Chris Hemsworth is back as Tyler Rake in the bigger, better, non-stop action sequel EXTRACTION 2.
At the end of the original, Rake was left for dead, but the opening sequence details his long recovery from the near lethal beating he took at the end of his last mission.
Rake's not too sure that his physically compromised form was worth coming back for, but team members Nik Kahn (the lethal Goishifteh Farahani) and her brother Yaz (Adam Bessa) try to keep him moving forward.
Assistance comes in another dangerous mission, providing Hemsworth the opportunity to train Rocky III style in the snow, all that's missing is the 80's music montage.
Like the classic 80's action flicks of Arnold and Sly, the film sets up bad guys that are easy to jeer vs. a team around Rake you invest in, then drops them both into impossible face-offs and flawless action sequences.
Producer/writers the Russo Brothers (Captain America series, Avengers: Endgame) bring big screen sensibilities and a huge budget to play.
Idris Elba shows up as a mystery man with a mission to extract the wife and children of a mob leader from a prison, where the mob leader has worked with the crooked government to have them housed with him.
Rake has ties to the children's Mom and family complications abound, but the personal stories bow to the incredible action sequences sprinkled throughout the film.
Director Sam Hargrave is back and stages an incredible 21-minute, single camera, continuous shot during the team's mission at the prison. The cast and stunt teams rehearsed for five months for the one scene and the payoff is huge as it continues to escalate from a simple intrusion to a prison riot, with explosions in every corner, hundreds of actors and air attacks, all in one continuous shot.
A helicopter and assault team attack on a runaway train with our heroes aboard nearly tops it.
Then Hargrave and the production team set up a huge scale attack on a skyscraper in Vienna, putting our heroes into repetitive John Wick-style assaults above, below and on every escape route from the tower.
If you love explosive action on a grand scale, it doesn't get any better than this.
I enjoyed this sequel even more than the original. Hemsworth is more settled into the role of Rake and delivers heart and brawn. He's the anti-Thor, feeling every bullet, knife and assault with bruises to match.
Fasten your seat belt, get the popcorn and brace yourself, EXTRACTION 2 delivers relentless thrills on its blood soaked trail to an A.
Comments