Extraction 2 Review: An Action-Packed Sequel With Little At Stake

Director: Sam Hargrave

Runtime: 2 hours 2 minutes

The best thing about the Extraction movies for me is that it brings out a version of Chris Hemsworth that we haven’t seen since 12 Strong and Avengers: Infinity War, the side of him that isn’t written to be a comic that tries to pull in a joke in every scene such as in Thor: Ragnarok and the much disliked Thor: Love and Thunder

With that said, let’s dive into the review of Extraction 2, Hermsworth’s new action-packed Netflix exclusive that is once again directed by Sam Hargrave and written by Joe Russo. 

Extraction 2 starts by taking us back to the events of the first film when Tyler Rake was shot in the neck and fell from a bridge into a river. Rake is then found ashore by his team and rushed to the hospital. Whilst some had already given up on him, Nik (Golshifteh Farahani) hoped that Rake would survive and he did. 

After leaving the hospital, Rake was set for retirement in an isolated cabin which in all honesty wouldn’t have lasted. While in recovery, he gets an unexpected visitor who knows all about his abilities as well as his near-death experience from Mumbai. The visitor offers Rake a new mission to rescue his ex-wife’s sister and her two kids, a mission Rake couldn’t turn down. He informs Nik and her brother Yaz (Adam Bessa) of his encounter and tells them to get ready.

Extraction 2 didn’t fail in its promise to bring us surreal action which was in some ways better than what we got from the first film. The prison riot was intense enough to keep you glued throughout the remainder of the film as it showcased gun fights, brutal killings, and great use of explosives which was fun to see throughout.

Farahani did great as Nik and was more involved in the action this time compared to the first film. She was fearless and was ready to see the mission through to the end alongside Bessa, who didn’t have an integral role in the first film, but manages to pull a few jokes that may or may not make you laugh. 

The bad guy this time around is Zurab played by Tornike Gogrichiani, a ruthless Georgian gangster who is on a vengeful mission to not only avenge his brother but kill off his wife for betraying the Nagazi family. Zurab came off as an unflinching villain, but his motive to go haywire isn’t solid enough considering the risks he took to get vengeance. The fight for vengeance seemed more reasonable when it took place in Georgia, but heading out all the way to Austria with a team of heavily armed gangsters, where he has no ally, just seemed like an unconvincing move. 

It was good that the film showed how the Austrian armed forces and local police intervened and took out some of Zurab’s men, but after a while, it just seemed like the government lost control of the situation, which is very unlikely. We’re also left curious about other civilians living in that particular environment.

Was there enough action to keep you entertained? Absolutely. I mean it’s not every day we get to see Chris Hemsworth shoot down two choppers with a machine gun. However, unlike the first film, Extraction 2 has an ending, similar to Across the Spider-Verse (and really most  movies lately), that leaves everything open for a third film. 

The action scenes carry the film in every aspect. There wasn’t enough emotion to actually make us care about the characters though. When you think about the first film, Rake and the boy, Ovi (Rudhraksh Jaiswal), had a connection that made us care about both characters; we didn’t want to see either of them go. This time, however, there wasn’t enough character bonding or emotion to actually make us care if Rake’s ex-wife’s sister and her kids were killed. 

The film attempted to form a bond between Rake and the two kids but it just didn’t hold up, and compared to how we would’ve been heartbroken if the boy from the first film was killed, this time it wouldn’t really upset us to see one, two, or all the family killed. It would’ve simply been a failed mission, unlike in the first film where it seemed like more was at stake than simply saving your ex-wife’s sister and her kids. 

Ultimately, 2023 has been an incredible year for action movies and although John Wick: Chapter 4 still tops my list as the best action film of the year, Extraction 2 is a close second, thanks to the awesomeness of Chris Hemsworth. The ending of Extraction 2 wasn’t as big of a bang as I had expected but again, that’s just the showrunners gearing towards a third film. 

Extraction 2 gets a rating of 3.5/5. 

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