Post the release of the Chad Stahelski’s mid-budget R-Rated action entertainer “John Wick” in 2014, Hollywood saw a sudden bubble in the action genre mirroring the glorious 80’s era of unpretentious action driven R-Rated blockbusters. Among the slew of films that followed the steps of “John Wick” was the 2020 directorial debut of stunt coordinator Sam Hargrave’s “Extraction” starring Chris Hemsworth in the lead as a ruthless black ops’ mercenary named Tyler Rake; produced by the Russo Brothers which released exclusively on Netflix. The pandemic time favoured the film, raking in a 99 million viewership making it one of the most popular Netflix original films. It’s no surprise that the huge reception made Netflix to make a sequel for their smash-hit and it finally released on the streaming platform this week.
Based on the graphic novel “Ciudad” by Ande Parks and Russo Brothers, the first installment of “Extraction” took place in Bangladesh where Tyler Rake is given an assignment to extract an Indian kingpin’s son captured by the Bangladeshi drug cartel. The second installment takes off where the first part ended with Tyler Rake falling into the Brahmaputra River after getting shot and he is hospitalized for recovery. While Tyler considers for retirement, circumstances doesn’t favor his wish making him go for another extraction mission but this time its in Georgia and its ‘personal’ for me. His action-set piece after-set piece laden mission forms the heart of “Extraction 2”.
Doubly deadlier sequel :
A hunky protagonist with a cool name; wafer thin plot line; cool one liner; exotic locations; one man vs an armada; stunning weaponry & tech showcase; captivating logic defying action set pieces; villains and arch-villains equally on par with the protagonist; the first “Extraction” had all the elements perfectly mimicking the 80s action driven blockbusters and delivered it with full throttled conviction. “Extraction 2” amplifies these elements double times (except for the villain factor which we’ll comeback to it later) with doubly throttled conviction giving us a simple uncomplicated, unpretentious action experience with almost less breathing space for the viewers. The major criticism everyone had for the first film was that it didn’t explore the emotional side of the protagonist making the stakes a bit lower. Understanding this criticism, writer Joe Russo adds a personal connection in this sequel mission exploring Tyler’s past roots and his grappling with PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder). Ketevan’s (Tinatin Dalakshivii) family members who are the ones to be extracted forms a major part paving way for some pretty decent twists and turns in the film. The film gives more screen time to the team members of Tyler Rake featuring Nik Kahn (Golshifteh Farahani) and Yaz Kahn (Adam Bessa) showcasing a good camaraderie and makes way emotional moments. Tyler Rake’s journey to rewrite his past by proving himself to become the ‘father’ his dead son aspired to be, makes this sequel emotionally compelling enough.
Action being the USP :
But wait who cares for emotional character space when the franchise’s USP (unique selling point) is the well-choreographed action setpieces?! With a story that’s similar to an IGI game mission, “Extraction 2” stunt sequences feels like a hybrid between 80’s action blockbusters and “Call of Duty Black Ops” game. It almost feels like Sam Hargrave has made the single take stunt sequences ranging from “Atomic Blonde” and the 12 min sequence from “Extraction”. Here, he delivers a 21 min exhilarating stunt sequence set in the grand prison in Georgia stages the chaos with utmost finesse. Editor Alex Rodriguez and William Hoy fluid editing combined with the cold visuals captured with an ARRI Alexa Mini LF camera of Greg Baldi gives the ticking bomb tension required for this sequence. What’s even more interesting is the way Tinatin contributes to this single shot stunt ballad along with Chris Hemsworth. The subsequent train sequence and helicopter shootout might be logic defying yet it amps up the intensity needed. The attention to detail in this sequence portraying the armory and the use of geography in the stunts is commendable. The music by Henry Jackman and Alex Bechler is reminiscent of the epic vibe of the COD games. Other than this, the action set piece at the Skyscraper in Vienna is pretty much anxiety inducing. With the hand-to-hand combat duel between Chris Hemsworth and the antagonist Tornike Gogrichiani on the glass roof feels creative enough. The surprise factor is that the way Golshifteh Farahani holds the screen well with her agility in performing the stunts and her expressiveness proving that she can carry forward action film franchises with ease and I hope that she gets her own action franchise soon.
“Oh, these Russians!”:
While “Extraction 2” seemingly is an improved sequel in terms of action choreography and emotional stakes, it lacks in building a ruthless world and a menacing antagonist. It’s a welcoming move that the Georgian villain gang, the Nagazi speak Georgian language unlike the broken English accent that we’re used to see in old hollywood action movies. The runtime doesn’t waste a moment in engaging the audience still the world and lore of Nagazi gang could have been built more and might have piqued some interest. Although the Antagonist Zurab (Tornike Gogrichiani) looks menacing and has a backstory featuring the shambles of war, the writers could have sketched the antagonist more challenging and threatening enough instead of relying on the stereotypical ‘Russian villain’ antics. Though the film is akin to the bombastic tone set at first, the last act (which was pretty decent for most part) feels a bit mellowed down and more ‘real’ making it feel inconsistent and lacks the punch which its predecessor had. Albeit, the film ends with Idris Elba hinting for possible sequel and spin-offs in this franchise, without an exciting world building and a challenging antagonist, Russo Brothers’and Sam Hargrave’s “Extraction” cinematic universe might be a code red mission. Nevertheless, Sam Hargrave’s “Extraction 2” is sweet little throwback to the old school ‘80s action driven blockbusters and a doubly deadlier unpretentious escapist action entertainer living up to the name of its predecessor.
“Extraction 2” is now streaming on Netflix!
