Warning: Major spoilers for One More Shot below!

Summary

• Scott Adkins' Harris stops the bomb in One More Shot's ending, but Lomax's sinister plan still succeeds, creating a cliffhanger ending.
• Harris refuses to let Mansur become a pawn in Lomax's scheme, deleting the forced confession he gave and honoring Mansur's dying wish.
• The lack of resolution in One More Shot may frustrate some viewers, as the sequel sets up a potential third entry that has yet to be confirmed.

One More Shot sees Scott Adkins having to take down an airport full of mercenaries, but does he win the day? Picking up shortly after the events of One Shot, the sequel sees Harris (Adkins) completing his mission of escorting terrorist Amin Mansur (Waleed Elgadi) into CIA custody. They land in an evacuated airport, which is quickly overtaken by a team of mercenaries, with One More Shot casting action legend Michael Jai White as the leader, Jackson. This mysterious group wants Mansur alive, so Harris has to protect the terrorist and his estranged, pregnant wife Niesha (Meena Rayann).

One More Shot's final act unleashes a flurry of twists, with Harris learning the nuclear bomb Mansur built is hidden somewhere in the airport and its endless cargo crates. Homeland Security agent Lomax (Alexis Knapp) is revealed to be Mansur's handler and plans to use the bomb to attack the State of the Union address. After Lomax executes Mansur, Harris is forced to take on the remaining mercenaries alone. The Scott Adkins movie ends with Harris stopping the bomb from leaving the airport, but the shadowy forces backing Lomax still have a plan in motion.

Harris Stopped The Bomb But Lomax's Plan Still Worked

One More Shot ends on a big cliffhanger

In a break from action movie protocol, the main villains aren't killed during One More Shot's ending. Adkins and White's characters have a bruising fight, which ends with the former handcuffing the latter. Harris then pursues the escaping Lomax onto a plane, and while she surrenders to him, he is informed her plan of getting the President and the other government heads evacuated to a single location has succeeded. As Lomax is taken into custody, Harris has a moment to reflect that his fight is far from over.

While not exactly a downer ending, One More Shot's lack of resolution might irritate some viewers. A third entry is far from guaranteed, and the sequel leaves several plot threads unresolved. Harris may have stopped the radiation device from detonating, but his deflated look in the final scene underlines that he faces an even bigger battle ahead.

Scott Adkins and Waleed Elgadi are the only actors to return from 2021's One Shot.

Why Harris Deletes Mansur's Confession

Harris' hatred for Mansur didn't overcome his humanity

One intriguing element of One More Shot and the original is that Harris never becomes friends with Mansur. Amin's anger over the death of his son in an American drone attack drove him to become a terrorist, and while both films depict him as somewhat sympathetic, they never try to redeem him either. In the sequel's third act, Amin learns that Lomax was his secret handler, twisting his grief to her ends while planning to frame him for the upcoming Washington attack.

Harris may have detested Amin for his actions, but he refuses to let the man become a pawn in Lomax's scheme.

Part of this involves forcing Mansur to deliver a confession claiming responsibility for the bomb. Under threat of Niesha being executed, Mansur delivers Lomax's rehearsed speech to camera. Lomax then shoots Amin in cold blood, but when Harris later recovers Lomax's phone, he promptly deletes Mansur's forced confession. Harris may have detested Amin for his actions, but he refuses to let the man become a pawn in Lomax's scheme. He also honors Mansur's dying wish that his unborn son wouldn't someday see the confession and believe he was a total monster.

Why Is The Airport Empty?

One More Shot's unique location explained

One More Shot continues the proud tradition of action movies that take the Die Hard formula and move it to a new location. In this case, the entire film takes place in Washington Baltimore airport, which is eerily deserted while the CIA awaits Mansur's plane. In an exposition dump featuring Tom Berenger's CIA agent Mike Marshall, One More Shot explains that Mansur's plane was re-routed from landing at a military base to the Washington Baltimore airport. To make sure the location was secure, the CIA faked a news story about a gas leak at the airport to keep civilians away.

