Extraction 2 (2023) Review

At the end of Extraction, it was clearly shown that Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth) got shot in the neck before he fell off the bridge. With a bullet wound like that, he should have died. But in the movie world where John Wick can survive multiple gun wounds, bruises and falls or the surprise (ludicrous) character revival in Fast X, anything is possible. Not to mention the first movie clocked in a whopping 231.3 million viewing hours, making it one of the most-watched original films on Netflix.

In other words, a sequel is inevitable and here we are after three years since Extraction made its streaming debut. Tyler may look like he died for sure but the luck is on his side. He got rescued just in time after being washed up ashore and sent to a hospital in Dubai. It was only a matter of time before he woke up from a coma. Everything is peaceful at first. All calm before the storm as Tyler’s handler, Nik (Goldshifteh Farahani) and her brother Yaz (Adam Bessa) subsequently transported him to a remote cabin somewhere in the snowy Austrian wilderness.

From there, Tyler is supposed to spend his time recuperating after he is forced to retire from active duty. Since this is Extraction 2 we are streaming here, rest assured the downtime moment does not overstay its welcome. The sequel soon lives up to its title as Tyler is back in action again and this time, he is tasked to rescue his ex-wife’s sister Ketevan (Tinatin Dalakishvili) and her kids (Andro Jafaridze and Miriam & Marta Kovziashvili) from the prison.

Sam Hargrave is calling the shots again and he wastes no time getting down to business once the extraction takes place. And boy, what an extraction sequence it turns out to be! If you think Hargrave has exhausted whatever technical flair he has in the epic 12-minute long-take of an action sequence in the first movie, he manages to raise the stakes higher. Clocking around 20-21 minutes, the director goes all out with his impressive staging during the elaborate prison rescue scene filmed in one take. The intricate choreography is thrilling and relentless as Tyler navigates his way out of the prison while ensuring the ones he rescued are safe by his side. He shoots and fights as angry prisoners attack him from every corner.

And it just doesn’t end there as Hargrave continues to maintain its seamless long take with a car chase through the jungle before moving on to the train, complete with heavily-armed helicopters shooting from the sky. Hargrave sure knows his way around moving the camera like we are in the middle of the chaotic moments with Tyler and the rest. The entire long take sequence is visceral and energetic to the max — easily one of the most exciting action set pieces I’ve ever seen since John Wick: Chapter 4 this year.

Like the first movie, the plot is secondary as usual. But at least the pace is leaner and tighter even for the sequel retaining its two-hour length. Chris Hemsworth’s rugged, no-nonsense charm is put to good use and impresses with his physical agility. There’s a nice touch of the sibling relationship between Goldshifteh Farahani’s Nik and Adam Bessa’s Yaz, both of which reprised their supporting roles from the first movie. Tornike Gogrichiani, who plays the remorseless Zurab, is a worthy addition to the franchise as the sequel’s main antagonist.

Back to the action scenes, Hargrave’s directorial prowess isn’t just restricted to the extended long take. At the hands of a lesser director, he or she might be running out of steam but not for Hargrave. The subsequent elaborate assault in and out of a skyscraper is worth mentioning here and so does the brutal one-on-one showdown between Tyler and Zurab in the climactic third act. Both scenes clearly have Hargrave drawing his inspiration from The Raid and a certain John Woo movie from the ’80s era.

Overall, it was an improved sequel with enough visceral action to keep the fans satisfied. Extraction 2 concludes with an open ending, suggesting there’s more to come and it will be interesting to see if the third instalment can upstage this sequel.

Extraction 2 is currently streaming on Netflix.