Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth) was not as gravely injured as you might think at the end of his first outing and is back for another mission. This time he is tasked with rescuing the wife of a Georgian crime lord and her two children from the bowels of a prison. 

After watching Extraction II and making some notes I returned to my review of the original (Extraction) and found that this review is virtually identical.

As with the first film there are two sustained and intense action sequences that are its main selling point. As with the first film there are undertones of father and son stories of legacy and in general the “plot” elements of the film are its weakest moments. And as with the first film there are moments of humour that are gently bubbling under the surface. I refuse to believe that it is a coincidence that a fork and a shovel are used as weapons when our main character is named Rake! 

The film opens with Rake being saved from the river in Bangladesh that we thought was his grave and then after Idris Elba makes a cameo appearance to offer him a job we get to see a proper training montage as Rake gets back into shape. The job he is taking on is to rescue his ex-sister-in-law (Tinatin Dalakishvili) and her children from a prison that her husband is also incarcerated in. Whilst clearly a little odd (I was a little taken aback that his brother-in-law is essentially evil incarnate) it allows the film to focus a little more on the son that Rake lost, introduce his ex-wife (Olga Kurylenko) and create another father-son story. Because it is the son of the crime boss who is part of the rescue that creates all the complications by his torn loyalties. And of course the Georgian crime lord brothers who are our main villain are the product of a violent father. 

The highlights of the film and the sole reason for watching are the action sequences. The first is the rescue and extraction from the prison and the second is an assault on a tower block that Rake and his team are hiding out in. As with the first film there are inventive camera positions and shots that make you feel part of the action and lots of continuous shots that make things exhilarating. Hemsworth is charismatic and physically powerful to make all of this work as he brutally dispatched villain after villain. Whilst his team (played by Golshifteh Farahani and Adam Bessa) mix things up and are equally capable. 

As with the first film I had a lot of fun with a film that does not want to be big or clever. It just wants to kill lots of people very violently.