One More Shot was actually filmed in the UK's Stansted Airport.

This is the surface-level explanation, but Lomax really had the plane rerouted there because Mansur's bomb is hidden among the airport's cargo. Since One More Shot takes place in real-time, the mercenaries are in a race to capture Mansur, recover the bomb and drive it right into the heart of Washington. Due to Harris' interference, they fail in the final objective.

Lomax's Conspiracy Explained

One More Shot's big villain twist reframes the story

Lomax and her private military backers at Farbridge intend to infiltrate the President's bunker and force the officials gathered to give up key information about the country's defenses. This info would, of course, fetch a high price to the highest bidder.

One More Shot opens with Knapp's Lomax leading a failed raid on a shipping yard to recover the bomb, and she seemingly works with Harris to keep Mansur safe when the airport is attacked. Marshall later suspects Lomax is the one leaking information to the mercenaries, all of which leads to a confrontation where Marshall and his remaining men are killed. After Mansur is captured, Lomax reveals the whole siege is part of an elaborate heist.

A credible bomb threat in Washington would see the President and all the key government heads sent to the same, "secure" location. Once there, Lomax and her private military backers at Farbridge intend to infiltrate the President's bunker and force the officials gathered to give up key information about the country's defenses. This info would, of course, fetch a high price to the highest bidder.

Mansur built the bomb out of ideology, but is horrified to discover he was just a pawn in Lomax's convoluted scheme. She and her team have no morals or ideologies to speak of, and are simply in it for the money. One More Shot paints Lomax as the true monster, having betrayed her own people and country, not to mention having no issue threatening a pregnant woman. Assuming a third film happens, the character will need to face her comeuppance.

How Long After The Original One Shot Does The Sequel Begin?

Harris didn't get much rest after One Shot

The sequel is more expansive than the 2021 original in terms of scope and action. One Shot was a siege movie, while the follow-up is essentially a Die Hard clone. One More Shot doesn't spell out how much time has passed, but in an interview with Collider, Adkins revealed about 12 to 15 hours had elapsed since the original. This means Harris didn't get much time to sleep or even mourn the loss of his team before he had to dive right back into action.

Does Niesha Survive One More Shot's Finale?

Niesha gives One More Shot's some heart

One of the more engaging elements of One More Shot is the relationship between Mansur and Niesha. She is heavily pregnant with their child, and while she has love for Amin, she can't forgive his actions. Mansur ultimately sacrifices himself trying to keep her safe, with Harris stepping in to stop Lomax's men from executing Niesha too. She and Mansur make some peace before he dies, but with Harris' priority being to stop the bomb, he is forced to leave her.

Niesha isn't seen beyond this point, but given that the mercenaries were already withdrawing from the airport, it's assumed she got out safely. One More Shot closes with Navy SEALs taking back the airport too, who would have rescued Niesha while sweeping the building for survivors.

Will A Third One Shot Happen?

One Last Shot is waiting to happen

One More Shot lays the groundwork for a trilogy, but a third movie has not been confirmed just yet.

There are a few Scott Adkins movie franchises in existence, with One More Shot adding to that list. The sequel ends with a brazen setup for one last chapter, with Harris having to protect the POTUS and other government heads from Farbridge's evil plans. The movie also kept White's evil mercenary Jackson alive, while hiding the identity of Lomax's boss, whose distorted voice is heard on her phone. One More Shot lays the groundwork for a trilogy, but a third movie has not been confirmed just yet.

The filmmakers behind the sequel clearly want it to happen, but given the real-time nature of the One Shot saga, they can't afford to wait years since their lead actors will age out of their roles. It would be a shame if One More Shot's cliffhanger was left unresolved, while Adkins' exhausted hero deserves the chance to avenge his fallen men.

Source: Collider