‘Extraction 2’ Review: An Unforgettable Action Sequence Inside a Tighter Narrative Put Netflix’s Sequel Well Above Its Predecessor
It takes approximately 25 minutes for Extraction 2 to really kick into high gear. During that runtime, writer Joe Russo and director Sam Hargrave give us a questionable-yet-necessary explanation of how Chris Hemsworth’s Tyler Rake survived the events of the first movie and force us to look at our watches while they set up the character’s next adventure. This involves an introduction to the new film’s bad guys (do we need to know who they are? Well, yes, but we don’t know that yet) and an exposition-heavy scene that was delivered so quickly it was almost impossible to follow. From a script level, this did not look good; however, Hargrave and Hemsworth knew exactly what they were doing, and probably delivered one of the best examples in recent memory of elevating a script that could have gone off the rails very quickly in other hands.
Fixing a slow-pace opening turned out to be quite an easy task when you have a leading man as charming as Chris Hemsworth; the actor is given a few emotional moments throughout the runtime, but by far the highlight of his work comes when he has to carry the entire film on his shoulders. At least, while nothing else is going on, we can entertain ourselves by watching him. To make an exposition-heavy scene at least enjoyable to watch, is there a better way than to bring Idris Elba in? The actor’s involvement was revealed just a few days before the movie’s release, and is by far one of the best new additions, even if his screen time is painfully limited. Despite the relatively slow start that the movie has (“Wasn’t this supposed to be an action movie?” you might find yourself thinking when watching it, which you should), it all feels like it has a purpose, and it takes 25 minutes for us to find why.
EXTRACTION 2 – Chris Hemsworth as Tyler Rake. Cr: Jasin Boland/Netflix © 2023
Extraction 2 abandons the Bangladesh setting of the first one and travels all the way to Georgia, where Hemsworth’s Tyler Rake (yes, that’s still his name) has been hired to rescue the family of a ruthless local gangster from the prison they are being held in. In the first film, the extraction was the easy part; it was what came after that ate the entire runtime. The sequel is similar in that way, but it’s handled so much better. The extraction of the family from the prison is done in a 22-minute uninterrupted shot that begins from inside the cell and ends once they are safe, with a John Wick-worthy giant action setpiece in between.
This sequence is by far the highlight of the film and left me openmouthed from beginning to end. It’s not exactly revolutionary in its approach, and besides some logic- and biology-defying moments, there are some obvious points where the shot was broken on set and also where they used CGI to help with the continuity. But in a landscape where the John Wick franchise seemed to be the only game in town that actually cared for real action, done in camera and with real stunts, not cutting away every time someone throws a punch (think of any Marvel movie not headlined by Simu Liu), Extraction 2 feels like a welcome surprise.
Hemsworth proves his value as an action star as he is required to do quite a lot, and it’s his sense of urgency throughout this entire escape sequence that helped the scene feel more alive than what Hargrave and DP Greg Baldi accomplished with their camera work. Costars Golshifteh Farahani and Adam Bessa also get their moments to shine, with the former taking up a few minutes from that long shot to show why she’s more than a worthy part of the team. I cannot express how floored I was with this setpiece, and while at times it feels like the director is just showing off, it’s all done with the purpose of adding momentum and helping the entire situation feel in the moment more claustrophobic, by restraining our character’s movements to the frame. It was something I wish most action movies these days would at least attempt.
EXTRACTION 2 – (L to R) Golshifteh Farahani as Nik Khan and Chris Hemsworth as Tyler Rake in Extraction 2. Cr. Jasin Boland/Netflix © 2023
Outside of the action, one of the strong points of the first Extraction was its ability to present the character with what could very well be a moral dilemma — a druglord has hired you to rescue his child. Are you OK with accepting drug money or would you rather see the kid die? The film never really addressed the question and rather left it open to the audience while it was preoccupied with shooting guys in the head. (The sequel’s body count can certainly rival John Wick: Chapter 4‘s.) Instead, much like part of the character’s past, was addressed through subtext and subtle references through Hemsworth’s performance. Extraction 2 picks up from there and dives deeper into some of those open threads, using the mission as an excuse to explore Rake’s past. The moral dilemma is mostly absent in this case, but it’s not really needed either.
The character work is done as a way to compensate for the action being subpar in the second hour compared to the first. The scope reached by the prison break sequence is significantly reduced in the second act and especially the third, in favor of more reserved confrontations. And make no mistake, this was the right choice. It actually feels refreshing that the third act of an action film prioritizes character and story over explosions, and the narrative that had been presented so far would not have allowed for a bombastic finale, so that would have been odd. The script feels purposeful and much tighter this time around, while still dropping in some tropes of the genre, from bone-breaking or even life-defying injuries that are never addressed to corny lines like “Do you trust me?” or “I’m going to enjoy killing you”.
Extraction 2 feels like a movie Chat Stahelski saw in the future and then went back in time and said “Hold my beer”. It does attempt to push the boundaries of the genre, but in ways other films like Mad Max: Fury Road and the Keanu Reeves-led series have already done. That prevents it from feeling revolutionary, but because so few other American films have attempted to do, which is why it still feels somewhat unique.
The film will start streaming on Netflix on June 16.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as authors like Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
