LOS ANGELES, June 15 (UPI) -- Extraction 2, on Netflix on Friday, features two extended action scenes that, together, contain the most intense action outside the John Wick franchise. It's more than double its predecessor and cements Extraction as a major genre franchise.
Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth) is recovering from his last mission when he's given a new one. Georgian convict Davit Radiani (Tornike Bziava) has been keeping his family living in prison with him, and his wife, Ketevan (Tinatin Dalakishvili), wants out with their son (Andro Japaridze) and daughter (Mariami and Marta Kovziashvili).
Davit's brother, Zurab (Tornike Gogrichiani), is still on the outside mobilizing forces to prevent Rake from making the extraction.
Extraction featured an extended centerpiece action sequence, so the sequel delivers exponentially more. It begins with such an extended sequence and then has a second later in the film.
The prison break involves a series of long takes. Those takes utilize handheld photography, which can be shaky, but each take includes so much choreography that the viewer can tell the actors are really performing it.
Rake picks up riot shields and dumbbells to use brutally against guards and inmates alike. Sound enhances the stabbings and beatings that ensue.
As this sequence goes on, each long take ramps up. As hard as one extended run of action goes, the next one goes harder, eventually involving speeding vehicular combat.
The action is proceeding so rapidly that the carnage of one battle quickly becomes the background as Rake and company pass it by. The action is so relentless that it takes a massive crash for it to pause.
The second extended action sequence uses more editing than the first. The editing cuts action beats together with the maximum impact.
The second sequence also cuts between multiple locations. Those parallel fights converge in the most suspenseful ways.
Extraction 2 must have used visual effects to ensure safety in these elaborate stunts. Whatever they used is more seamless than theatrical action movie counterparts.
After those two sequences, the climax of the movie is more intimate. Yet, it matches the relentless sequences with its psychological consequences and brutality.
Rake's partners, Nik (Golshifteh Farahani) and Yaz (Adam Bessa), have a lot more to do on this mission, too. They form a unit as compelling as Ethan Hunt's Mission: Impossible team for their seemingly impossible missions.
The story in between relentless action goes to some interesting places that should not be spoiled. They deal with the impact of this life on Ketevan's kids, and illuminate some of Rake's backstory.
But, there would be no shame in a film simply being a vehicle for magnificent action scenes. In that paradigm, Extraction 2 moves the franchise to the top of the genre.
Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.
