Hard Target 2 (2016)
Hard Target 2 is a 2016 American vigilante action film directed and shot by Roel Reiné. It is a direct-to-video sequel of the 1993 action film Hard Target starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. The film stars Scott Adkins, Robert Knepper, Ann Truong, Rhona Mitra, and Temuera Morrison. It continues the human hunt theme in the jungles of Myanmar and Thailand.
Plot.
Professional MMA fighter Wes Baylor takes on Jonny Sutherland in a match at the MGM Grand. Upset with the judges’ score, Baylor tries to knock Sutherland out and accidentally kills him. Overwhelmed with guilt, Baylor enters self-imposed exile in Thailand. Six months later, Baylor is still haunted by the death of Sutherland and competes in underground fight clubs. A man, Aldrich, watches Baylor fight, and impressed with him, offers him $1 million for a private one-off match in Myanmar. Upon arrival, Baylor is informed that he will be the victim of a lethal hunt organized by Aldrich. Baylor is given a water bottle and money belt which, unbeknown to him, has a GPS tracker hidden inside. The hunting party consists of Sofia, bullfighter Esparto, video game designer Landon, Maduka, Jacob “Texas” Zimling, Zimling’s son Tobias, Aldrich’s right-hand man Madden, and Aldrich himself. In addition, the party is accompanied by a group of corrupt Myanmar Army soldiers. Maduka shoots Baylor with a sniper rifle at a waterfall, but Baylor goes underwater, sneaks up on Maduka, and beats him to death.
While fleeing from them, Baylor comes across a local woman named Tha, who helps him get to the border. As the hunt continues, Aldrich gives the hunters motorcycles equipped with guns and rocket launchers. Baylor fights them and commandeers a motorcycle, leaving Tha alone. Zimling and Tobias attempt to kill Tha, but Tobias has a brief change of heart and flees. Tha then kills Zimling with a machete, while Baylor fights Sofia. After knocking her unconscious, he regroups with Tha and they run away. The two go to Tha’s house to treat wounds, where Baylor learns something strange about Tha and her village.
After running towards the border, Tha and Baylor come across a field full of landmines. Aldrich and the party arrive at the edge of the minefield, having tracked Baylor via the GPS. Tobias, angered by the death of his father, chases Baylor with an M-16 and is killed by a crossbow bolt that Baylor fires. He drops the assault rifle as he dies and triggers an explosion of the mines.
The explosion gives Baylor and Tha enough time to hide in a cave, where Tha finds her missing brother, who is revealed as a previous target of Aldrich’s group. He had managed to evade the hunting group’s detection and hide.
In the morning, Tha and her brother run away, leaving Baylor behind. Tha and her brother are captured, and Baylor rescues them by capturing Landon. Tha then shoves a sharp object through Sofia’s neck which kills her. Meanwhile, Landon’s neck is slashed by Aldrich for secretely recording all of the events, which was forbidden. Baylor, Tha, and her brother all reach the border and wonder how Aldrich continuously knows where they are. They find the tracker in the money belt. Baylor takes on the soldiers working for Aldrich and remaining hunters alone while Tha and her brother hide. Esparto goes after Tha and her brother but is killed with a fishing harpoon. Meanwhile, Baylor runs away with the boat from the army camp and heads towards the border.