A UK Action Thriller Sequel Is Climbing Up Netflix's Top Charts
Any action fan, or even dedicated viewer of Corridor Crew's "Stuntmen React" series, should know the name Scott Adkins. Long before Adkins went all out for his role as German gangster Killa Harkan in "John Wick: Chapter 4," the British stunt performer and actor made a name for himself working as a stuntman for prominent Hong Kong action directors in the early 2000s. He went on to appear in dozens of action movies, from starring opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme in four separate films to doubling for Ryan Reynolds' Weapon XI in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." For his role as Gunnery Sergeant Barton Geddes in 2019's "Ip Man 4: The Finale," Adkins said star Donnie Yen — who also faced off against Keanu Reeves in "John Wick: Chapter 4" — requested him for the film by name.
Having remained somewhat of a B-movie action star for most of his career, Adkins is finally starting to get more mainstream recognition. But that doesn't mean he can't still feed the direct-to-video-on-demand machine. Take his "One Shot" movie from 2021, for example. The British action thriller starred Adkins, Ashley Greene Khoury, and Ryan Phillippe, and saw Adkins play Navy SEAL Jake Harris, who's tasked with defending a prisoner who happens to be the target of insurgents. The film was made to appear as though it was shot in one take. Then, earlier this year, the sequel, "One More Shot" arrived, with Adkins reprising the role of Jake Harris as he transports terrorist suspect Amin Mansur (Waleed Elgadi) to Washington D.C. for questioning.
Despite not really making much of an impression when it first dropped on January 16, 2024, "One More Shot" has now made its way to streaming and it seems the Netflix crowds are actually quite taken by Adkins' latest effort.
One More Shot is shooting its way up the Netflix Top Charts
When it first arrived in January 2024, critics didn't seem to be any more impressed by "One More Shot" than they were with the original. "One Shot" currently holds a 59% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with The Guardian's Leslie Felperin declaring that the film's director, James Nunn, had "crafted something as weirdly mesmeric as it is schlocky." Unfortunately, "One More Shot" actually fared slightly worse. The film currently holds an RT score of 57%, with The Guardian's Cath Clarke labeling the film "violent, boring and a bit soulless. It seems, then, that the addition of Michael Jai White, Alexis Knapp, and Tom Berenger, who co-starred in the sequel, didn't do much to elevate the franchise from its B-movie status.
None of this, however, seems to have put Netflix viewers off "One More Shot," which hit Netflix U.S. on May 1, 2024, marking the film's streaming debut. The sequel is currently climbing the Netflix top charts and at the time of writing sits at number four on the most-watched films chart. According to FlixPatrol, a site that tracks streaming viewership data, "One More Shot" took a while to get going after it first hit the service on May 1, landing at number eight on the charts on May 5, before shooting its way to the number four spot as of May 6. It remains there at the time of writing, and may well climb even higher before the week is out, once again proving that, just like the time notorious Michael Fassbender flop "The Snowman" topped the charts, Netflix users will watch anything.
What does One More Shot's Netflix success mean?
With the release of the spectacular "The Fall Guy," the impending release of stunt-focused Peacock docu-series "Action," and growing pressure on the Academy to finally recognize stunt performers with their own Oscars category, there's seemingly no better time to be a stunt performer. If these Hollywood heroes are going to get more recognition, there's no one more deserving than Scott Adkins, who, aside from being a seasoned stuntman, is surely a prime example of an action star who doesn't get enough praise.
But I can't help but feel that movies like "One More Shot" aren't really helping in that regard. Sure, a lot of these B-movies often feature better action than what you'll see in many Hollywood blockbusters. What's more, the film's success on Netflix proves that people are willing to watch this stuff. But perhaps the streaming success of "One More Shot" actually proves that films focused solely on action above all else are right at home on video-on-demand services. The similarly action-obsessed "Extraction" and "Extraction 2," both of which also fetishize the fake "oner" (where several shots are stitched together to create the illusion of one continuous take), also did extremely well on Netflix. But this, coupled with the anticlimactic box office returns for "The Fall Guy", just doesn't seem to be helping build reverence and respect for action movie-making.
That said, "John Wick: Chapter 4" proved that cinematic love letters to stunt work can bring in the crowds. Still, when Universal tried to make a "John Wick" project without Keanu, no one was interested, so perhaps he's the key after all. For now, Scott Adkins can at least be glad his B-movie is proving popular on Netflix and we'll hopefully see him in more prestigious projects soon.