After barely surviving his last job, Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth) is retired and trying to figure out what to do with the rest of his life.
And then a stranger appears at his cabin with an offer he cannot refuse:
His ex-wife’s sister is married to a Georgian mobster, Davit Radiani (Tornike Bziava), who has been imprisoned. As part of his sentence, his family has to share his sentence with him.
Rake enlists his friend Nik Khan (Golshifteh Farahani) to rescue this woman and her children.
This rescue puts Rake and his team in the sights of Davit’s brother Zurab (Tornike Gogrichiani), who unleashes the force of his criminal empire against the fugitives.
I do not remember liking Extraction that much. I also do not remember that much about it.
Thankfully, Extraction 2 catches you up by showing the ending of the last movie.
Despite that opening, there is something refreshingly no-nonsense about Extraction 2. It hits the ground running, and ends before it gets tiresome.
Opening with Rake’s own extraction, the first act has no action. Instead we watch him going through physical rehab and trying to come to terms with his injuries.
Forcibly retired, he is stuck in a remote cabin in the woods.
During this relatively sedate sequence, the film makes sure to introduce the villain murdering a traitor - all while revealing the key elements of the plot to follow.
Rake's retirement ends quickly and we get a montage of our hero forcing himself back into action hero shape by performing various tasks outside in the woods. A callback to action movies past, it reminded me of Rocky IV's training montage, and Susan Jeffords' book Hard Bodies, in which she references a media portrayal of Ronald Reagan's belaying his age (and boosting his masculinity) by chopping wood.
This is probably the closest to an obvious homage I could see, although it is impossible not to read Rake’s one-man assault as a feature-length update of Stallone and Schwarzenegger.
Let’s get to the action.
The mayhem starts with a terrific 20-odd minute one-take as Rake gets the family out of the prison. The camera creates a sense of anxiety as danger bursts out from every corner of the frame. It is anxiety-inducing, particularly when Rake and Ketevan (Tinatin Dalakishvili) are caught in the middle of a prison riot - which is a great way to mask every time a new bad guy attacks them.
While it is a (excellent) technical exercise, it generates a sense of immersion.
This sequence also shows off the film's great use of locations - the underground tunnels of the prison; that classic action movie staple, the factory - the filmmakers and choreographers make inventive and unique use of each of these environments, so it never feels repetitive.
The helicopter pursuit with Rake and co. on a train plays like video game levels, with the camera hugging the participants like a third-person shooter. The camera also shifts perspectives from Rake to Nik and even taking in Ketevan’s son Sandro’s (Andro Japaridze) reaction to the violence.
That shift in perspective extends to narrative voice, especially in terms of the villains.
One of the highlights of the first movie was the time spent humanising Rake’s opponent Saju Rav (Randeep Hooda). Extraction 2 does a similar thing with Zurab (Tornike Gogrichiani) - repeatedly showing flashbacks of the brothers growing up, going through hardship.
There is a running theme of characters dealing with familial trauma (Rake regrets missing his child’s death), and without feeling didactic, the film contends with questions around what defines family, and how is love expressed.
The film is not a character piece - one could argue some of these themes are only vaguely touched on. But it does give these silent characters a sense of tension - and a need for redemption.
Since this is an action film, that need is expressed through shooting, stabbing and exploding people.
While the initial action sequences feel like technical exercises, the filmmakers are not anchored to a specific style of shooting.
The escape from the hotel is shot in a more classic, continuity style. There is an emphasis on tactical precision of Rake’s team try to get away and Zurab’s crew try to box them in.
Long sections of this sequence play without score - just the sound of bullets.
The variety and pacing of the action prevents it from getting boring - the hotel provides several distinct environments e.g. an underground garage, a parking lot, the gym and the roof (including the side of the building).
There are a few pinpricks of humour - the one henchman crushed by weights in the gym.
After all the action of the first two thirds of the film, it slows down for Rake, Nik and the family to lick their wounds and take off their (metaphoric) armour.
Thankfully, the movie does not forget what it is - Rake is soon taking the fight to the villains with a grenade launcher, blowing up planes, buildings and whoever has a death wish to become barbecue.
While the movie takes the time to show flashbacks of how the villains were moulded into the monsters they are now, the film is smart enough to not repeat that format with Rake - instead, his loss of a child is mapped onto his quest to save Sandro, the young boy who is torn between love for his family, and the allegiance he has for his father’s gang.
A similar sense of understatement and ellipses is used in the portrayal of Rake and Nik’s relationship.
What they say is less meaningful than what they do.
As with the previous movie, Rake ends the movie beaten to a pulp.
This time he is the one to save Nik, bringing the film full circle.
Extraction 2 is not going to rewrite the action genre, despite its technical credentials.
It is a familiar concept executed to a high level.
As far as the acting goes, it is of a good standard. Kudos to the filmmakers for casting outside the usual suspects - the Georgian cast are excellent, particularly Japaridze as Sandro. He conveys a lot without dialogue.
There are a few action regulars - Olga Kurylenko plays Rake’s ex-wife, and Daniel Bernhardt plays one of Zurab’s henchmen
Hemsworth, complete with Aussie accent, is terse and stoic. He has weight and authority, and handles the action. I found him a little blank in the original but here he seems more at home as the repressed killer.
Rake gets more definition in Extraction 2, and it probably has to do with the film being more of an ensemble piece.
The real standout as an action star is Golshiften Farahani as Nik Khan, Rake’s partner (and potential romantic partner). She gets a couple of great action scenes, on the train and on the hotel roof.
The film ends with the tease of a sequel but it does not feel like the story is unfinished. This is an action film that feels like the kind of straight-ahead fare that sued to be made on a regular basis in decades past.
The film has a similarly dour tone as the original, but with an expanded canvas, we get a little more specificity in terms of characterisation. If the film is missing anything, it is more of a sense of humour - there is a slight knowningness on the fillm’s part that Rake is an unkillable man mountain, but it feels like unexplored territory.
Still, this is a minor quibble.
If anyone is complaining that Hollywood does not make these kinds of movies anymore, point them toward Extraction 2.
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