Tinaye Agere
Film Review
Tinashe Kusema
ONE of the most annoying things about Chris Hemsworth and his growing “Extraction” franchise is the comparison being made about his character and some of the movie industry’s well-to-do hitmen.
Tyler Rake (Hemsworth) does not hold a candle to the likes of Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), John Wick (Keanu Reeves), Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) and even James Bond (various actors).
Well, he might be better than George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan’s versions of the famed British spy, but definitely not Daniel Craig’s Bond. This says a lot about Netflix’s second instalment of the ever-growing “Extraction” franchise.
The biggest gripe I have with the movie has absolutely nothing to do with the actual film.
“Extraction 2” picks up exactly where the first film finished off, as Rake (Hemsworth) gets shot in the neck and falls off a bridge, straight into a river of some sort.
We find out that his crewmates, mainly his handler and partner Nik Khan (Golshifteh Farahani), take him straight to hospital after being washed ashore — a short distance away from the bridge.
He is nursed back to health and presumably decides to retire.
Unfortunately, a shadowy syndicate comes calling with a massage from Rake’s estranged ex-wife, Mia (Olga Kurylenko), who enlists his help to rescue her sister Ketevan (Tinatin Dalakishvili) and her two kids — Sandro (Andro Japaridze) and Nina (Miriam and Marta Kovziashvili).
The three are being held captive by a ruthless Serbian gangster, Davit (Tornike Bziava), in a Georgian prison.
It is Georgia, the country, and not the state that is part of the United States.
The mission goes on well.
However, they now have to contend with a more murderous brother Avtandil (Dato Bakhtadze), who is out to avenge the death of his younger brother.
In a nutshell, that is the gist of the story.
I have always admired simple and less complex plots.
Granted, there are a few twists and turns throughout the film’s 122-minute runtime, but none of them spoils or complicates the story.
In fact, the betrayal angle is one every viewer is likely to see from a mile away.
The film’s biggest drawcard is the action.
The Russo brothers — Anthony and Joe — outdo themselves, as this “Extraction” movie is arguably better than the first one.
In fact, the Russo brothers could be the next big thing in terms of action movies.
In this piece, they give us a 40-minute-long action sequence, which shows their prowess in the genre.
Rake sneaks into a Georgian prison and has to fight his way out while protecting a woman and her two kids.
The scenes show great hand-to-hand combat, car chases and one fight that occurs on a train and involves three helicopters.
Another big mark for the film is how Joe Russo, who penned the script, tries to flesh out Hemsworth’s Rake character.
The emergence of his estranged wife opens up some old wounds of abandonment, the death of the couple’s child and some unresolved issues between the two.
It also allows Hemsworth to showcase his acting chops, and, dare I say it, he knocks it out of the park.
There are a lot better-to-great performances in the movie, but Idris Elba deserves a shout-out for his scene-stealing cameo as Alcott, the stranger who represents the shadowy organisation that delivers the message to Rake from his ex-wife.
Despite doing such a great job, the character drops enough breadcrumbs to hint at more instalments and a bigger role for himself in the future.
Online Reporter