Extraction 2's Ending Leaves The Door Wide Open For A New Mission
This article contains spoilers for "Extraction" and "Extraction 2."
At the end of director Sam Hargrave's "Extraction," mercenary Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth) has not only been shot, stabbed, beaten to a pulp, and exhausted from his hours-long fight through Dhaka, Bangladesh — he's also mortally wounded as a bullet flies clean through his neck, causing him to fall off a tall bridge and bleed out into the river below as his colleague and unrequited love interest Nik Khan (Golshifteh Farahani) watches in horror.
Although a final poetic moment featured Ovi Jr. (Rudhraksh Jaiswal), the boy who Tyler fought so hard to protect, catching a glimpse of Rake (or someone who looks like him) by a swimming pool, it seemed that Tyler's number might have been up as the film ended.
Thank god for sequels! As "Extraction 2" begins, Hargrave, writer Joe Russo, and Hemsworth do their utmost to walk back Rake's death. Seriously, not since "Halloween: Resurrection" has a sequel gone to such lengths to resurrect a dead character. Fortunately, "Extraction 2" more than earns Rake and Hemsworth's ridiculous return, presenting a hard-hitting action movie romp that in some ways tops the original.
One element Hargrave and Russo make sure not to bring back from the first film is its ambiguous ending. This time around, "Extraction 2" ends on the plot equivalent of a wide open door instead of a closed one, indicating that the filmmakers and producers are excited about future chapters and aren't interested in killing Rake off again anytime soon.
Idris Elba's presence promises more than just a neat cameo
The plot of "Extraction 2" turns out to be masterminded by Tyler's estranged ex-wife, Mia (Olga Kurylenko), as it's her sister Ketevan (Tinatin Dalakishvili) and her kids — Sandro (Andro Japaridze) and Nina (Mariami and Marta Kovziashvili) — who must be extracted from under the thumb of a Georgian crime lord. Yet it isn't Mia who first approaches a still-recovering Tyler with the job. Instead, it's the mysterious Man in the Suit, played by the inimitable Idris Elba. Though he doesn't provide a name, the credits identify him as Alcott.
While bringing Elba and Hemsworth together for two brief scenes is fun in a "Thor" reunion sort of way, Elba's presence means way more than just that. Where Nik was established as Tyler's black ops mission broker in the first film, her graduation to a fully-fledged member of Rake's team and main character in this film means that a new broker could fill her old shoes. And that seems to be what Alcott's function is.
To put it in action movie terms, Alcott is to Tyler Rake as Anthony Hopkins, Lawrence Fishburne, and Alec Baldwin were to Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt in the "Mission: Impossible" series, a mysterious and powerful figure who gives the hero an assignment and rarely gets involved himself. Clearly, with an actor of Elba's pedigree, Hargrave, Russo, and the filmmakers intend this man to be highly important and recurring in future "Extraction" films.
Who is the 'gnarly motherf—er?'
The ending of "Extraction 2" promises that Alcott is not where the black ops mercenary recruitment rabbit hole ends, however. As Idris Elba's character reveals to Rake after breaking the merc and Nik out of prison, he actually works for an even more mysterious boss, someone he'll only describe as a "gnarly motherf***er."
With a setup like that, it's almost guaranteed that we'll be introduced to this gnarly MF'er in the next "Extraction" movie. But who could that be? Given the buildup, one assumes it'll have to be some other actor with a formidable presence in the action movie world. Could it possibly be Arnold Schwarzenegger? He's not only already heavily involved with Netflix thanks to "FUBAR" and the documentary series "Arnold," but he also appears in an ad with Hemsworth promoting "FUBAR" along with "Extraction 2."
If it isn't Arnold, perhaps this "gnarly" figure could be someone else from Chris Hemsworth's Marvel Cinematic Universe past. After all, it'd be cool to see the burly Josh "Thanos" Brolin bark orders to Tyler. Or perhaps Alcott is making a sly joke, and this mysterious boss is not as gnarly as advertised. Wouldn't it be fun to see Paul Rudd in charge of a gritty black ops team?
More Extraction to come
In any case, the only certainty is that the "Extraction" film series is bound to continue. The director Sam Hargrave is hoping for a Tyler Rake trilogy, but the existence of "Extraction 3" depends on the success of "Extraction 2." /Film's Ryan Scott recently spoke to Hargrave about that very topic, and the director speculated:
"There is definitely an appetite at Netflix and AGBO for an extension of this Tyler Rake story. What exactly that is, I am not aware of at this moment, but I know there has been some talk of where this could go. I know everybody who is involved in this project as fans love the idea of Tyler Rake continuing. Perhaps, who knows if Idris is involved, that'd be amazing to see these two expand this "Extraction" universe. What that is exactly, I can't say at this time."
While the future of Tyler Rake, Nik Khan, Alcott, and the "gnarly motherf***er" is still uncertain, at least Rake and us fans can look forward to him having a future at all, something that couldn't have been said or predicted after the first "Extraction."