Netflix And Chill: Extraction 2 (2023)

If you have heard about Extraction 2 then you have heard about the impressive action sequence near the start of the movie that plays out for just over 20 minutes. It's an impressive spectacle, despite containing at least 50 hidden edits (according to director Sam Hargrave in an article published online by Variety just a few days ago), but one impressive spectacle doesn't necessarily make a movie a complete success.

Although we saw him looking quite close to death at the end of the first film, Chris Hemsworth returns in the role of Tyler Rake. As the title may already have made you aware, he is asked to undertake a mission that requires him to extract someone from hostile territory. This time he is trying to save a family, which puts him in the cross-hairs of two very powerful and dangerous brothers (Zurab Radiani, played by Tornike Gogrichiani, and Davit Radiani, played by Tornike Bziava). At least he's being helped by Nik Khan (Golshifteh Farahani) and Yaz Khan (Adam Bessa), but their plans may be scuppered by the scheming of one of the misguided children being extracted (Sandro, played by Andro Japaridze). 

With every main player returning to their role, including Joe Russo at the writing desk, Extraction 2 feels very much like something made by people who enjoyed working together on the first film and wanted to push themselves a bit further this time around. There are more complex sequences, there's a bigger scale to some of the set-pieces, and Hemsworth somehow looks to have added more muscles on to his writhing mass of muscles. It is, in some ways, a bit better than the first film, but it's also inherently more ridiculous and unbelievable, and becomes more and more removed from anything close to reality as it hurtles towards the finish line.

Hemsworth is good enough in the lead role, certainly convincing in the physical side of his performance, and both Farahani and Bessa work well enough alongside him. Nobody is giving their best performance, but this is Extraction 2, a film in which the focus is on the punches and gunshots ahead of any actual characterisation. Both Gogrichiani and Bziava are good villains, although one gets more screentime than the other, and Tinatin Dalakshvili does a good job of being a strong mother finding even more reserves of courage as she and her children are shepherded to what she hopes will be a much safer life for them all. Japaridze is a bit annoying in his role, but does what is asked of him, and his younger sister is portrayed by both Mariami and Marta Kovziashvili (twins who both do just fine in the role). It's also worth mentioning Daniel Bernhardt, a recognisable cinema "heavy" who here plays a . . . cinema "heavy", and plays him well.

This isn't a film you will watch to see commentary on society or human nature (although there is some clunky backstory here that shows why Rake is so determined to successfully complete his mission, and what big mistake he made in his past that he is trying to make up for), but it's a fun time for fans of action. This is the film to watch when you want to see Chris Hemsworth have his arm set on fire and then extinguish the flames with the force of him repeatedly punching other people around him. If that sounds like a treat, and it definitely is, then this is well worth a couple of hours of your time.

7/10

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Netflix And Chill: Extraction (2020)

The directorial feature debut from stunt actor Sam Hargrave (who has worked many times on the Marvel movies with Joe Russo, who takes on writing duties here, adapting a graphic novel into a star vehicle for Chris Hemsworth, who you may also know from his small part in helping the Marvel machine grind through the cinematic competition), Extraction is sort of what you might expect from someone with his background. It's pretty light on plot, pretty thin on the characterisations, and pretty great when it comes to some of the stunt work.

Taking place in Dhaka, Bangladesh, the story concerns the son of one crime lord taken hostage by people working for another crime lord (Amir Asif, played by Priyanshu Painyuli). Hemsworth is Tyler Rake, a skilled mercenary hired to retrieve the child and extract him to safety. The initial encounter is easy enough, but it soon becomes obvious that others are after the young boy, and local law enforcement are also on the payroll of Asif.

Once the action properly begins here, at about twenty minutes in, it rarely lets up for the rest of the runtime. And viewers should be prepared for a lot of brutality, this is wince-inducing stuff, whether it's the close quarters combat between Hemsworth and everyone, including a lot of kids, trying to overwhelm him or the constant fatal gunshot wounds.

Being unfamiliar with the source material (a phrase I am aware that I tend to use in every other review lately), I'm not sure how well this has been adapted by Russo. It certainly feels more like a videogame movie than a graphic novel adaptation, a cross between the standard Call Of Duty antics and some Uncharted chase sequences through buildings being pretty thoroughly destroyed as our hero attempts to defy ever-increasing odds to get one boy to safety.

