Anyway, Scott Adkins has another franchise. ONE MORE SHOT is the sequel to ONE SHOT, a realm of siege horror movie directed by James Nunn, who is also the director for the first movie and is currently releasing a sequel to the first one. What more can I say; I will say that, in addition to quite intelligent movement strategies, the first film is really well made, with shockingly good drama, performances and, what do you know-there’s even some action to speak of. Many fans ranked it among Adkins’ best, but I will tell you how different it is. It’s a movie where 90% of the time he’s just shooting people and there’s not a single flying kick in the movie so I can never really take that endorsement. The first film featured a little of the common War On Terror attitude that I also have to admit wasn’t that appealing. But it’s great.
The good news is that the three of them stuck together to narrate the sequel and this is the better version of the three teammates because not only does this installment avoid those nitpicking details I was complaining about, but in it Adkins does not limit himself to the easiest and most standard actions to perform. The first film was set at a prison-style CIA black site, which I believe is like 634,186 other action film locations across the course of the Bush war on terror, this second installment depicts an abandoned airport.
Navy SEAL Jake Harris (Adkins) returns together with his prisoner, Amin Mansur (Waleed Elgadi, FOUR LIONS), who is the sole individual who knows the whereabouts of the filth bomb that is intended for Washington DC during the context of the State of the Union. There are all sorts of things in the world that this particular individual will not be able to be taken to a military port, and so they create the pretence of a gas explosion not so as to use a military encampment. From a plot perspective, I believe it’s warranted, but even if it weren’t, it’s a much more interesting place than a military camp which is where they actually managed to shoot the film, at London Stansted Airport.
He becomes welcomed by CIA’s Mike Marshall (Tom Berenger, THE SUBSTITUTE), Dept. of Homeland Security’s Agent Lomax (Alexis Knapp, PITCH PERFECT) and so on, who brought in Mansur’s deserted and pregnant spouse Niesha (Meena Rayann, Warrior Nun) to convince him to speak up. Harris, in light of the circumstances, does not wish to leave the prisoner, but is brushed aside and goes to a place to rest and, later, faces his agitated wife (Jill Winternitz, “Pan Am Stewardess”, INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY) on the phone. For those who have ever been in uncertainty at an airport while on a plaza moving to and fro, the effect is precisely that; it is a very difficult scenario to find oneself in, which separation is so keenly brought out from a packed depopulated terminal.
photo taken with phone camera He does not even complete his phone call when he notices several paramilitaries clad in body-armour rushing through the terminal and gets the message loud and clear. After that all the myriad agents come under fire and he’s hustling with the Mansurs those alive and in control while trying to pinpoint the identity of the attackers and their game plan.
As much as this may come as a blow to Harris, it should be a reason to smile to the viewers: they are an elite force of mercenaries and of the above mentioned British Jackson is played by the great Michael Jai White. His character has a very well executed scary villainake; we are told to fear his subordinates before seeing him and when we do, it’s shot in a way that we are peeking from behind the corner as he walks around barking orders with this insane look in his eyes. He earns their respect but has a short temper when it comes to his cold-blooded chief’s thugs; Aaron Toney played Dunbar in WOLF WARRIOR II, and Edward Linard as Campbell in NEVER BACK DOWN: REVOLT, both of whom he dispatches to get Harris and the Mansurs.
“Let me be blunt. I don’t kill women. I kill men. But I’m very efficient at doing this in an unorthodox fashion.” So there’s some very intense McClaning creeping about lest he be seen, robbing weapons and undershirts from those he executes. And the best part is to do with the camera angles and techniques. Roll up scrolls in the Japanese manner, carriages on sticks, so bang! There’s Harris receiving a rush and yelling, “And where are you cameras?” Choking someone from the back, firing and only the muzzle flashes are visible. It’s bloody awesome yet highly frustrating, violent and ruthless at the same time. And also heart warming. Yes, lots of shooting again, but a couple of fantastic brawls also overthrow the gung-ho look of the series. Kicking, stomping, thrusting knives, thank you ONE MORE SHOT, I appreciate you.
It’s not everyday struggle, but it sure does have its fun side. There is a rollercoaster of the baddies’ actions and Harris’s trust issues. One actor does enjoy cutting back and forth from hero to jerk as a character.
