Extraction 2

The 21st century has been blessed with some of the best action movies of all time being produced almost every year. As technology and creativity continues to progress, what filmmakers are able to do behind the camera seem to grow to new heights, allowing action sequences to reach new levels of ingenuity and danger all to wow the audience. The first Extraction movie brought us Chris Hemsworth's brooding mercenary character of Tyler Rake as he traversed the murky waters of the Indian underworld in order to save the kidnapped son of a drug lord.

Perhaps it was due to the unique setting of India in a Hollywood movie, but I hold Extraction 1 in higher regard than most. The combination of seeing Bollywood actors that I'm familiar with throwing down with popular Hollywood actors, as well as the genuinely well-crafted and brutal action sequences, made Extraction seem like a break from the onslaught of movies trying to capitalize on the success of the John Wick franchise. While most grumbled and moaned at the announcement of Extraction 2, I was actually quite looking forward to see what stunt-man turned director Sam Hargrave had in store for us. Luckily, he did not disappoint.

The action is of course the number one reason why people watch these movies to begin with. Extraction 2 takes the brutal action shown in the first one and improves upon it with bigger action set pieces and better fight choreography. The thing that most people are talking about is the almost 30-minute long one-take that is shockingly early on in the film and it does not disappoint. With seemingly no cuts, you go from a prison break to a car chase scene in the woods to Chris Hemsworth taking down not one, but two helicopters while riding on a train filled with bad guys. It truly is a work of art. The 10-year-old inside of me is a sucker for bone-crunching action and Hargrave delivers on all accords. Even once the oner is done the movie is relentless in its action, having the luxury of not just being constrained to one country like the previous film was. The only thing drawing the movie back was the fact that just a few months ago I saw arguably the greatest action film of all time in John Wick 4, and of course nothing in Extraction 2 even touches that film, but then again it would be impossible to expect it to.

A big drawback of the previous film was its lack of character development and lack of depth in its main character, but Extraction 2 actually greatly expands on Tyler Rake. This is due in large part to Chris Hemsworth delivering a portrayal of the mercenary that made me actually invested in his character and revealed a shocking amount of layers to him. Hargrave does a good job of balancing an exploration of both Rake's personal struggle as well as his external struggle with his family and his job which makes the audience actually want Rake to succeed and not die. Unfortunately, the same can not be said of the side characters and the villain, who are some of the most boring, one-dimensional characters of the year. The siblings who accompany Tyler Rake on his mission, I honestly could not care less about. I can't even remember their names nor can I remember if they live or died and I'm perfectly content with that. They seemed to be just there for the sake of having more characters other than Chris Hemsworth's but they just as easily could have been removed from the story and no real change would occur in the film. Not only that, but the main antagonist was not particularly menacing or memorable. Every time he came on screen, I never felt any urgency or dread nor did he have any real motivation for the things he did other than he's a bad guy. There was at least an attempt to explore his psychology growing up in a war-torn country with an abusive father, and a potentially interesting brother dynamic but the movie never goes deep enough into these themes to have me invested enough.

Due to this being a Russo brother film as well, you already know the script is nothing to write home about. If you told me that the Russo brothers just make up lines the day of filming, write them on sticky notes and hand them to the actors, I would not be the least bit surprised. They actually can't keep getting away with this especially when it detracts from genuinely good acting and action sequences.

While it seems like I've just been dumping on this movie, I really did have a good time with Extraction 2. In a world filled with seemingly pointless sequels and reboots, this is one where I would not mind getting a third movie. With brutal and creative action sequences, a character I care about, and entertaining set pieces, Extraction 2 makes for an entertaining mind-less popcorn flick.

Star Rating: 7.5/10

*I'm looking back at my Extraction 1 review and seeing that I somehow gave it a 7.5/10??!! That's hilarious I forgot how much I liked that movie the first time I watched it but it really should be more of a 7/10. Extraction 2 is better.*