Director: Sam Hargrave
Writer: Joe Russo
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Geshift Farahani, Adam Bessa, Tintin Daraqishvili, Tonik Gogoladze, Tonik Bizyava, Andro Japaridze, Dato Bakhtadze, Daniel Berhadt, Irakli Kvirikadze, Levan Saginashvili, George Lasha, Paul Menard, Patrick Newall, Jane Kirk, Demetre Kavtarashvili, Giga Shavaze, Raya Campbell, Hristo Dimitrov, Steven A. Davis, Sam Hargrave, Idris Elba, Oja Korelanku, Philip Finkelstein, Alex Montiro, Sined Phelps, Sebastian Ssak
Genre: Action/Thriller
Country/Region: United States
Language: English/Georgian
Release Date: 2023-06-16 (US streaming)
Runtime: 122 minutes
Also Known As: Extraction 2
IMDb: tt12263384
In the first film Extraction (2020), the protagonist Tyler Rake is shot and falls into a river from a bridge, with the movie ending with him being critically injured and bleeding heavily. However, in the final shot, viewers can see a blurry image of Chris Hemsworth, implying that Tyler Rake may still be alive. This scene seems to be intended to make the dark and gloomy Netflix action film less depressing and increase its rewatchability.
Extraction 2 (2023) will bring back the mercenary protagonist for a new mission and feature more global locations, more enemy-killing tactics, and more (unsuccessful) attempts to evoke emotional resonance. In short, this sequel aims to provide viewers with more thrilling scenes and action while attempting to touch their hearts on an emotional level.
To explain how Tyler Rake, played by Chris Hemsworth, survives the potentially fatal loss of blood and fall, Extraction 2 (2023) shows the plot of his miraculous rescue by a team in Dhaka. He slowly recovers in a hospital in Dubai. Although his handler Nik (played by Geshift Farahani) places him in a secluded cabin in Austria to continue his recovery and theoretically retire, she, her brother Yaz (played by Adam Bessa), and everyone in the audience knows that Rake has not stopped fighting.
A mysterious man (played by Idris Elba) brings a mission that attracts Rake back into action: the sister of Rake's ex-wife (played by Tintin Daraqishvili) is trapped in a Georgian prison with her abusive criminal husband (played by Tonik Gogoladze), and she and her two children need to be "rescued." After a near-death experience, Rake has slimmed down a lot and has only six weeks to recover before the rescue. Then, after a brief training montage, the real action begins as Rake, Nik, and Yaz fight hundreds of armed prisoners and gang members in Georgia to rescue Rake's ex-wife's sister and her family, using gardening tools and gym equipment.
Extraction (2020) mostly set its action scenes in Dhaka, where Rake left a trail of shells and bodies in the Bangladeshi metropolis. However, due to the first film temporarily becoming the most-watched movie on Netflix, Extraction 2 (2023) expands Rake's scope of activities to various locations in Europe, allowing him to showcase his skills in different European settings.
Extraction 2 (2023) hopes to continue Rake's redemption arc, revealing more of his tragic backstory through dialogue and flashbacks. To eliminate any ambiguity about the film's intentions, the final battle takes place in a church, providing Rake with a clear opportunity for redemption. However, while Joe Russo's script attempts to add thematic depth and emotional weight to the on-screen content, these moments never captivate as much as the action scenes. Rake's character is less developed than his biceps; he is simply a rough guy with a sad past who kills a lot of people. There is nothing wrong with making a hyper-violent shoot-'em-up movie that focuses solely on the action, but Extraction 2 (2023) tries to find deeper meaning in the chaos and falls short.
Apart from misguided efforts to pursue substance, the series still fails to understand what makes Hemsworth such a compelling screen presence. He has an enviable physique, sure, but most actors with trainers, dieticians, and enough time can achieve similar muscles. It is Hemsworth's rare charisma and comedic timing that truly sets him apart, but Extraction (2020) and Extraction 2 (2023) give him a role that requires little intellectual performance. These movies have plenty of meticulously choreographed action sequences, but Rake's character could be played by a less talented actor without much impact on the outcome. Extraction 2 (2023) gives Hemsworth more to do—he winks at a cute kid and delivers some laughable lines—but the film still wastes his talent.
In the first film, the protagonist Rake primarily eliminates the population of Dhaka through boxing, shooting, and car crashes (except for the person he kills with a rake). The second film takes it up a notch and finds more creative ways for Rake to defeat his enemies. It even surpasses the first film's 12-minute continuous shot with a 21-minute one-shot action scene. While it doesn't compare to the opening scene of the film Athena (2022), it is overall decent. However, for director Sam Hargrave, such a massive effort did not elicit the expected response from the audience.
Extending a single-shot scene to such length dulls its overall impact. Viewers realize that it is not a true one-shot take, and elements like gunshots, punches, and helicopter crashes blend together and become indistinguishable. The impressive parts of this scene are not because they are part of a one-shot, but because they themselves have an exciting thrill, raising questions about the necessity of using the one-shot illusion. In fact, this approach detracts from the attention of some truly cool moments, not allowing them to shine on their own.
With director Hargrave returning to helm this film, the series is easy to compare to the John Wick (2014) series, which also features numerous stunning violent scenes directed by a former stuntman turned director. The fight scenes in Extraction 2 (2023) employ intense and dynamic shooting techniques, but they lack a sense of style, using a dull, almost neutral color palette and uninspired lighting. Apart from the central antagonist played by Tonik Gogoladze, the film features a large group of nameless cannon fodder characters, and the fight scenes are so frequent and intense that after a while, all these scenes become a bloody mess in your mind.
Compared to its predecessor, Extraction 2 (2023) is grander and more extensive in its violent scenes and is not unpleasant. There is a certain joy in big, clumsy action movies, but the film's worst aspect is its clumsy attempt to be a more multi-dimensional work. It covers too much ground to be easily watchable but lacks enough appeal to fully engage attention, making it mediocre by any standard.
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