‘Kill Em All 2’ Movie Ending Explained And Recap: Will Holman Return To Take Revenge?

Dreaded manhunter Philip Scialla has returned, as Kill Em All 2, the sequel to Jean-Claude Van Damme’s 2017 VOD action flick has hit the screens. Kill Em All has been released. This time, the equation has changed as Philip finds himself being hunted by someone who wants to avenge the death of his family. The first movie was not the best the action thriller genre had to offer, but the prolonged action sequences, use of a closed space like a hospital as a battle arena, and Van Damme being in a better physical shape had contributed to a somewhat entertaining watch. The same cannot be said for the sequel, as despite having presumably doubled the budget, a lack of good action sequences, a poor attempt to draw out a nonexistent emotional connection, and a generic plot make Kill Em All 2 a tedious experience as a whole. Age is catching up with the veteran action hero, and it would be a better option for him to opt for less physical roles from now on. 

Spoilers Ahead

Who is Vlad Petrovic?

Seven years have passed since the massacre at Redondo Coast hospital, where Phillip Scialla, a former CIA, Black Hand operative, killed Serbian minister/war criminal Dimitri Petrovic and his henchmen—to avenge the death of his Yugoslavian activist/journalist father during the Balkan ethnic cleansing. At present, Philip is spending time with his daughter, Vanessa, in Malta, Italy, after having managed to erase his past records from the directories of every major intelligence agency. After the death of his wife, Philip decided to quit his line of work (the whole espionage, assassin shindig) and reconcile with his daughter, and it is also revealed that he trains her in the disciplines of his trade to ensure her own safety. Unbeknownst to Philip, the demons of his past aren’t quite done with him yet, and Dimitri’s hotshot gangster of a brother, Vlad Petrovic, was biding his time to take revenge upon his brother’s killer. 

Despite having his history wiped clean, Philip and his daughter get tracked down by Vlad’s henchmen in Malta, but Philip’s intuition allows him to gain the upper hand in no time. As Vlad manages to kill most of the attackers and escape to safety with his daughter, he becomes curious as to how his cover got blown and decides to visit his hometown in Slovenia. 

Who Revealed Philip’s Whereabouts to Vlad?

Philip’s friend, Govel, reveals that he was forced to reveal Philip and Vanessa’s location, as Vlad Petrovic and his men had rounded up the townsfolk, tortured and killed some of them, and were about to kill Philip’s cousin, Lydia. To ensure their safety, Govel had to reveal Philip’s location to Vlad, and Philip too realized that Govel had no other option except to give away the information to Vlad. But the fact that Vlad was able to learn about his hometown irks Philip, and he suspects someone close to him has ratted him out. Meanwhile, Vanessa catches up with Lydia, sharing how she and Philip reconciled in recent years. 

Vlad, on the other hand, is waiting for Philip to come out of hiding, as he is quite sure that he has touched a nerve after hurting Philip’s close ones. However, instead of taking on Vlad in a direct assault, Philip opts to strategically weaken him as he calls his old pal, former FBI Agent Holman, to arrange some favors. In the first movie, Agent Holman secretly aided Philip’s coverup, and later on, he ensured the fact that Philip remains undetected by intelligence agencies as well. It is also revealed that Holman was kicked out of the agency after he took the blame for messing up the investigation of the hospital massacre; however, it was his own ploy to evade suspicion. Philip decides to draw out Vlad by poking at his finances, as Vanessa reveals that Vlad’s crypto ledger worth five hundred million dollars is stashed in a private bank in Vlad’s hometown. The father-daughter duo needs Holman to locate the private bank, and Holman agrees to help in exchange for a share of profit. Eventually, Holman is able to pull the details with the help of Agent Sanders, who had jointly investigated the hospital massacre with him in the first movie and still serves the agency. By posing as Vlad’s close associate and a diamond seller, Vanessa is able to survey the ins and outs of the bank, and the trio of Vanessa, Philip, and Holman plan a safe exit strategy. 

However, Holman was a double agent all along, as he had secretly cut a deal with Vlad to lure out Philip in exchange for a lucrative monetary profit and revealed the location of his hometown in the first place. As Vanessa steals Vlad’s crypto ledger from the bank, Holman informs Vlad about the situation, who sends his henchmen to apprehend Vanessa and Philip. However, unbeknownst to Holman, Philip had wanted Vlad’s henchmen to show up at the bank, as he had instructed Lydia and Vanessa to distract them while he went on his own to confront Vlad at his villa. With Vlad’s security spread thin, Philip is able to take down his remaining henchmen, beating Vlad to a pulp—and almost goes for the killshot—when he is informed of the fact that Lydia has been captured by Vlad’s men. Philip agrees to back away and spare Vlad’s life in exchange for Lydia’s safe return, and leaves his villa. Holman betrays Philip, as according to Philip’s plan, he was meant to take the crypto ledger to a secure location but takes it to Vlad at the end.

Was Philip Able to Take Down Vlad Petrovic?

However, anticipating Holman’s betrayal, Philip had instructed Vanessa to give Holman a fake ledger, and having the original one with him, Philip is still able to hold leverage over Vlad. As a result, Vlad has no other option except to agree to bring Lydia to Philip’s hometown in exchange for regaining his ledger. 

Expecting a fiery showdown, Philip decides to arrange defensive measures and finds a stash of Cold War-era armaments at Govel’s disposal. As Vlad, accompanied by his lackeys and Holman, arrives at Philip’s hometown, holding Lydia at gunpoint, Philip returns his ledger and, using a distraction, engages in a prolonged gunfight with Vanessa fighting by his side. Eventually, Vanessa incapacitates Holman, and Philip manages to kill every one of Vlad’s henchmen, leaving the gangster wrecked and ruined. The townsfolk whom Vlad had tortured erstwhile take matters into their own hands as they beat him to death. Philip destroys the ledger in front of Holman before knocking him out, and upon gaining his senses, Holman flees, having his high-reaching ambitions foiled. However, Philip and Vanessa had kept a copy of the ledger, and they plan to use Vlad’s blood money to give a much-needed facelift to their hometown. As the movie ends, the town erupts in joy along with Philip and Vanessa, whose actions have reinstated the bond among the denizens. 

Will Holman Return To Take Revenge?

Amidst all this, Holman has managed to survive as a loose end, and he will go back to his backstabbing ways to con more of his contacts for his own profit. However, there still remains a chance that he exposes Philip to the world, as Philip is still a notorious fugitive, even with his records being wiped, but in doing so, Holman will court danger for him as well as his rogue tendencies will come to light. Holman can opt to take revenge against Philip later on by teaming up with Philip’s enemy—given the duo share a past and know a lot about each other. A third entry in the series can focus on Holman’s revenge, but I’m not really sure what the point of doing so is after seeing a disastrous first sequel like this.