The Pretext of Venice
The CIA will not protect him. And now, a massive enemy he could never have imagined is closing in. Even so, he must fight. Because Alex Riley was a man who lived on his own terms.
Miss Silver offers Alex a similar proposal as before.
"Wouldn't two be better than one?"
But surprisingly, Alex rejects the offer.
"Sorry, but I'm sick of being used."
Not wanting to repeat his past mistakes, he chooses to move alone. Miss Silver watches him leave with a complex expression.
Slipping out of the safehouse, Alex goes to ground. The scene cuts to show the group tracking him. The leader, who has already shown the audience his cold-blooded, ruthless nature through a brutal close-quarters fight inside a house, is communicating with someone. A heavily static-laced voice comes through.
[He got away?]
[Yes, sir. We are currently organizing a pursuit team.]
[...You'll need help. You'll receive a call shortly.]
A series of cross-cuts implies that the situation is growing far more complicated.
The North African coast. Esposito, who was about to head back after unloading his contracted cargo, receives a strange call. It is the same static-heavy voice that just spoke to the leader.
[And the cargo?]
[Delivered safe and sound. Just one more shipment to go.]
[While you're at it, could you run a little distraction for me?]
[Huh? What's that supposed to mean?]
[I need to keep some eyes busy.]
The assassination attempt on Alex Riley was actually a distraction. The enemy's true objective was to stage multiple assassination attempts disguised as "terrorist attacks" to throw Venice into chaos. While the city was distracted, they would smuggle a newly developed missile system and its blueprints to a dictatorship in North Africa. And Esposito was already under contract with them as their smuggler.
"Well, damn..."
Esposito wears a bitter smile. He contacts Alex, who is currently hiding out and looking for an escape route. Unaware of Esposito's true intentions, Alex is tricked by his offer to help him escape and heads back to the weapons factory. Meanwhile, Miss Silver, who has been tracking Alex's movements via a wiretap and transmitter she secretly planted on him at the safehouse, follows him in secret.
At Esposito's weapons factory.
"Looks like you've been through hell. You've got dark circles under your eyes."
"Too many guys chasing after me. If I were a woman, I'd be flattered."
"There's no creature more miserable than a woman pursued by too many men. ...Anyway, the boat will be ready soon, so get some rest until then. Want a smoke?"
"Sure. Got any whiskey?"
"I don't drink the good stuff."
The two men talk face-to-face. Miss Silver secretly listens in. Esposito, who knows Alex's past, asks:
"Don't you ever think your army days were better?"
"Are you kidding? I was sick of it. The state doesn't care about the individual. All they care about is the collective. For a drifter like me, being free like this suits me much better."
"And you've got a 'daughter' too."
"Well, she's a daughter of the heart."
"You don't go see her?"
"With what face? I'm the one who killed her parents."
"It was an order, and it was a mistake."
"Doesn't matter. I pulled the trigger. I have to take responsibility."
"..."
Hearing this, Esposito's expression turns bitter for a moment. He pulls out a pistol and aims it at Alex's forehead.
"Uh...?"
Alex tilts his head as if it is just another joke. The fact that he reacts so casually even with a gun pointed at him shows the deep trust between them. But in the end, even that trust is easily discarded in the face of money.
"I'm going to need you to sign a contract."
"I'd rather not be your son-in-law."
Behind Alex, the leader emerges. The man who had been relentlessly pursuing him and Esposito have now formed an alliance. Enraged, Alex grabs Esposito by the collar. But immediately after, the leader punches him in the face, knocking him unconscious.
After the fade to black, Alex wakes up on a small gondola.
"...Dammit."
On the canals of Venice. Through a walkie-talkie lying right next to him, he hears the terms of the "contract."
[We are going to hunt you. Run well, and you might just live.]
[I really don't get it. What do you even get out of doing this?]
[There is only one thing you need to understand right now. That gondola will explode in ten seconds.]
[Huh...?]
Startled, Alex frantically scrambles off the boat. With a massive explosion—BOOM!—the chase begins in earnest.
The enemy herds Alex into the heart of Venice. Fleeing between buildings, Alex tries his best to head toward areas with fewer people. The sudden explosion draws the police, causing chaos. Amidst the confusion, Miss Silver receives a call from CIA Headquarters.
[A bomb attack just went off in Venice. It's likely connected to the hotel bombing, so investigate that angle. The Italian authorities have agreed to assist.]
But hearing this, she gets a strange feeling. At the same time, audio comes through the wiretap and transmitter she planted on Alex. Alex had secretly planted it on Esposito while pretending to grab him by the collar.
[What matters is a pretext. A pretext. Something to deceive countless eyes.]
