Miller, Escape Plan 2 reconnects with Ray Breslin ( Sylvester Stallone) and his security firm years after his exploits in the first film. No longer looking to escape-proof maximum-security prisons, his company now specializes in private military ops around the globe. At least, that’s what I think they’re doing; the film doesn’t really clarify this point, but it does open with Ray’s team trying to rescue female hostages from a terrorist group. Despite a botched mission early on, the company seems to be in good spirits. That is until one of Ray’s newer recruits, Shu Ren ( Huang Xiaoming) , is kidnapped while trying to protect his tech giant of a cousin, Yusheng.
Both men are taken to a futuristic, black-site prison called Hades. Neither of them remembers being brought there or how long they’ve been locked up. All they know is that they have to escape. That is easier said than done of course. With its rotating floors, force fields, and automated defenses, Hades isn’t the typical prison. Then there’s the warden ( Titus Welliver) who delights in making Shu fight in his arena. His aim seems to be to keep the prisoners from befriending one another; the winner of each match is given a few hours of “freedom” while everyone else is stuck in their dungeon-like environment. And the fact that Shu is a skilled fighter means most of the other prisoners resent him – he’s not getting any help from the inside. Yusheng, on the other hand, is being tortured for information. Apparently, he patented a powerful piece of tech that’s worth millions to the wrong kinds of people. Yusheng’s reluctant to spill the beans and Shu’s efforts to escape keeps them both in the warden’s crosshairs. Their only solace is that Ray Breslin is known for breaking out of prisons. With him on the outside, it’s only a matter of time before he finds a way to free them.