Hargrave directs well enough, often distracting you from the elements lacking in the film with some impressive set-pieces. The first big fight sets the tone for everything to come, and sets up Hemsworth as someone more than capable of battling his way through a city of potential enemies, and there's also a vehicle chase sequence that stands out as one of the best I have seen in some time. No doubt, if you love your action movies then you should definitely give this a watch. It's just a shame that the plot feels either too clichéd at times, or just too clumsy in the way it attempts to manipulate viewers into caring a little bit more about someone who is, as I have just mentioned, essentially a lead character in a videogame.

Hemsworth is superb in the lead role though, never looking unsure of himself and his abilities. It's possibly his most physical action role yet, and he's more than up to the task. Rudhraksh Jaiswal is very good as the young boy being dragged through fire and blood to a place where he can hopefully be safe. The other main character to make a good impression is Saju, played by Randeep Hooda, another ex-military man sent to rescue the boy, putting him in direct conflict with Hemsworth while both parties view the other as a major obstacle. Golshifteh Farahani and David Harbour do okay as potential allies, Painyuli is your typically ruthless crime boss, and lots of other people do well in ensuring that they hit the right spot before being kicked around or shot in the head.

I can see some people hating this. The style and the simple nature of the way it is plotted mean some will be made weary by it, this is a plot so simple that it really NEEDS to take that big starting point and maintain the momentum all the way through to the end, which it does, impressively. While the characters are paper-thin, and it doesn't have anything more to say beyond "isn't Hemsworth a handsome badass", the action has enough variety, the choreography and editing work to keep the energy high without becoming headache-inducing, and it's a perfectly fine way to kill some time during the weekend, with your snacks and beverages of choice lined up beside you.

6/10

Mubi Monday: Paterson (2016)

I have absolutely no idea how I am going to recommend this to other people, or even what I may end up actually having to say about it, but let me make clear from the very beginning that Paterson is an absolute delight from start to finish, largely thanks to the captivating presence of Adam Driver in a lead role that allows him to once again show why his career has gone from strength to strength over the last decade.

Driver plays Paterson, a bus driver who lives in the town of Paterson, New Jersey. He has a routine that seems to work for him. Work, catching up with his wife (Golshifteh Farahani), walking the dog, and enjoying a beer or two at a local bar. He also works on a variety of poems, influenced by the work of local poet, William Carlos Williams.

Directed by Jim Jarmusch, who also wrote the script, based on work by William Carlos Williams and Ron Padgett, Paterson is one of those slight films that feels about nothing while paradoxically feeling as if it may just hold secrets to the best way to get through modern life. If you take anything away from the film then perhaps it is how easy it can be to make the everyday and mundane into something poetic and worth taking note of. Even a matchstick is made into something beautiful and memorable here.

Although it wouldn't be half the film it is without Driver in the lead role (I could close my eyes and listen to that man read the phone book, but his ability to remain deadpan and calm despite whatever happens around him is also a big plus), Paterson also boasts a talented selection of supporting players. Farahani does well in her role, helping to make something more of a flighty character who could easily have come across as more annoying. Because it's hard to stay onside with someone who dreams of increasing their cupcake sales while trying to become a . . . country music artist. Barry Shabaka Henley is Doc, the owner of the local bar, and Chasten Harmon and William Jackson Harper are a couple of people who aren't in a relationship, despite how much Harper wants them to be in a relationship. Sterling Jerins is a young girl who shares a lovely little poem with our lead, and Masatoshi Nagase pops up to share a moment of appreciation for William Carlos Williams.

This is absolutely a film that you can go without seeing, it doesn't really say anything new or say it in a completely original way. Yet it's a rewarding and worthwhile experience, and one of my favourite viewings from the past month or so. Sometimes you don't need a story telling you something new, sometimes you don't need innovation in the storytelling techniques. A reminder of things buried away in the recesses of our mind can be just as good, a nudge to get us willing to look at things from a slightly different angle, be it a matchstick or time spent without a mobile phone (Paterson doesn't have one, which is perhaps what enables him to spend more time capturing imagery more poetically).

9/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can buy it here.