Extraction 2 is expectedly not as good as its predecessor, but it's still a solid action film. I appreciate that it knows what it is and only pauses the action long enough for us to catch our breath. It has some of the longest continual action sequences I've seen, and thankfully, it's all pretty fun to watch.
However, the story didn't have the emotional depth of the first Extraction. The person being extracted in that first film was a fantastic addition to the story. The extracted persons in this story are flat characters that only exist as an objective to be carried out. This makes the story much weaker than the first, as does the use of too many storytelling cliches that we're all too familiar with. The action saves the movie, but even then, watching the two Extraction movies back to back feels like an overindulgence in gun fights. It's not uncommon for me to watch two connected movies that are so samey, I'm left with no desire to see a third one. While these two Extraction movies are guilty of being too samey, they're good enough that I would happily watch a third one. Despite these weaknesses keeping me from calling it a great movie, I have no trouble saying it's a good one.
There's a lot to like here. The acting is great. Chris Hemsworth is at home with this type of role. The picture quality and cinematography is simply excellent. The camera movement and angles alone are a work of art. The movie isn't based on a video game, yet it's a better video game movie than actual video game movies. The way we walk through extended action sequences battling seemingly endless waves of attacking enemy soldiers, feels just like the campaign of many of the games I've played. I found it quite interesting. It sounds like there is indeed going to be a third movie, and I hope they figure out how to make the action not so similar to the first two movies, because I'll definitely be watching it.
However, the story didn't have the emotional depth of the first Extraction. The person being extracted in that first film was a fantastic addition to the story. The extracted persons in this story are flat characters that only exist as an objective to be carried out. This makes the story much weaker than the first, as does the use of too many storytelling cliches that we're all too familiar with. The action saves the movie, but even then, watching the two Extraction movies back to back feels like an overindulgence in gun fights. It's not uncommon for me to watch two connected movies that are so samey, I'm left with no desire to see a third one. While these two Extraction movies are guilty of being too samey, they're good enough that I would happily watch a third one. Despite these weaknesses keeping me from calling it a great movie, I have no trouble saying it's a good one.
There's a lot to like here. The acting is great. Chris Hemsworth is at home with this type of role. The picture quality and cinematography is simply excellent. The camera movement and angles alone are a work of art. The movie isn't based on a video game, yet it's a better video game movie than actual video game movies. The way we walk through extended action sequences battling seemingly endless waves of attacking enemy soldiers, feels just like the campaign of many of the games I've played. I found it quite interesting. It sounds like there is indeed going to be a third movie, and I hope they figure out how to make the action not so similar to the first two movies, because I'll definitely be watching it.