'Extraction 2' is more personal but lacks character development

When the first Extraction film came out in 2020, it received a mixed reception. The non-stop action film written by the Russo brothers and directed by Sam Hargrave had the ambition to rival the John Wick franchise but lacked very much in character development and storytelling.

Chris Hemsworth as the protagonist Tyler Rake stole the show, but the audience saw all about him fighting like a beast but no insight into the character. 

Nevertheless, the film became successful, and Netflix was incentivised enough to make a sequel with the same cast and production personnel. Released on June 16, did it still overlook the characters and the story?

Extraction 2 starts right after the end of the first film. After the vicious firefight and hand-to-hand action with the local drug lord's army in Bangladesh, Tyler is still recovering from his deadly injuries. He is seemingly retired from his black ops mercenary job, but a family call brings him back to action.

There was a hint in the first film, but Tyler's past trauma is revealed in this film. His son had cancer, and he couldn't bear to see his child die before his eyes, so he left his son on his deathbed for a mission. This created a rift with his wife, Mia, ultimately leading to divorce.

Mia's sister Ketevan and her children are now trapped in a Georgian prison with her abusive gangster husband, Davit. Tyler overlooked his family once and couldn't get over the guilt, so he accepted the mission of saving them as penance.

Since then, the film hasn't shown much character development, so the whole film is divided into three segments of adrenaline-fueled action. 

At the start, there is a 21-minute action segment about escaping the prison, which might be one of the best prison break scenes in movies. 

After a series of mishaps, Tyler reluctantly kills Davit to save Ketevan. That leaves an impression on Davit's son, Sandro, who becomes vengeful toward his mother and Tyler.

Davit and his brother Zurab run a criminal organisation named Nagazi, which controls the underworld of Georgia. Tyler killed one of their leaders, so the whole organisation is out in the wild for revenge. 

The second long action sequence is all about their revenge on Tyler and his allies.

Sandro realises that his uncle Zurab isn't very considerate when it comes to saving his family, as he is hell-bent on killing his mother for betrayal. But fighting is the only option now, so Tyler and his colleagues, Nik and Yaz, fight their way out of an Austrian skyscraper and make some real sacrifices on the way.

The third act is quite predictable: the final showdown between Tyler and Zurab. Although the logic is flawed and the laws of physics are out of the question, they get ready for the fight nonetheless. Does Sandro make amends for his mistake? Does Tyler survive once again?

Through violent and grounded combat, Tyler survives once again. And with no consideration for storytelling and a very linear plot, he is recruited by a stranger (played by Idris Elba) to hop in for another action-packed job. 

The end of Extraction 2 hinted at another sequel, but will fans be eager for Hargrave's next storyless action film?

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