Chris Hemsworth is back as Tyler Rake in the sequel to Netflix’s 2020 action hit. As was the case in the first film, the best part of Extraction 2 is an extended ‘oner’ (a long, seemingly uninterrupted camera shot), writes Daniel Rutledge.
Extraction 2
As the John Wick franchise has gotten increasingly bogged down in tiresome lore and unnecessary bloat, it’s pleasantly refreshing having such a stripped-back, pure action experience as this. If you like movies with a big tough boy saving helpless women and children by wasting loads of bad guys using spectacular, inventive and often gory violence, Extraction 2 is a particularly premium example of that. That’s not to say it’s thoughtless. A lot of care has to be put into films with as little plot as this to keep viewers engaged, as the propulsive action has to be interesting enough and paced in a way that it doesn’t become dull and monotonous.
Extraction 2 is never dull and monotonous, although I didn’t enjoy it as thoroughly as I did the 2020 original. It’s more ambitious with its set pieces in a way that means quite a lot more CGI is needed, which is always weaker than the practical effects and innovative camerawork director Sam Hargrave excels at. As was the case in the first film, the best part of the sequel is an extended ‘oner’ in the first half, this time in Georgia rather than Bangladesh. It starts off with a wonderfully thrilling prison extraction which ratchets things up from tense and suspenseful to a full bore fight with dozens upon dozens of men involved. Although some of the action beats in this segment lack the appropriate level of impact, the way it is all staged, the complexity, the vast area it covers and the sheer awesome spectacle of it all is just brilliant.
The oner extends out of the prison for a chase through the woods, before shit gets really crazy as it moves onto a train. That’s when the helicopters start attacking and Chris Hemsworth as Tyler Rake has to down them with LMGs and a minigun. It’s kind of cool, but a bit too silly and CGI-driven. Then beyond the epic oner there’s a fair bit of blade business, loads of gunfights, some lovely grenade and rocket launcher work along with various blunt instruments used to bludgeon people. Some of the most interesting kills are carried out with exercise equipment, but there’s also stuff like rocks and tools from a construction site put to vicious use. While some of it takes place in moving vehicles, the vehicles themselves are not really put to interesting use, which is a bit of a missed opportunity.
I really appreciate the generally stern, head-down tone of the whole thing after getting too much winky-winky humour rammed into so many other modern action flicks. “These men are soldiers! Killers!” a terrified woman tells Tyler Rake as their vehicle is surrounded. “Yeah? So am I,” he grunts back before killing the bad guys. That’s about as witty as it gets. And yet it still pulls off a relatively powerful hit of emotional oomph near the end, too, related to the family loss that defines Tyler Rake as a character. The final scene is then a setup for the third film in a totally acceptable way, as everything that needs to be concluded in this one has been.
The Extraction films are what would very much be B-grade, direct-to-DVD action a couple of decades ago, but thanks to the streaming wars they have enormous budgets, A-list actors and two of the key producers from the most profitable film franchise of all time. It’s good shit and I hope it continues for many, many years, with hopefully better movies than Extraction 2. But even if they don’t get better, this is more than good enough and the sort of fare streaming services really should double down on. Bring on Extraction 3.
