16 June,2023 03:32 PM IST | Mumbai | Johnson Thomas
Extraction 2 still
Tyler Rake(Chris Hemsworth) returns for Netflix's second attempt at âcashing in on diversity programming' in this unremarkable sequel to a rather ordinary and bland original. This film goes over the top without much ado. Tasked with extracting a family who is at the mercy of a Georgian gangster, Tyler Rake infiltrates one of the world's deadliest prisons and gets the extraction done by killing the gangster in question. Then it's the turn of the Gangster's even more ruthless brother (Tornike Gogrichiani) to keep the vengeance burning hotâ¦
This âExtraction' series is based on Andre Park's graphic novel âCiudad' and the original adaptation was one of Netflix's most-watched movies ever. So it's a given that Netflix would try to cash in on that phenomenal interest. The tough-as-nails, macho character reunites the Thor actor with director Sam Hargrave and screenwriter Joe Russo but there's not much creativity here to distinguish this Extraction from the first.
The plot involves a lot of action - some of it is exemplary though. A sequence involving a multi-pronged attack on a high-rise building is the stand-out action set piece of this movie. Rake also dangles a fair bit, off the side of tall glass towers. Nik (Golshifteh Farahani) is back also, and doing a lot more actual fighting.
The long takes were the selling point of the first movie and its not much different here either. Hargrave, his cinematographer, and editors Alex RodrÃguez and William Hoy do a long take all through a 15-odd minute-long series of action events. And it's a thrilling spectacle alright. This film has great sound design and well-coordinated and executed stunt work. The rest of it seems like deja vu stuff though. Dialogue is minimal and there's little character development to speak of. Idris Elba, the recruiter who hires Tyler for this new job, and Olga Kurylenko, as the ex-wife, have little to do in this passionless attempt to garner more views for the OTT platform.
