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Review | Netflix movie review: Extraction 2 – Chris Hemsworth returns for another no-nonsense action showcase
- Chris Hemsworth is back as mercenary Tyler Rake, this time on a mission in the Caucasus to rescue his sister-in-law and family from a prison
- Hemsworth puts on an impressive physical performance, and the film has an amazing 21-minute unbroken action sequence
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3/5 stars
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In an era of cutthroat competition between monolithic streaming platforms with seemingly bottomless pockets, straight-to-video action fare has been elevated to blockbuster status, boasting A-list casts and budgets spiralling into hundreds of millions of dollars.
Extraction 2, written by Joe Russo (Avengers: Endgame) and directed by former stunt coordinator Sam Hargrave, has a plot so simple it could fit on a shell casing. But as Chris Hemsworth blasts his way breathlessly through exotic, hostile locations, Netflix appears fully prepared to fight off whatever Disney, Apple or Amazon may throw at it.
Back in summer 2020, when most of the world was in lockdown and confined to sofas, Netflix released muscular action thriller Extraction, in which Hemsworth’s mercenary, Tyler Rake, is dispatched to Bangladesh to rescue the son of an Indian gangster.
Directed by Hargrave, who oversaw the action scenes in numerous Marvel offerings as well as Wu Jing’s Chinese mega-hit Wolf Warrior 2, Extraction quickly became the most-streamed film in Netflix’s history.
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The inevitable sequel presents an almost identical premise, albeit transferred from Southeast Asia to the Caucasus, but Extraction 2 outdoes its predecessor with its relentless action and wince-inducing violence.
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