Movies…with a little bit of obscure culture and sports mixed in
“After barely surviving his grievous wounds from his mission in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tyler Rake is back, and his team is ready to take on their next mission.” Director: Sam HargraveWriters: […]
“After barely surviving his grievous wounds from his mission in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tyler Rake is back, and his team is ready to take on their next mission.”
Director: Sam Hargrave
Writers: Ande Parks, Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Staring: Chris Hemsworth, Golshifteh Farahani, Adam Bessa, Tornike Gogrichiani, Demetre Kavelashvilli
Release Date: June 16, 2023
IMDB
This one is going to be pretty short because I watched Extraction 2 (2023) a long time ago. Also, I just don’t have a ton to say about it.
Extraction (2020) was an unbelievable surprise that took all Netflix watchers by surprise. It was a hardcore action movie that thrived on the practical effects and used one long take sequence as its calling card.
Extraction 2 (2023) takes the deceased Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth), resurrects him, then throws him into another over-the-top action romp with bigger guns, bigger explosions and bigger set pieces. The story itself has the same building blocks as its predecessor: Rake has an impossible mission, this time with added personal stakes, and there is a powerful enemy chasing him, resulting in creative devastation wherever he is in the world.
The most egregious part of Extraction 2 are the shoe-horned scenes with Alcott (Edris Elba). The two scenes the mysterious appears in both start the journey, and stamp and end to it. Elba’s sultry voice and presence is an obvious ploy to keep the franchise going with an overarching shadowy character. Extraction 2 is trying to become a franchise, but its world building is as sloppy as a nearly toppled Jenga tower.
Watching Extraction 2, I find it hard to not compare it to the John Wick universe. Both are heroes that are seemingly invincible who enjoy creative killing tactics. They are experts at multiple different types of violence, and also don’t have much emotion to give.
The action in both franchises is outstanding. Let’s not argue about that. It’s the world building that is so weak in Extraction 2. It makes me incredibly nervous for the future Tyler Rake movies because they don’t seem to have anything planned besides there being some sort of a mysterious figure. Perhaps I am stained by writer Joe Russo’s adoption of The Gray Man (2022) which fell flat and dead on arrival.
Honestly, here is my take on Extraction 2 and The Gray Man. Both Netflix originals are not “good movies”, but they are entertaining media. Does that make sense? I tried explaining this to someone else and they got really confused.
Both of these Russo written projects are utterly forgettable merely hours after the credits roll, but while the action is rolling there are instances where your eyeballs will perk up from your second screen. Neither are strong enough to hold attention without bombastic colors and explosions.
Extraction 2 has a lot of action, a lot of peril, and a lot of guns. Action, action, action. There is too much action. You can have too much of a good thing. You can go overboard. Extraction 2 does too much.
Everyone loved the apartment chase scene one-take sequence in Extraction, and all the talk before the release of Extraction 2 was about its 21 minute one-take sequence.
I am here to say that the nine minute one-take sequence in the original is heads and shoulders better than the prison escape in Extraction 2. In Extraction the moment comes from out of nowhere and has a far grittier feel to it. In Extraction 2 you can feel it coming, and once it’s in action, it plays out like Rake is a comic book hero using fire-powered superman punches to escape danger. It is a one-take for the sake of a one-take rather than for the sake of something experimental.
This may just be a personal problem, but I felt like there was far more CGI assistance and shady editing tactics in this one-take. Someone fairly pointed out to me that 1917 (2019) did some of the “people run across the screen to segway to different shot hidden cut” strategies. That is 100% fair, but Sam Mendes made 1917 with a fuck-ton of practical effects and told a story through its visuals. 1917 won Oscars for Best Cinematography at the 2020 Academy Awards. It seamlessly blended its award-winning camera strategy and its visual effects (also won this Oscar). Extraction 2 has far more of the inky CGI sheen oozing off the screen. It also feels like the CGI is an extra coat of paint filling in gaps missed by the first two coats missed. It has the extra drips slipping down the wall that can easily be looked over but if you look at it close enough it will bug the shit out of you.
I sound like such a pompous asshole writing my thoughts out about Extraction 2. I know this. I am who I am. If you want to be simply entertained and aren’t looking for anything more than Chris Hemsworth killing people while falling out of a skyscraper, then Extraction 2 fits well. The train sequence of the one-take is the best part of the entire movie. Hemsworth’s training montage and ripping off of the arm sling is a classic fist pump LET’S GOO moment. Time flies by watching the movie even if you know every beat the movie is going to hit.
Extraction 2 is not a movie I would recommend to everyone. It is a movie I would only recommend to people who are fans of this genre. There is going to be an Extraction 3, and I hope that director Sam Hargrave returns to bring the movie back to a bit more realism. Well, as realistic as you can get with a movie like this.
Before we end, I need to just add one more gripe. I am sorry, just one more.
We see Rake die in Extraction. Yet in the second movie we are made to believe that he is invincible. He can not die in Extraction 2 because he sacrificed himself in his first adventure and having him die in two straight movies would be stupid. So even with all of the danger and death surrounding Rake, there is never a doubt he is going to survive.
Alright, I am off my high horse now. If you love over-the-top action movies like I do then watch Extraction 2, but be prepared to forget everything about it.
STANKO RATING: B
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