In the remote wilderness of the Pacific Northwest, The Ranger follows Jack Keller, a former elite army scout turned reclusive forest ranger, haunted by a botched mission in Afghanistan that left his entire unit dead. Living alone in a ranger outpost near Echo Ridge National Park, Jack keeps to himself, speaking only to his dog, Shadow, and occasionally radioing in updates to the park service. He’s not hiding from the world—he just wants no part in it anymore.
Jack’s quiet life takes a turn when he finds a crashed SUV deep in the forest. Inside: two dead men and a terrified teenage girl tied up in the back. The girl, Samantha “Sam” Torres, is 16 and refuses to speak. Jack calls in the accident, but before help arrives, a drone buzzes overhead. Moments later, the wreck is engulfed in flames. Jack narrowly escapes with Sam.
They flee into the woods, and Jack realizes this isn’t some random accident. Sam is running from something—or someone—serious. She finally talks: her father was a low-level accountant for a private defense contractor, Aegis Core, and he uncovered evidence of illegal arms deals with international warlords. Before he could expose it, he was murdered. Sam has the files on a flash drive. She’s been running ever since.
The two dead men in the SUV were her father’s old coworkers, trying to get her to safety. The men following her now are private contractors hired by Aegis Core, posing as federal agents. With no cell service and no one else to trust, Sam begs Jack for help. At first, he refuses—he’s done fighting other people’s battles. But when he sees the fear in her eyes, something clicks. He lost his team once. He won’t leave someone behind again.
Jack takes Sam deeper into the park, heading toward Devil’s Tooth, a jagged mountain peak with an abandoned ranger station at the top. It’s inaccessible by road, a perfect hideout—if they can reach it.
The hunt begins. Carver, a ruthless Aegis Core operative and ex–black ops mercenary, leads a team of six into the forest. Armed with thermal drones, GPS trackers, and suppressed weapons, they move fast and quiet. Carver served in the same war zones as Jack. He knows Jack’s tactics—and respects them. That makes him even more dangerous.
Along the way, Jack teaches Sam basic survival—how to move quietly, hide scent, leave false trails. He’s still gruff, but there’s a warmth growing under the surface. She’s sharp, tough, and angry. She reminds him of who he used to be before the war took everything.
One night, Carver’s team gets close. Jack sets traps—old-school snares, tripwires, and camouflaged pitfalls. Two mercs are taken out. The forest becomes a deadly chessboard, and Jack’s playing for keeps.
But Carver adapts. He uses heat-sensing drones to cut off escape routes. Jack and Sam are pushed up the mountain, where weather turns brutal. A rainstorm hits hard, washing out trails. Sam sprains her ankle. Jack carries her on his back.
They make it to Devil’s Tooth, battered but alive. The old station is barely intact—walls rotting, roof caved in—but there’s a working radio. Jack calls in a distress signal to his old army contact, Captain Dana Reeves, now working with a congressional oversight committee. He sends the coordinates and the flash drive data.
Reeves tells him to hold tight—backup is on the way. But Carver intercepts the transmission. He decides to finish it before anyone else arrives.
The final siege begins. Carver brings his last three men and surrounds the outpost at dawn. Fog blankets the peak. Visibility is low. Jack uses the terrain to his advantage, picking them off one by one. He moves like a ghost, blending into rock and tree.
Carver finds Sam in the station, holding a flare gun. He tries to talk her down, telling her Jack’s using her as bait. She doesn’t flinch—she fires. The flare hits him in the chest, igniting his vest. He stumbles outside, where Jack is waiting.
The two men face off—knife against hatchet. It’s brutal and fast. Jack is older, slower, but more precise. Carver lands a cut across Jack’s ribs. Jack responds with a deep strike to Carver’s thigh, then drives him off the cliff edge.
Helicopters arrive minutes later. Reeves comes with a federal task force. Sam is placed under protective custody, and the flash drive leads to a massive indictment of Aegis Core executives.
Jack, wounded but alive, disappears before the press arrives. Weeks later, Sam receives a postcard with no return address. It shows a mountain lake and three words: Keep going, kid.
She smiles, knowing he’s out there—watching, protecting, still the ranger.
Genre: Action | Thriller | Survival
Directed by: David M. Rosenthal
Starring:
- Josh Brolin as Jack Keller
- Isabela Merced as Sam Torres
- Frank Grillo as Carver
- Carla Gugino as Captain Dana Reeves
