“Extraction” was the most-watched Netflix movie in the world when it was released and the newly released Extraction 2 will almost certainly claim a similar award with Chris Hemsworth shooting his way to another rescue operation.
Extraction 2, rated R, takes place shortly after the events of the first film with Chris Hemsworth back after suffering a near-fatal wound at the end of the previous film.
Tyler Rake endures months of physical therapy while frequently complaining about being alive. His allies hand him a lovely mountain cabin with a promise of a healthy retirement.
Rake quickly becomes stir-crazy, but luckily, another mission buzzes in. His former wife wants him to rescue her sister (Tinatin Dalakishvili) from a prison in Georgia.
The operation again teams Rake with Nik (Golshifteh Farahani), all out for revenge from the husband’s ruthless brother (Tornike Gogrichiani), who fortunately has access to all kind of heavy weapons and is not shy to use it on anyone, including on the police.
Rake successfully extracts his former sister-in-law and her two children, but disturbs the hornet’s nest – her husband and his criminal family won’t let them pass without some action.
“Extraction 2,” hammers away at the same basic outline, while feeling particularly simple-minded even by the standards of the genre.
It is clear that Hemsworth’s haunted mercenary, Tyler Rake, seems basically suited for fans of “Taken” movies and other all-out action films, thanks to all gunfire and body armor.
The first film started with about 12 minutes of a continuous fight sequence, the work of then-first-time director Sam Hargrave, a stuntman and second-unit director who had doubled Chris Evans on the Avengers movies.
Here, Hargrave ups the ante with a frenzied 21-minute continuous fight that looks like a “oner,” as it’s called, consisting of trains, helicopters, and automobiles. The effect is certainly impressive for those who study such things – cue Film Twitter – while leaving the movie suffering from a bit of a hangover thereafter.
“Extraction” allowed Hemsworth a franchise in which he can be a producer as well as star in the movie.