Hard Target 2 2016

Wes Baylor, a professional MMA fighter, enters a high-stakes welterweight championship fight against Jonny Sutherland at the fictional Chateau de Vegas Hotel. Upset with the judges’ score, [Wes Baylor] powers toward a knockout and tragically takes [Jonny Sutherland]’s life. Wracked with guilt, he withdraws from attention and retreats to self-imposed exile in Thailand, where the echoes of that night haunt every punch and every crowd roar.

Six months pass, and Baylor’s life has narrowed to underground fight clubs and the ghosts of the past. A shadowy figure, Aldrich, watches Baylor fight and offers him a tempting, dangerous proposition: $1 million for a private one-off match in Myanmar. When Baylor travels there, he learns he is not stepping into an ordinary bout but the centerpiece of a planned lethal hunt organized by [Aldrich]. The setup is chillingly impersonal: a water belt concealing a GPS tracker and a money belt that the hunter crew uses to pin Baylor’s every move.

The hunting party is a cross-section of willing or coerced combatants. Included are Sofia, a dangerous force in the field; Esparto, a bullfighter with a deadly edge; Landon Marshall, a designer who documents the mayhem; Maduka, a formidable opponent; Jacob “Texas” Zimling, the Zimling family’s elder stalking the prize; Tobias Zimling, his son, and Madden, Aldrich’s right-hand man. The procession is backed by a contingent of corrupt Myanmar Army soldiers, turning the hunt into a merciless game.

The chase begins with a brutal launch: Maduka fires a sniper shot at [Wes Baylor] from a waterfall, but Baylor dives underwater, uses the moment to close in, and kills [Maduka] in a calculated, clinical moment of aggression. Fleeing through the terrain, Baylor crosses paths with a local woman, Tha, who hiddenly offers aid and a route to the border. The hunters intensify the pursuit, arming themselves with motorcycles outfitted with guns and even rocket launchers, transforming the chase into a rolling battlefield.

Baylor battles through the onslaught, commandeering a motorcycle and leaving [Tha] behind for safety. The pursuit tightens as [Tobias]’s fury over his father’s death grows; he presses forward with an M-16, but Baylor answers with a crossbow bolt, killing Tobias and triggering a chain reaction that clears a swath through the field of mines. The explosions force Baylor and [Tha] to regroup in a cave, where they uncover a troubling truth about [Tha] and her village, a truth that reframes Baylor’s sense of responsibility and trust.

Morning comes, and Tha and her brother slip away, leaving Baylor behind. The two are later captured, and Baylor mounts a daring rescue by seizing [Landon] as a hostage to force a path to safety. In a brutal moment, [Tha] drives a sharp implement through [Sofia]’s neck, killing her, while Aldrich punishes [Landon] for secretly recording the events—an act forbidden by the hunt. The trio — Baylor, Tha, and her brother — finally reach the border, where the GPS tracker embedded in the money belt reveals itself, tying the fates of all players to this single device.

The remaining Myanmar soldiers press the chase as [Esparto] closes in on [Tha] and her brother, only to be slain by a fishing harpoon. Baylor escapes by commandeering a boat and heads toward the border, determined to outlast the siege. The final confrontation unfolds on the border bridge: Aldrich faces Baylor, while Madden stands as a grim obstacle in between. Baylor uses Madden as a shield, and Aldrich inadvertently shoots Madden, turning the battle on a knife-edge. The Myanmar army, unleashed by orders, trains their sights on Baylor, but [Tha] arrives and, in a bold move, bribes the general to call off the fire so Baylor can survive. Enraged, Aldrich attempts to shoot Baylor, only to be met with orders from the general to shoot Aldrich instead — and the hunter meets a fatal end.

With the danger finally quelled, [Wes Baylor] returns to Thailand with [Tha], where the two commit to teaching Taekwondo to local children, rebuilding a sense of purpose from the chaos and violence that defined their ordeal.