Extraction 2
Chris Hemsworth is back for more action as mercenary Tyler Rake in the follow-up to 2020's Extraction.
As you might remember, at the end of the first movie, Tyler fell off a bridge and appeared to be dead. However, there wouldn't be a sequel if that happened, so he survives and recovers from his injuries in a remote cabin in Austria.
Despite retiring from the business, Tyler agrees to do another job because of its personal connection - his ex-wife's sister Ketevan (Tinatin Dalakishvili) and her children need to be rescued from a prison, where they are being held captive along with her gangster husband Davit (Tornike Bziava).
Davit and his brother Zurab (Tornike Gogrichiani) run a crime syndicate, so naturally, they are furious about the extraction and want revenge.
The highlight of Extraction 2 is the prison break and train escape setpiece, which is presented as an outstanding 21-minute one-shot sequence. It is an incredibly complex sequence with many moving parts - stunts, fights, gunfire, real fire, many extras, a train and a helicopter - and it would have taken a long time to get it just right.
This sequence is seriously impressive and it's a shame the rest of the movie is unable to match it. There is still decent action with inventive and gruesome kills but they pale in comparison to what came before and feel somewhat anticlimactic. The first half is miles better than the second, simply because of the extraordinary sequence.
While the action is a step up from the previous movie, the story isn't - it is hard to care for Rake's newly extracted charges, particularly because the annoying boy Sandro (Andro Japaridze) actively tries to sabotage the plan.
However, Hemsworth is once again perfect as Tyler. He is a certified action star who can handle tricky stunt choreography with ease. He is complimented by Golshifteh Farahani as his handler Nik, who is more much hands-on in this film.
With stuntman-turned-director Hargrave at the helm, it's no surprise Extraction 2 is a must-watch for action fans.
Streaming on Netflix now.
