Aahana Swrup
‘One More Shot,’ the action thriller film sequel to ‘One Shot,’ follows the story of Navy SEAL Jake Harris and suspected terrorist Amin Mansur as they escape from an under-attack black-OPs site. However, as the duo arrives at the Washington Baltimore airport for Mansur’s interrogation regarding a nuclear bomb attack, a team of mercenaries take control of the empty airport. Consequently, Jake Harris finds himself entering another fight for survival as he faces off against a new threat that seems to be involved with the private military company, Farbridge. Therefore, in the midst of NAVY Seals and Homeland Security Officers, Amin Mansur and the mercenaries at Farbridge may have caught some viewers’ attention, compelling them to wonder about their relations to reality. SPOILERS AHEAD!
One More Shot’s Fictionalized Terrorist Attack
‘One More Shot’ packs a thrilling punch that is sure to entertain fans of the genre. However, the film doesn’t retain any connection to a true story, rendering its narrative and all the composing elements fictional in nature. As such, Farbridge and Amin Mansur— the key elements that influence the film’s terrorism plotline— remain works of fiction. Even so, their functions, motives, and impacts on the storyline require realistic drives to ensure the story feels grounded in reality.
Thus, while Farbridge isn’t based on a real private military company, the idea of the same isn’t entirely outlandish. Several companies that provide private security or military-related services exist in real life. For instance, companies such as the US-based Academi or the UK-based G4S can be prime examples of known PMCs. Usually, such companies are involved in consultation, training, armed combat, or peacekeeping operations under regulations that differ from their country of origin.
Nevertheless, as a natural side-effect of the industry, private military companies often also come under heat for their potential for human rights violations and state sovereignty infringement in combat areas. Furthermore, experts have frequently noted a link between mercenaries and terrorism. Therefore, despite lacking a basis in a real-life PMC, Farbridge adheres to the more critical perceptions of private military companies.
In the film, Farbridge operates as the real enemy orchestrating a nuclear attack, faked to appear as an act of terrorism. Consequently, they hope to carry out an even more sinister strike against some of the most significant members of the government. In order to achieve this, the company employs a Homeland Security Officer to turn on their country with promises of lucrative results. Likewise, they also manipulatively recruit Amin Mansur— a UK citizen who lost his son in a US air strike while the latter was visiting family in Turkey.
Thus, The Homeland Security Officer, Lomax, convinces Mansur he’s joining a terrorist group to avenge his son’s death, all the while using his image to cover up an attack on Washington. Consequently, within the film, Mansur becomes a decoy terrorist who was always only a pawn in Farbridge’s overarching scheme. Consequently, the PMC’s fictionality bleeds into Mansur as well, confining his character to the film’s fictitious narrative as well.
Ultimately, ‘One More Shot’ efficiently utilizes terrorism as a distraction crafted by the real antagonists— an internal threat emerging from monetary greed. Therefore, elements like Farbridge and Mansur end up infusing fascinating twists and turns into the narrative. Nonetheless, neither possesses a basis in reality.
