Title – Extraction 2 (2023)
Director – Sam Hargrave (Extraction)
Cast – Chris Hemsworth, Golshifteh Farahani, Adam Bessa, Andro Japaridze
Plot – Mercenary for hire Tyler Rake (Hemsworth) finds himself back in the thick of the action when he accepts a dangerous job with ties to a past he would rather forget.
“People pay me to do things they can’t”
Review by Eddie on 21/06/2023
One of the bigger Netflix original hits over the previous few years, 2020’s Extraction provided the streaming bigwig with a new franchise starter in the form of Chris Hemsworth’s rough as guts Aussie black market mercenary for hire Tyler Rake and without attempting to reinvent the wheel in any way, shape or form 3 years on, we now have Extraction 2.
The type of safe sequel that is going to ensure anyone that had a great time with Tyler first time around running and gunning through Bangladesh is going to have a repeat experience this go around, while anyone that found the Hemsworth lead action thriller nothing more than mindlessly acceptable are highly unlikely to be converted by this experience, Extraction 2 dishes up the same high body count thrill ride meal this go around in what amounts to another film with some seriously impressive action beats but a an equally undercooked and raw set of characters/story arcs.
Highlighted by what is likely to remain one of if not the best 2023 action sequences that sees Rake take part in an extensive one take sequence that features prison riots, helicopter chases and more hand to hand combat than a Raid double bill, when Extraction 2’s significantly impressive action set-ups are underway it’s operating at an elite level but despite all the wizardry in this department that director Sam Hargrave and his team conjure up, there’s a lot of lameness present in Extraction 2 elsewhere that anchors it down in a big way.
Wasting precious little time on getting over the fact Rake was last seen knocking on deaths door in the first outing, Hargrave and his leading man get Rake and his crack team that includes Golshifteh Farahani’s and Adam Bessa’s Nik and Yaz Khan moving at a rapid pace to transport us to the country of Georgia, where Rake’s next extraction mission is located and where we meet our collection of cookie cutter side characters that includes your new candidate for most annoying movie person of the year, Andro Japaridze’s Sandro Radiani.
Seemingly developed for no other reason than to progress the films plot beyond that of its core extraction sequence that will get tongues wagging and audiences talking in that buzzy way needed for direct to streaming films to stand out from the crowd, Sandro is a bastion as to why Extraction 2 can never break free and become the new age action classic it potentially might have been with questionable scripting, characters and narrative decisions all working against a film that puts all of its best eggs in one early basket and never really gets close to delivering to the same level the next hour or so following.
With a third Extraction already proudly announced by Netflix and the creative team behind the Rake feature film universe, this Chris Hemsworth and Russ Brothers backed property still has a chance to prove its worthy of being considered alongside the greats of the action thriller genre but at this stage its still nothing more than an impressively staged experience with little too no heart and soul.
Final Say –
We may get to know a little more about Tyler Rake this time around but despite a noteworthy extended action sequence, Extraction 2 is another cold movie going experience that feels like a little brother to the kings of the genre it wants to conquer.
2 1/2 AFL broadcasts out of 5
Jordan and Eddie (The Movie Guys) 
I might just give the first one a whirl and then go from there. 🙃
Don’t expect too much mate. Not a bad pizza and a drink type series but certainly nothing to write home about.
E
I’ll admit that I find “Mr. Thor” incredibly charismatic, like Mel Gibson in his prime.
I don’t think you’re the only one mate! It’s great here to getting to keep that Aussie accent in all its glory.
E
Whilst the action is fast and furious, its also very repetitive, driven by a flimsy plot and rather ridiculous jail break. It goes from one repetitive action piece to the next with little to no breathing space until you find yourself fast forwarding. John Wick 4 is nearly 3 hours but never feels like it because the fighting is more realistic and it is not only plot driven but a clever, beautiful film. I found this one very generic, not very plausible and tedious. Hemsworth is good in the role but seems to miraculously recover from near death to superman and characters are seemingly fatally shot but carry on. Overall, silly with no tension whatsoever. I won’t watch another.
I’m definently not counting down the days to watch any more Rake adventures. It has potential but in the current style and format its only ever going to be a mildly passable time waster.
E
One gets the feeling with all these action flicks that the stunt guys dream up the action sequences and then go to the writers room saying “here, link this stuff together into a story.” Its not how to create a credible piece of drama, is it? Especially when the stunt guys are evidently trying to one-up the John Wick franchise.
I think you make a hugely interesting point about the state of action movies right now from Hollywood, they’re all trying to be the new John Wick. It’s not like John Wick has some amazing story either but it had its own thing going on and characters (even if one dimensional) were a lot more interesting than most of what we get in films like this.
E
Agreed with many of your points. I feel like this film needed that 20+ minute ‘one shotter’. Also I’m throwing Sandro in the hat as worst character of 2023
Without that one shot sequence this wouldn’t have even been half as good. I honestly can’t see there being a more annoying character than Sandro this year, how on earth did that pass the script inspector ha.
E
I’ve read one good review and one not so good one about this movie. Seems like it will be worth a watch for the action but I was hoping to read more positive things about it.
There is some decent action here mate, the one take shot is something else but its certainly not memorable in a whole. I can’t see this ever being the top notch product it wants to be.
E
Might have to crack a couple beers and give it a watch, they at least helped make the first one a bit more fun
It’s the only way to watch this one without focusing to much on all the average elements haha. Hope you enjoy mate and don’t forget the pizza!
E