Directed By Sam Hargrave

Starring – Chris Hemsworth, Olga Kurylenko, Golshifteh Farahani

The Plot – After barely surviving his grievous wounds from his mission in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tyler Rake (Hemsworth) is back, and his team is ready to take on their next mission. Tasked with extracting a family who is at the mercy of a Georgian gangster, Tyler infiltrates one of the world’s deadliest prisons in order to save them. But when the extraction gets hot, and the gangster dies in the heat of battle, his equally ruthless brother tracks down Rake and his team to Sydney, in order to get revenge.

Rated R for strong/bloody violence throughout and adult language

EXTRACTION 2 | Official Trailer | Netflix – YouTube

POSITIVES

As to where the original “Extraction” was a forgettably mediocre action flick with intense action sequences, but little else, the sequel is an ambitiously refreshing step forward that not only supplants an adrenaline-fueled top tier action flick, but also an extremely entertaining piece of cinema on its own storytelling merits. This is all in the hands of Sam Hargrave, a stuntman turned director, who honed his craft remarkably in the three years that have passed since that original installment, not only with a rich versatility of diverse action set pieces, but also a compelling narrative in the foreground of the storytelling that maintains audience interest even when the stakes aren’t enveloped in these life-threatening circumstances. On the former, Hargrave immediately thrusts us into the essential conflict with a manipulated one-take 21 minute sequence that carries with it all of the urgency, intensity, and vulnerability that one can expect from following every single step of the escape plan with these protagonists. From there, the other sequences aren’t as impressive, but they each garner something uniquely conductive to the consistency of the captivity, with an all out explosion fest during the second act, and a stripped-down personal slug fest during the climax, which sacrifices score for sounds in a way that only heightens the magnitude of the devastation that each are submerged in. Speaking of personal, the plot itself is all the more indulging because it bares a relativity to Tyler’s own mysterious past, allowing us to unravel a little bit more about his character’s tortured history, while also proving all the more integral to the elements of family that this character holds so near and dear to his heart. Hemsworth is of course a firestorm of ferocity once more, inspiring Tyler with a balance of fearless resiliency and internal longing that challenge the actor to some dark and devastating places that he hasn’t yet explored in his still youthful career, and when combined with the enhanced physicality of Farahani’s Nik alongside him, solidifies a non-romantic chemistry between respective genders that offers something uniquely integral to every member of the audience who seeks intensity in spades. Aside from this, the aforementioned boldness of the sharply sizzling sound design underlines many of the action sequences with an element of urgency that really heightens the senses at all moments, with the velocity in swift movements of believably crisp fight choreography outlining the danger of each environment. For a Netflix produced film, this feels like the biggest step forward in bridging the gap of quality to big screen productions, especially since the engagements do such a thorough job of immersing audiences directly into the middle of these conflicts, with movements of the limbs and weapons that we can interpret with vivid velocity in claustrophobic confines. This is also because of the masterful cinematography from Greg Baldi, whose cerebral movements of the lens inside of such ground-shaking devastation never obscures depiction for influence, instead capturing every inch of the conflicts with claustrophobic angles that are as close to the characters without getting hurt. Baldi also greatly improves the color correction of the movie’s presentational aspects, which were too yellow-tinted in the original for my personal tastes, but here seamlessly replicate the gritty atmospheric dread of the many unpredictable environments featured feverishly throughout the narrative, with captures that work in favor with the characters, instead of against them.

NEGATIVES

Even Netflix’s best product in a few years isn’t without problems, as the screenplay here from Marvel’s Joe Russo can still occasionally feel a bit surface level and shallow for such important aspects of the engagement. For my money, the personality of the movie is still very bland and at times lifeless, with little to no levity in the movements of the characters, which are continuously stuffy enough at all times to keep them from opening up and indulging the audience in their emotional dexterity. Hemsworth can get by without this, but everyone else, especially the villain antagonist, falls victim to this generic and stereotypical circumstance, and considering it’s a two hour sit, it’s a bit much to ask us to feel entertained by personalities that are so one-dimensional and even dull at times. There’s also some underwritten character motivations, particularly towards one of the children during the second act, that I felt didn’t fully add up to what developed, and instead stunk of desparation inside of the plot device that this child character essentially became to keep the conflict constantly coming. There’s also a surprise cameo early on in the movie from a pretty big name actor, and the movie does less than nothing with his character. While there will inevitably be a third Extraction movie coming soon, which could open up and expand upon this cameo, his work here is sadly forgettable, leading to an internal disappointment from a thickness of charisma that could’ve matched Hemsworth and given him someone to continuously bounce off of. Finally, while much of the pacing was precise inside of a two hour run time for the movie, I shamelessly wish we could’ve spent more time with Rake’s recovery inside of the first act, especially since his trauma disappears by the second act, and essentially never returns again. On one hand, I appreciated that the film wasted little time getting us involved to the drama, with the aforementioned 21-minute sequence paving the way for an exhillarating thrill ride, but I just wish the film responsibly showed more of the character’s struggles to relate the humanity from within him that is very rarely ever felt.

OVERALL
“Extraction 2” is the rare action juggernaut for Netflix that seems to satisfy all of the cravings of its thrill-seeking audience with a sequel that is every bit better than its predecessor. With creative variations among intense action sequences, boldly blanketing sound deposits, and immersive cinematography from Greg Baldi, director Sam Hargrave constructs a series of conflicts that seamlessly maintain the urgency and vulnerability of its characters, with another physically committed performance from Hemsworth leading the charge.

My Grade: 7/10 or B-