Extraction 2 review: Guns do all the talking in Chris Hemsworth-led action-packed sequel

3/5

Story: After making a miraculous recovery from the near-death condition he was found in after the events of the Ovi Mahajan extraction, Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth) must not only mend his broken body in record time, but also needs to be in prime shape for a new mission. Retirement is not an option for the mercenary-on-hire, especially when the subjects that he has to extract have a personal connect. Tyler’s ex-wife Mia (Olga Kurylenko) has a sister Ketevan, who needs extraction along with her two kids. Ketevan, as it turns out, is the wife of a crime lord in Georgia, Davit Radiani (Tornike Bziava), who is in prison and keeps her and the kids also there so that she doesn’t leave him. Not only does Tyler have to effect a prison break, but he also has to get them out of Georgia, before Davit’s murderous brother Zurab (Tornike Gogrichiani) tracks them down.

Review: Netflix, it would seem, is keen to master the all-action-no-story genre of films, which is why a film like Extraction gets a sequel and brings its protagonist back from the dead. Chris Hemsworth’s Tyler Rake was presumed dead after he’d been fatally shot and plunged into a river. There was no reason to revive him or turn the film into a franchise. But Extraction, which released at a time when the whole world was shut down owing to the pandemic and people had nothing much to do, became the streaming platform’s biggest hit and Netflix, of course, was in no mood to kill its golden goose.

Three years later, we have the sequel that follows a similar template with barely any story to speak of and a lot of action. The hero’s grievous injuries, miraculous escape (his team was contemplating pulling the plug on him after months in a coma) and recuperation get only a few minutes of narrative space. Apparently, you can go from near dead to fit and ready for a new mission in only a few weeks, condensed into what seems to be footage of Chris’ routine exercise regime.

The first half of the film is the extraction – Zurab is not going to allow Tyler to waltz out of his home ground without a fight. From thereon it is about keeping Ketevan and the kids alive, with Zurab and his gang hot in pursuit, intent on either retrieving Davit’s family or killing them, as the case maybe. What Zurab definitely wants to do is kill the man that killed his brother – Tyler - and anyone who comes between him and this mission. So, a few good men perish along the way.

No prizes for guessing how it all plays out in the end, and now that Netflix has struck rich with Extraction, the streamer also introduces a set-up for future instalments in the franchise. Enter Idris Elba (whose onscreen name has been withheld for now), who commissions this job and wants Tyler to work for the man that he works for and that man, he says, is a “gnarly mo***r f****r”.

Extraction 2 does not score high in terms of story, investing everything into presenting high-stake action sequences. There is a lot of gun battle, some hand combat too, lot of blood shed and a death by ‘rake’ as well. The prison break, of course, is the standout element, which goes from busting out of a maximum-security facility to a running train and bullets spraying all over. Gun-ship helicopters cannot take out Tyler, but he can take out not, one, but two of these flying menaces, with far inferior ammunition. There is a level of incredulity in the action pieces, but then this is not the kind of film where you ought to exercise your grey cells. You are only meant to sit back and enjoy the show.

Chris Hemsworth looks good, as always, and makes every shot of his gun and every blow he gives or takes worth a watch. What he doesn’t quite nail is the grieving, guilt-ridden father bit. The film, though, belongs to Golshifteh Farahani as Chris’ fellow mercenary Nik Khan. She can kick ass and how, and turns in a far more solid performance than Chris.

Verdict: The problem with Extraction 2 is that it doesn’t serve up anything worth remembering. Yes, there’s stellar action, but so do a gazillion other movies in the genre. It’s like a scene out of a very violent video game that will work for audiences who root for spectacular action pieces and are not concerned about a lack of story. Like the John Wick series, for instance. It’s all ‘Bang, bang, bang, reload, bang, bang, bang’. And much like John Wick that appeal will also fade with time, at least for me it did.