Since the last incident, Alex has become a man watched by intelligence agencies worldwide. A man like that being chased through the streets of Venice is more than enough "pretext" to mobilize various investigative agencies. Miss Silver instinctively realizes that this incident is not driven by the ideologies or factions that ruled the world until recently, but purely by individual greed. And someone within the CIA is deeply involved.
[I'll leave the final delivery in your hands.]
Hearing this, she immediately hops on a motorcycle and takes off. To save Alex and stop this plan. To deliver the truth, which Alex cleverly revealed, to the world.
And so, the highlight action sequence of the film, set against the backdrop of Venice, unfolds. Advanced CGI graphics, far superior to the first film, are used without restraint. Yet, it maintains a gritty realism as fights, gun battles, explosions, and car chases weave seamlessly inside and outside buildings and across gondolas. The spectacular action set against the backdrop of a sunset-drenched Venice is the absolute highlight of the film.
Fleeing, taking down enemies, repeating the cycle over and over—just as Alex is growing exhausted, Miss Silver appears like a savior. Seeing her, Alex's eyes widen.
"How the hell did you track me?"
"Details later...! Just get on!"
Shouting a line straight out of an action movie textbook, Miss Silver extends her hand. The leader and his men continue their relentless pursuit. But they manage to shake them off. Having finally found a safe place to hide, Alex hears the whole truth from Miss Silver.
"You can run away. No one would blame you."
"What about you?"
"I have to stop the cargo ship. At the very least, I need to retrieve the data on board."
"...There's no need to risk your life."
"No. I have to."
Because it's the right thing to do. Unlike him, Miss Silver still believes in the state and its system. Her words strike a chord. Letting out a long sigh, Alex decides to help her.
"It'll be a lot easier if I can find out who tried to kill me."
"Are you sure? I can't pay you."
"Fine. But we do this my way."
Meanwhile, Esposito is lost in thought aboard the ship sailing across the Mediterranean.
"Stupid kid..."
Though he betrayed him according to the contract, he secretly hopes Alex is safe. Right then, a massive explosion rocks the cargo ship.
"Captain!"
A henchman rushes into the captain's cabin. As if thinking it's finally here, a smile spreads across Esposito's lips. Alex was a man who specialized in deception. He boldly used methods his opponents believed he would "never dare to try."
Taking advantage of the chaos on the ship, Alex infiltrates. He heads toward Esposito's room, where all the data should be. Along the way, he quietly and swiftly dispatches anyone he encounters. And Esposito, who had anticipated this, is waiting for him. The two men, pistols drawn, aim directly at each other. Esposito speaks.
"What did I tell you? I said I'd kill you if you ever came back here."
"Then let me leave a last will. Give Miranda my best. Tell her I loved her."
Cracking his usual joke, Alex pulls the trigger. A scene dripping with hard-boiled charm in the deep darkness. And so, their final battle begins. Then, the leader and his men join the fray. Appearing in wetsuits just like before, they attack everyone indiscriminately, friend and foe alike. The mastermind behind everything had ordered their elimination once the job was done. After all, his own men could handle the final delivery. Realizing the situation, Alex shouts in disbelief.
"This is why you never deal with rich bastards! Esposito!"
"Dammit...!"
"Want to make a new contract?"
"What are the terms?"
"Let me marry your daughter!"
"In your dreams, kid!"
In the face of mortal peril, the two team up once again. Esposito, a man who lives only for his family. Alex Riley, a wandering mercenary with nowhere to call home. The two fight their final battle. The leader, who had entered thoroughly prepared, pushes them hard onto the deck. He fires relentlessly at the shipping container they are hiding behind.
A desperate crisis. Out of ammo, pushed to the brink of death. A blood-soaked Esposito tries to hold on, putting pressure on a gunshot wound. Sitting beside him, Alex bites his lip. Even if he betrayed him, Esposito was someone who was once precious to him, and still special now. Seeing Alex's distorted face, Esposito chuckles.
"Can you dance the tango?"
"Of course. Who do you think I am?"
"Then dance. I'll play a loud song for you."
With a bloody grin, he pats Alex on the cheek.
"When you see my family later, tell them their father was just doing his job. Tell them he wasn't a coward."
With those words, he stands up and charges at the remaining enemies. He pulls the pin of a grenade in his hand. Alex tries to stop him, but it is already too late. Esposito is riddled with bullets and falls, but the grenade he throws in his final moment cuts through the air. With a massive explosion—BOOM!—most of the enemies are swept away. The leader, who had briefly taken cover behind a container to survive, steps out to finish Alex off for good. At that exact moment, a bullet pierces his forehead.
"..."
Holding his pistol, Alex wears a complex, serious expression never seen on him before. He walks over to the fallen Esposito and kneels before him. Immediately after the battle, an unsettling silence envelops the ship.
