THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS. FOR SOME REASON THE SPOILER START / END MARKS ARE NOT WORKING



I wouldn’t normally write such a long review but this deserves it. Tiresome action flick the story for which is basically an excuse to sling together a bunch of gunfight sequences. Breaks down into 5 parts really:

1 Copy of the overly long Jack Ryan movie recuperation opening but with added snow, just dragged out longer.

2 Console shooter game video with better graphics as ‘one man army’ rescues his wife’s sister and her kids from some druggie / mafia prison in Georgia.

3 Establishing reason for part 4 (another gunfight). Every second rate movie needs a ‘spanner in the works’ to stop things working out (saves the writers have to work to hard to come up with an intelligent script). In this case, it’s a selfish, snot-nosed kid (SNK)with a sulky face because he’s been rescued from prison and misses his, now dead, dad who put him there. Of course, the “A Team” that rescued said brat leave a sat phone lying around on a plane, doesn’t miss it when SNK pinches it and uses it, again, nobody notices. Of course, he tells their pursuers where they are going. Dull. [/spoiler]

4 Another video game shoot-out, this time druggie / mafia seems to have an army of ex-special forces on hand. Difference is, they have ample weapons to shoot down helos, unlike dipshit in charge of the “A Team” who previously had none. SNK runs off with his dead dad’s brother and is now sulky because he doesn’t like it there either.

5 Final seqeunce. Dipshit goes to ssttle the score with head baddie, SNK tries to redeem himself, and the last but one remaining good guy (girl in this case) also nearly dies dies. So great run in all dipshit, all your chums die so you can run off on a selfish mission to try and give yourself a reason to live. Better if you’d stayed dead or retired really. Still, at least Olga Kurylenko looks as good as ever.

Absolute crap!

Check your brain at the door and let the Ramboian-John-Wick action sweep you away for 120 minutes. Call of Duty on film, Extraction 2 loses some of the tight-knit focus of the first film, but makes up by delivering some absolutely awe-inspiring set pieces that seem to just go and go. Sure the cuts and transitions between shots aren't as clean as the original, but the pure size and scale of these action segments is impressive and more than make up for the lack of shine. As much buzz as the prison escape will get from tabloids and film mags, I thought the train sequence was one of the best end-to-end action sequences I've seen for a long time. I thought the top-down oner from John Wick 4 would hold that title for the foreseeable future but here we are not a few months later, with a Netflix movie taking the crown. While we're comparing to Keanu, I think I prefer Extraction and its sequel now because it knows exactly what it is. There isn't silly lore about the table and consecrated grounds and Bulgarian crime rings that can give you immunity or favours etc etc _etc_; it's just an over the top action reel with a bit of family drama to tie it all together. Fantastic action movie, I hope they can cap this off with one final entry.

You can’t be too harsh on it, these genuinely try to raise the bar for one take action sequences. The excessive panning and shaking makes some of the stitching feel a little artificial, to the point where I kinda wonder if it would look better if it was done with a couple of actual long takes and cuts, but it continues to be a successful tool for making the action more immersive. Some of the action that involves cuts doesn’t lose much of its visceral impact or tension, which is the highest compliment to any action scene. It’s nice to see humans portrayed as vulnerable in an action movie for once, which is often forgotten about in this genre that’s nowadays becoming more and more influenced by videogames. However, everything else is pretty forgettable junk. It’s mostly watchable because the actors, which are a lot better than the average B-movie action flick. However, this is the type of script that demands a true visionary director in order to make the movie work as a whole, and Hargrave is just not at that level as a filmmaker or storyteller. I think I made similar comments in regards to _Extraction_, but he should really shoot second unit for someone like George Miller, Gareth Evans or Edgar Wright instead. This is overall very stale visually, sonically and conceptually.

4.5/10

Extraction 2 clearly learned some lessons from its predecessor and cranked things up to eleven, making a top-shelf action film that has me demanding more!

Yes! YESsssss!!! This is what 80s action movies dreamt of being decades ago. Commando walked so Extraction 2 could soar!  The action, gunplay, grittiness, and thin plotted-ness of this movie scream 80s classic but the production quality, stub work, and cinematography are at a whole other level. The prison break sequence with the 21-minute one-shot camera move is jaw-dropping and one of the most remarkable action set pieces I have ever seen. The first Extraction was a decent movie, but Extraction 2 simplified its story and maximized what made the first one successful: the brutal action. Like the later John Wick films, Extraction 2 doubles down on being a top-notch action film, not a drama with gunplay. There is hardly any story, and the scenes that do attempt to add a little character development feel generic and bland. But thankfully, those scenes are few and far between. This movie feels like The Expendables, except with one guy, fewer jokes, and even better fight choreography! If you are a fan of explosions, combat, and scattered brain matter, look no further than Extraction 2.

This is the follow-up to the unexpected Netflix hit from 2020. Chris Hemsworth is back as the fearless mercenary, with more frantic-paced and spectacular action sequences.

Director Sam Hargrave returns for the sequel. The former stunt coordinator – similar to how Chad Stahelski progressed to the director's role for the John Wick series – increases the action another notch compared to the first movie.

The highlight is a 21-minute "long take". It has impressive choreography to make it look chaotic but it must have been very well organised, with the number of people and different weapons used throughout. There is close-quarters hand-to-hand combat, a sprawling prison-yard brawl, a decent car chase with multiple different vehicles and big crashes, and finally a sequence on a fast-moving cargo train, with helicopters and more confined fighting. Each segment would be good as a standalone action set-piece, but this is stitched together to form a high-octane breathless non-stop survival and escape sequence.

The movie boasts high production values and a storyline that humanises a lot of the characters – something a lot of "dumb" action movies ignore. Nothing quite compares to the first act. There is a rather clinical street shoot-out which is the least creative but does get interesting when they're stuck inside the building. The intimate face-off at the end goes against the grain of a typical action movie structure and provides a decent conclusion.

It's a fun movie to enjoy, with impressive and inventive sequences. If you like action movies, you'll love this. I am looking forward to what they can achieve in a third movie.