Mansur, in particular, is a very unique character for this particular genre since he was supposed to be someone who lost a child due to a drone strike and wanted revenge through a terror attack, yet he does seem to be a little conflicted about going through with it, and definitely does not like being used for someone else’s cause. His wife Niesha is definitely a complex person as well, not having forgiven him completely for his actions but still feeling attracted to him, and after some initial thoughts, wondering if there is a chance for reconciliation.
While I am curious to know whether this was intentional on their part or not, I am glad that there are some DIE HARD 2 references in this part 2 as well. Most importantly, there’s the lone tough guy hero engaging in a series of battles at an airport, all the while worrying about a foreign source of danger on the other side when it is in fact American fighters gone bad who are the real cause. Naturally the amount of money thrown at the film is piddling when compared to what Renny Harlin had to play with (that’s life), so there are no explosive jets or what have you. Other viewers may have wished to see some cargo conveyor belt action, but that was never in the cards, and perhaps wouldn’t have any relevance to a deserted airport. However, there is a scuffle on a tram and if there is little movement during it, boy did they sell the illusion that it was moving. A very exciting subliminal attack of NINJA’s green screen sub way combat has to be one of my favorites but this one was very pulse raising due to its realistic approach.
Unfortunately, there are some parts that might come across as a bit ridiculous. I chuckled when he walked by a TV that was airing news where someone is announcing the State of the Union and the President Vice President and Congress will all come. I mean I understand that this is directed to our non US viewers, but still, it is amusing. But this is above and beyond the case for most VOD action, this is really fantastic high level filmmaking craft and coming in on budget. I haven’t mentioned that it continues the fake-oner gimmick of the first film but then again, I didn’t give it all that much thought when watching the film. Well, it is not quite shot in one take but then again, the hidden cuts are not blatant enough to be annoying and the videography would feel so real that I don’t even bother looking for the cuts. I suppose the only time I had such thoughts was after a fall that looked like a stunt and must have used some trick but I can’t figure out what it was.
I think it’s a very effective approach for this, especially regarding the CHILDREN OF MEN feeling of being caught in the middle of a war zone (particularly when they are inside a vehicle and getting fired upon) and being able to heighten the dramatics by telling the story as it occurs.
And of course the one viewers seek out is Adkins and White facing each other once again. They were together in ACCIDENT MAN (2018) and TRIPLE THREAT (2019), but I recall much earlier, Adkins in what I regard as his breakthrough role in UNDISPUTED II: LAST MAN STANDING, and White’s breakout, and DTV action’s breakout, which took place in 2006. But they do get to fight. However, to call it a rematch between Boyka and Iceman would be to make unfair comparisons it’s a different type of picture, a different type of fight and Boyka and Iceman are almost two decades older.
That being said, the execution was quite good and each character was well developed. Jackson carries his swagger and is cocky as he guided the entire crew throughout the day. Harris has just completed a long flight in between movies, so he has also been battling continuously and is exhausted and will rest as well as ignore Jackson’s taunts to save his voice and focus. Tim Man is the fight choreographer who debuted in NINJA: SHADOW OF A TEAR and has worked with Adkins in many other films as well (BOYKA: UNDISPUTED, ELIMINATORS, ACCIDENT MAN, ABDUCTION, TRIPLE THREAT, LEGACY OF LIES, ONE SHOT, CASTLE FALLS, ACCIDENT MAN: HITMAN’S HOLIDAY).
(non specific spoilers this paragraph) Their battle however is rather swift but interestingly enough concludes with some style, which was hinted at before. It is interesting to note that Harris is thinking about putting the bullet into his head and justifying it as the next thing which needs to be done. This is good character development as only after the film did I remember that it that it aims to leave Jackson alive for the next part.
That is a criticism some may have, the fact that it concludes in a somewhat a cliffhanger style. He managed to solve one issue but now it only escalates to something far more ominous. It definitely has the appeal of the middle part of a story, and considering the indie action sphere, we don’t know if the third part is a definite. But in my opinion it is quite powerful as it means that the film builds up to very climactic character moment toward the end. Which in turn makes it feel like yes the movie is about a very clever well made film with cartoony violence and a badass M’F trying desperately to avoid a worse than 911 approximation.
ONE MORE SHOT is currently available for VOD in the US and Sky Cinema in the UK. I advise watching ONE SHOT first since it is worth watching and this is a direct follow-up however if for some reason you feel compelled to go directly to this one, I believe you are going to get the message.
For more movies like One More Shot visit 123Movies.