Chris Hemsworth has made quite a name for himself ever since being cast as Thor in the MCU. He’s gotten a lot of roles since then in various types of films. Sometimes he’s in comedies but more often than not he’s in action films with some kind of tech or military angle. Extraction 2 is another such role for Hemsworth. As the title suggests he is reprising his role of Tyler Rake from the first movie. 

At the beginning of Extraction 2 Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth) is in a battle for his life. He’s on life support but barely hanging in there. After a brief time to recover one of his team convinces him to take another dangerous mission. This time out he and his team are to rescue the family of a ruthless gangster. As always in these situations there are a lot of moving parts. And various obstacles to overcome. As well as the obligatory you don’t always know who to trust.

Sam Hargrove has worked with the Russo Brothers before as a section unit director on Avengers Endgame. He returns to the director’s chair after directing the first film in this Netflix series with the Russo Brothers, Joe, and Anthony, returning to produce with their AGBO production company. They have been working with a handful of the MCU actors since their last film. Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Tom Holland, and the deceased Chadwick Boseman were among them. Familiarity is a good way to go within Hollywood circles. 

Hargrove uses the skills he’s gained in other movies to create elaborate action sequences and realistic fight scenes. This story is right out of an action film oh one though. It’s so predictable and by the numbers. It’s like he’s watched a bunch of action films from the 80s and 90s and copied them to some extent. Adding in a more realistic element to make the film seem like it takes place in real-time. That’s due to the cinematography by Greg Baldi.

The film looks very good in this regard. I felt a lot of this stuff was happening at the moment. The problem is the story by Andy Parks and the Russo Brothers was too outlandish and we as film fans have seen this type of story too many times in the past. There is an old saying that tried and true wins the race, well not in this case. I wish there had been more originality brought to the script which in turn would have allowed Hemsworth and company to do a better job with the dialog.

I’m a fan of films that are set in a realistic world or place in time. Michael Mann has been doing this for years. The problem is his films had an engaging stories and characters I cared about. This film has characters that aren’t fleshed out enough and the main character almost dies at the beginning from his wounds in the previous film and I couldn’t care less about him. Netflix has been throwing all of their money around for big stars and directors but the films and shows they are attached to haven’t been very good for the most part.

Extraction 2 is just another mindless action movie set in a realistic world and time. It looks all shiny and glossy because of the beautiful cinematography. Hargrove knows how to direct action sequences because they are good in the films he’s worked on in the past including this one. The issue I have with this movie is the story and the dialogue that the characters say, it’s clunky and very not good. The Russos need to do a better job of fleshing the characters out in the future. This was a big waste of my time.

1 star

Dan Skip Allen