After watching the greatest action diversion of the decade, John Wick: Chapter 4, this past spring, maybe you should have at least a minimum of ten credits as a stuntman and stunt coordinator in your IMDb filmography as a prerequisite to direct any action film. That’s how John Wick’s director, Chad Stahelski, cut his teeth before helming the most significant action franchise of the 21st century. That’s what ran through my mind while watching Extraction 2, the new Netflix film starring Chris Hemsworth.
Helmed by former Avengers: Endgame stunt coordinator Sam Hargrave, his follow-up to the Netflix smash hit has a live wire pulse that’s hard to shake, with some of the best action scenes you’ll see on the small screen this year… until John Wick: Chapter 4 streams on Peacock at some point before 2024.
Extraction 2 delivers the pulse-pounding, white-knuckle thrills
Major spoilers ahead of Extraction 2
Tyler Rake (Hemsworth) is back, and the former Australian Special Air Service operative seems to have survived his daring backsplash escape into the Bangladesh Ashram River. Washing up on the beach, bleeding, and with what I’m sure is still searing hot lead in his body, he is discovered. Rake’s mercenary partner and potential love interest, Nik (played by Golshifteh Farahani), takes him safely to a hospital, where he remains in a coma for months.
After finally awakening from his Hard to Kill like-slumber, Nik and her stylish brother Yaz (Adam Bessa) nurse Rake back to health and reward him with a mountain view and lakeside cabin for his retirement. However, their plans are disrupted when a mysterious operative named Alcott (Idris Elba) arrives at Rake’s front door, recruiting the super soldier to extract a family from the clutches of a Georgian gangster who, gets this, keeps his family imprisoned with him. The rescue targets include a young mother named Ketevan (Tinatin Dalakishvili), along with her teenage son Sandro and little girl Nina.
That’s where the script from Joe and Anthony Russo departs from the first film’s ending and where this sequel begins. Eight months after the first Extraction conclusion, we assume Ovi sees a blurred figure, which is Rake. They have abandoned that timeline to delve into Rake’s backstory. This is because Ketevan’s sister, Mia, is a high-ranking diplomat and Rake’s ex-wife. While this glaring plot hole is hard to overlook (and the filmmakers can even hide behind it because we cannot definitively say it was Rake), it was a stellar move.
The backstory humanizes Hemsworth’s character to the extent that you now understand why he continues taking missions to save children. We learn that Tyler left Mia when their child was dying of cancer because he couldn’t bear to watch his little boy suffer any longer. As heartless as this may seem, it’s a tragic story that Hemsworth portrays beautifully when confronted about these events. And there’s simply nothing that movie lovers cherish more than a flawed, imperfect hero.
However, let’s not lose focus on why some of you will call in sick Friday or stay in for the night because Extraction 2’s hand-to-hand combat is a visceral bone-crunching success. DirectorSam Hargrave and stunt coordinator Jon Arnost’s pulse-pounding action scenes, particularly a runaway train and spectacular prison escape that would make Steve McQueen envy (look it up, kids), are exciting and quite suspenseful. Hemsworth’s scenes with Georgian actor Tornike Gogrichiani are particularly brutal and ruthless.
Based on the tropes of the action film genre, you will encounter some common headscratchers that you’ll notice but happily ignore. For instance, the way the script utilizes the teenage son as a plot device to keep the action scenes rolling, even when it defies logic. Watching Hemsworth throw Nik crashing through a reinforced skyscraper window with sheer willpower had me howling. You’ll also have the obligatory supporting characters, akin to Star Trek redshirts, who aren’t part of the main cast, and you’ll be prompted to say your goodbyes almost immediately.
And, of course, one of you know there will be a main character’s demise to give the film some emotional weight.
Is the Netflix film Extraction 2 good?
Extraction is an outstanding action spectacular that delivers the hair-raising, white-knuckle, pulse-pounding thrills to the summer streaming waves fans have been clamoring for. Tense, gritty, and exciting, Sam Hargrave and the Russo brothers continue to flesh out Rake and Nik’s story, which promises to bring more thrills in the future.
Rating: 3.5/5
What did you think of the Netflix film Extraction 2? Comment below!