"What the hell,"
He says with a weary face.
"You said you were gonna kill me."
The movie transitions to the epilogue. Esposito and Alex, two men abandoned and used by the system. But the "contract" they fulfilled successfully stopped a massive conspiracy.
US CIA Office. An agent watching the news speaks to Miss Silver next to him.
"Great job. Must have been tough in many ways."
"Don't mention it."
The incident was resolved. And as always, what floated to the surface was only a fraction of the truth. The missiles secured by Miss Silver were recovered by the CIA and Italian authorities, and a joint investigation is underway. However, Miss Silver secretly backed up a portion of the data for herself. Because she felt the presence of a massive power behind this incident.
Neither the biochemical terror planned by the defense contractor nor this missile incident saw the real masterminds punished; only innocent lives were lost. Believing that if things ended like this, similar incidents would keep happening, she was planning a different route. She couldn't trust anyone—not even the CIA she had dedicated herself to.
The proud operator from the first film was no more. Having glimpsed the dark underbelly of the world through this incident, she returns home after wrapping everything up. After a brief sequence showing her "Home Sweet Home," the direction shifts to the tense atmosphere of an espionage thriller. She descends into a hidden basement, approaches communication equipment she set up, and contacts someone.
[This is S. Do you copy, R.?]
And responding to those words, a man wearing sunglasses. In a room, looking out the window, his eyes are filled with emptiness. Outside, Esposito's funeral is underway, yet he is already thinking of revenge.
[Loud and clear. Over.]
A short reply. The movie ends, heavily hinting at a sequel.
Alex Riley and Esposito. Two tough men abandoned by the system, betraying and cooperating for their own ends in a grand action film. Watching the credits slowly roll, the audience is left thinking that the reality they live in is not much different.
In fact, the words Joe Pesci said most during the filming of this movie were:
“This isn't the '80s! Dammit, let's take it easy!”
After shooting grueling action scenes repeatedly, he would yell with a pale face. Hearing this, Sion Lee would always reply:
“We have to go one more time! Until our director is satisfied!”
“You mean until you're satisfied!”
Born in 1943, he was 55 years old at the time of filming. As an aging actor, he couldn't show the stamina of his youth. Moreover, the shooting had become incredibly demanding at some point. Even with stunt doubles, he had to perform when needed, and Joe felt he would surely end up in the hospital once this was over. But the result was spectacular.
“Ha.”
After the screening ended, Joe Pesci turned to Sion Lee, who had made him suffer throughout the shoot, and said:
“It was worth the suffering, kid.”
“You were amazing, Joe. Thank you for putting up with my stubbornness.”
“I'm just glad I died at the perfect time so I don't have to appear in the sequel. If you asked me to do this again, I'd seriously...”
“There's always flashbacks or prequels, you know?”
“Screw you, Sion. Never again.”
Despite his words, Joe chuckled, his voice full of satisfaction. For that reason, he had been curious about how a hot new young star like Sion Lee worked, and since Sion himself said he needed him, there was no reason to refuse. As a result, he was deeply inspired by this movie.
The spectacular action, the protagonist's wit, the charm of the characters, and the brisk plot made it well worth watching as a Hollywood action blockbuster. In addition, compared to the first film, which was a pure action flick, the protagonist's situation and how he dealt with it captured the dark, serious atmosphere unique to noir films.
However, Joe didn't think those characteristics would necessarily be a selling point. After all, a serious and heavy tone has its limits in terms of public appeal. But his prediction was pleasantly wrong. People evaluated it like this:
“...”
Receiving that review, Joe Pesci's eyes welled up slightly. During a subsequent interview, Sion, who had grown close to him during filming, teased him from the side.
“Need a tissue, Joe?”
“Shut up. I'll kill you. Seriously.”
Despite his words, his face was dripping with emotion. Sion smiled, understanding how he felt. In his past life, Joe Pesci had practically retired from acting after Lethal Weapon 4 in 1998. His image as a neurotic mobster had become too deeply ingrained, and with new box office stars rapidly rising, it was a choice he made himself. But Sion believed he still had many images left to show the world. That was why he was happier than anyone about the reactions to the movie.
And that's not all.
On another day, Sion did an interview with the "rookie" star with a thick British accent, Jason Statham. Having rarely received this much attention in Hollywood before, he said with an awkward face:
“I worked hard. Yes, I will continue to work hard in the future.”
Watching him from the side with a grin, Sion chimed in with a remark that would serve as a great hook.
“He's a tough guy, tough enough to fight a grizzly bear.”
Respecting the past, designing the future. Sion intended to continue this work through the films bearing his name. ...Of course, he also had the sly, underhanded motive of bringing both of them over to CK Agency.