Target" was definitely my favorite! The premise of hunting humans for sport is one of the oldest in action/thriller cinema history, and "Hard Target" is by no means a classic, but the combination of a long-haired Van Damme and excessive violence worked effectively; for sure. I never even realized there existed a sequel, even if it was a cheap and direct-to-video one. Luckily, I have a good buddy who specializes in lousy and obscure sequels, and he assured me that "Hard Target 2" was fun, straightforward, unpretentious, ... and worth a look.

My pal's judgement is reliable, as always. I enjoyed this film, although I'm likely to completely forget about it again in just a few days. I never heard about lead actor Scott Adkins, but he seems to be a regular in the field of meaningless action guff. Some of the people hunting down Scott in the Myanmar jungle are more known, like Rhona Mithra ("Doomsday") and Temuara Morrison ("Once Were Warriors"). The background story of Wes - the prey - Baylor is hilariously dumb. During an ultimate fighting battle, Wes killed his best friend and feels traumatized ever since. How could he not realize that his endless kicks and punches were going to cause irreparable damage? Please, don't go sobbing and mourning that you "accidentally" killed your buddy after you hit him repeatedly in the brains. Anyway, it's not the type of movie where you expect logic or intelligence, merely fast-paced actions, nasty killings and ingenious death traps. "Hard Target 2" does deliver in this particular department.

Could the film have been even more enjoyable? Well, yes, I think so! They should have lobbied to have JCVD appear in a small cameo. He's at a point in his career where he probably had accepted if the paycheck was worthwhile. How cool it would have been if Van Damme starred as an arrogant and eccentric hunter, for instance?

The only good thing in this mess is Rhona Mitra. The acting overall is laughable, the story is stupid and the fight choreography is beyond laughable, stupid and unrealistic. Especially the "MMA fight" in the beginning is total crap.

i didn't expect much from this one. and to be fair all i wanted to see at that moment, was a decent action flick. and surprisingly enough - i got it!

plot is predictable. i mean really. they did put some effort into developing main protagonist and it works, a bit. the acting is fairly average. but since this is an action film, let's get to action.

fight choreography is good, and one particular kill will catch you off guard(believe me i've seen it). since Adkins isn't playing Boyka, his technique is different, more simplified, but efficient enough.

there is a nice nod to the original HT and you will easily recognize it.

as for the supporting cast Rhona is playing a really stereotypical character, which was my main problem throughout the film. i mean she really can do better than that. Robert Kneppers main villain was decent enough to listen to his dialogue.

and for the last when you'll watch it make sure to know that some sequences take place simultaneously at different spots, so you won't feel lost in the pacing

overall i would give it 6.5/10 if you have enough time, watch it...