Extraction 2: Pure Action

Movie Review: Extraction 2 (2023) on Netflix👌

Here's a great movie for escaping the summer heat: Extraction 2. It pits Chris Hemsworth as Tyler Rake, an Aussie special forces specialist extraordinaire, against Tornike Gorgrichiani as Zurab Rudiani, an operative of the Georgian military underworld. This film is full of action and extreme stunts and special effects with the intensity of a John Wick flick. (See movie trailer below.)

    Extraction 2 picks up where the original Extraction leaves off. He's put back together and left to recover in a remote site then invited by Idris Elba to do a mission only he can accomplish: Rescue the sister and her family of Rake's estranged wife, who is the wife of Rudiani's brother. Rudiani lives in a maximum security prison in the country of Georgia, under the protection of the Ngazi, a paramilitary group. His family lives with him in this bleak, heavily defended facility.

    To break in, to escape, to getaway and live, it's one long, massive fight and gun battle scene in the prison, on a train trip through desolate mountains, on a helicopter trip to Geneva, in a tall skyscraper in Geneva, and on and on. Guns blazing, grenades popping, bombs exploding, glass shattering, furniture disintegrating, pipes maiming, hatchets chopping, knives stabbing, mayhem chasing--you name it, you'll see it.  And to top it off, the wife's husband (Rudiani's brother) has been killed and her teen son wants revenge, in addition to Rudiani. It's a long, hard-fought battle to the end. Boom! You won't even notice the heat anymore.

    Extraction 2 movie trailer from YouTube:

 

Thor: Ragnarok: If You Love the Marvel Universe, Likely You'll Love This

Movie Review: Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Version: Library borrow

Although I'm not a continuing fan of Thor stories, but my wife and my daughter loved Thor: Ragnorok, the latest installment in the film franchise. In it, Chris Hemsworth reprises the leading role with the same cheeky pluck, making it another fun film. Tom Hiddleston returns as troublesome brother Loki, although not so menacingly. Anthony Hopkins is again their father Odin, although he is looking a might old and retiring. Idris Elba is also back as Heimdall, the guardian to the entrance of Asgard who has left the guardhouse for other missions.

New to Thor: Ragnorok are some other characters from the Marvel universe: Bruce Banner (aka The Hulk), played by Mark Ruffalo, and Doctor Strange (played by Benedict Cumberbatch). Also joining the cast are Karl Urban as Skurge, who becomes the servile assistant to Hela (played by Cate Blanchett), Thor's older sister and chief antagonist in the story. Jeff Goldblum appears as the Grandmaster of Sakaar, who controls the bizarre world centered around ancient-Rome-like competitions for profit.

In this film, Thor is imprisoned on Sakaar while Odin has retired to some quiet retreat on Earth, as Hela returns from excile to claim Odin's throne. Thor must escape Sakaar and return to Asgard in time to save Asgard from Ragnarok, which is their word for destruction of their homeworld. Loki has disguised himself as Odin and subjected the people of Asgard to imagining all is the right in their world while doting on his very pleasure, so when Thor returns to ask for Loki's help, he's a bit resistant at first. Yet, they are finally reunited in purpose, and they battle the more powerful Hela for the survival of Asgard.

There isn't a whole lot new to this universe of stories, except the arrival of Hela. I was really bored. You have to come to this film because you love the characters. Really, they are the story.

If you are into the whole Thor and Asgard thing, you will likely love this world and the fun. If you are into the whole superheroes thing, then you will equally enjoy the interplay between the various characters from the Marvel universe uniting behind Thor and Loki. A fun time may be had be all. If.

I guess the word to the wise is, if you love Marvel-universe sequels, see it -- you'll love it. If you don't, see something else.