La Cible 2

This movie is just bad. Really bad. I don't care how many times Scott Adkins kicks his legs and does the splits. The script is worse than D budget quality, the cinematography is D level, the acting is barely above C quality, and there's some very good actors in there who obviously just wanted a paycheck, Rhona Mitra. If you don't care, don't do it. It will show in your performance and it did. No one really seemed to care. And the original is no masterpiece, but this is beyond bad. And it looks bad. Very cheap looking and they had a jungle to work with. Wow! And the color of the scenes was "meh" The filmmakers had no point of view. This was very amateurish and unoriginal. It's not enough to just have action anymore. You have to have a strong point of view and interesting characters. This had neither. And the action was not good. Just because something is slow motion doesn't mean it's cool. In fact, slow motion is so over used it has the opposite affect. Anyway, I love movies, and if you're reading this I'm sure you do too, but for the love of movies stay away from this lazy target.

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.

When I herd that Hard Target 2 was going to be on Netflix, I was all set to jump at the chance to see it, but I must admit that I was a little upset to see the film starred Scott Adkins and not Jean Claude Van Damme.

Not that I don't love Scott Adkins, I do. He's this generations' marshal arts action star, but possibly because I'm such a huge fan of Van Damme and the idea that he can still do the high flying kicks that made him worth loving is the reason why it took me so long to see it.

The wait was well worth it. Of course it's not as good as the first one. Like I said the 1st one had Van Damme and was directed by John Woo in his first American picture, Just before Hollywood thought enough of him to temper with his genius. Not to mention that Lance Henriksen and Arnold Vosloo played possibly the first gay villains I ever seen on the big screen.

But like I said, Scott Adkins is this generations answer to Van Damme. In Hard Target 2, Adkins plays a Mixed Marshal Arts fighter (stretch), who accidentally kills his best friend in the ring. Filled with depression, he accidentally signs up to be hunted in Indonesia by a group of rich bastards, but of course "They picked the wrong man to hunt'"

It's interesting that happens though. When you play a game like Hard Target, eventually you will pick the wrong man to hunt, and man, you do not want to be on the team when that happens. There was at least two characters: A billionaire game developer and the son of some rich gun totting type who were hoping to start off with something a little simpler. Rounding out the variety of the hunters was a women with daddy issues and some famous Spanish guy looking for a thrill.

It's an action packed sequel. Not the best fighting Adkins has done in a picture (That I think was Undisputed 2 and 3), but I think Hard target 2 will work on those guys who never herd or don't really know who Adkins is. It's a great way to introduce him to the audience with a group of people wondering why Van Damme is not in it, but will not be disappointed with Adkins.

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My quick rating - 5,3/10. The same basic formula as "Hard Target" and the superior "Surviving the Game" of take a person (Scott Adkins) and hunt him down for sport. This movie tends to lead into ridiculous category a few times but still delivers some quality action scenes which mostly are martial arts related. If you like those types of movies, you will like this. Scott Adkins plays a pro fighter who accidentally kills his best friend in the ring and ends up down and out due to depression. He takes on one last fight for money, but it ends up being him fighting for his life against a bunch of rich people who hunt him for sport. Very cliché from start to finish so you can fill in all the plot points in your head now. Entertaining it is. I would say Adkins is slowly solidifying his role is the times new action hero. I, for one, prefer that as opposed to all the really bad Seagal movies going straight to video these days.

Anyone remember the 90's? The age of mobile phones that looked like bricks and cheesy martial art action flicks?

Hard Target 2 is firmly set in the 90's action flick mould. Its simple formulaic stuff but its also good fun. There's no pretension here just lots or corny but enjoyable scripting and tons of kick ass action. Lead actor Scott Adkins is a worthy successor to Jean Claude Van Damme. He's a talented martial artist and puts on a polished performance, that really helps to lift this film.

One to enjoy if, like me, you grew up on a diet of 90's action flicks. Seven out of ten from me.