Film Review - Extraction 2 (2023)

With over 99 million viewers in its first four weeks on Netflix, 2020’s Extraction was a near-overnight sensation, the most-watched original film from the streamer in its history. That didn’t last too long – 2021’s Red Notice is now in pole position, with the former number one down in eighth spot – but it did mean a sequel was announced in double quick time. Extraction 2 arrives on Netflix this week, with more than a sniff of déjà vu about it.

All the major players from the first instalment are back – Chris Hemsworth as mercenary Tyler Rake with Golshifteh Farahani as his close colleague, Sam Hargrave in the director’s chair and the Russo brothers as writers and producers. The basic idea hasn’t changed much either. Rake’s previous mission ended with him seriously wounded and falling off a bridge. Barely alive, he’s rescued and has hardly recovered when he receives a visit from an anonymous Idris Elba, who wants to make use of his unique skills, this time in Eastern Europe. The job is to extract the family of a Georgian gangster from one of the world’s deadliest prisons, but when the gangster dies, his equally ruthless brother goes in search of Rake and his team with one sole objective. Revenge.

Another action movie, then? Yes – but there’s a bit more. True, there’s the sky-high bullet count, tonnes of broken glass, some decidedly brutal and bloody killings and the inevitable crunching car crashes. But the film opens in pulsating style with a 20 minute prison break sequence that truly raises the bar with its great fight choreography (harking back to Hargrave’s stunt background on several Avengers movies) and true tension. It appears to have been shot in one take, although appearances can be deceptive, but no matter: the point is that it’s an adrenaline rush of an opening which gives the rest of the film a lot to live up to.

And it tries. There’s a couple of other action set pieces which are good but don’t really come close, so it ends up being another actioner, with Hemsworth in superhero mode. According to Elba’s character, he’s a legend – “the Myth of Mumbai” – and, from what we see, close to indestructible as well. There’s more of an attempt this time round to give the story a more emotional core – Rake’s ex-wife is connected to the job, and he has regrets over his son – but it all feels superficial, with the returning characters exactly the same as we remember them and the others lacking any real depth. The same has to be said of the script as well, which seems to have taken “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” as its mantra.

While initially there’s a chance that Extraction 2 is a sequel which outshines the original, that hope fizzles out quickly. The bulk of the film is very much more of the same, and that includes an ending which hints at a third instalment. Netflix haven’t announced anything yet, but apparently Hemsworth is keen to return and Joe Russo has sounded positive in recent interviews. For now, if you fancy a large slice of action, strap yourself in – but don’t expect much in the way of surprises.