Directed by: Sam Hargrave
Distributed by: Netflix
Written by Taylor Baker
15/100
Pathetic. That’s the most apt descriptor of “Extraction 2” a film launched as Netflix’s–the world’s preeminent streaming service–summer action blockbuster, boasting an over two-hour runtime and a reported minimum budget of 65 million dollars (but with modern streamers, one never really knows what the true figures are), 20 of the 65 million went directly to Hemsworth to reprise his role. The film sees Chris Hemsworth return as Tyler Rake in a performance that is unfortunately little more than a labored impression of Keanu Reeves’ John Wick, and is little more than a blandly executed fetch quest that would be far better as a AAA video game than it is as a film.
Neither engrossing nor believable Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth) unretires after his ex-wife Mia (Olga Kurylenko) offers him a job he can’t refuse, rescuing her sister. In the course of the job Rake, engages in fisticuffs, firefights, and vehicular combat, none of which is believable, consistent, or grounded. Featuring some of the worst CGI I’ve seen in a film yet this year, “Extraction 2” not only appears to not care how bad its computer-animated graphics look but relishes in it, layering on bad effect after bad effect, with fire being a particularly horrific offender, and bullet impacts in windows being a close runner up.
The flimsy plot matters little, and there is some 90s-esque action pleasure in that, but it’s shortlived due to the poor balancing of thrills against chills, with the only modicum of quality coming from extended choreography sequences meant to give the effect of scenes operating as one-shots. But Hemsworth’s physical performance lacks the technique and tact of Keanu’s John Wick, and the charm of Van Damme, Schwarzenegger, and Stallone. His Rake is little more than a featureless action character stand-in for someone more charismatic or convincing, but with what’s on the page it’s hard to lay this flop at the feet of the performer. This story has little to say and nothing to tell. “Extraction 2” is a loud empty and impotent film absent of purpose, something you might also say about the Russo brothers and Netflix of late.
“Extraction 2” Trailer
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