Metacritic reviews

Hargrave, a stuntman turned director, knows where to put his camera for maximum impact, and genuinely disturbing foley work showcases sounds of crunching bones and splattering blood. You feel every punch land.

The sequel is even more enjoyable than the first, with action sequences that are as good or better than anything you’ll see at the theater.

When this thing moves — and, wow, does it ever — it offers one of the best examples yet of what Netflix bucks can buy. It even makes off with upped emotion (including that engendered by shining a brighter spotlight on the wonderful Farahani and Bessa), a new dimension to the always-evolving Hemsworth, and proof that the action franchise can capture old thrills with new stories.

Hemsworth is re-joined here by Marvel Comic Universe–screenwriter Joe Russo and stunt-specialist-turned-director Sam Hargrave, but their ace-in-the-hole is cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel. He creates impossibly long single takes of complicated fighting or driving scenes that put the viewer directly into the action like few other thrillers.

With a steely reserve and killer instinct, Extraction 2 thrives as a buffet of brutality that plays back the mercenary thriller hits with a fresh coat of camouflage paint.

At its deadliest, it’s a feat of breathtaking cinematic showmanship on par with recent standouts The Villainess, Carter and John Wick 4—even if its tale is as threadbare as its carnage is copious.

Fast-paced, explosive, ultra-violent, the incredible action scenes will have you cheering from your sofa, sending the popcorn flying.

Extraction 2 feels like a glossier and more by-the-numbers extension of the first movie. By giving Rake, their Sad Action Hero, something more to fight for, the filmmakers accidentally stripped the character of what made him so compelling in the first place.

The first Extraction was entertaining enough but this new one is just cynically about extracting the cash.

Burdened by its bluster, Extraction 2 is merely a loud, blithering mess masquerading as fulfilling escapism.