Extraction 2 is the best action movie to come out thus far in 2023. The Chris Hemsworth-led sequel continues the story of Tyler Rake (Hemsworth) as he is tasked with saving the family of a Georgian gangster. Seasoned stunt coordinator and director Sam Hargrave returns to helm the sequel and improves upon the first film in almost every way.
Whether it's the 21-minute one-shot sequence or Hemsworth's acting, Extraction 2 is a great step forward for Hargrave. ClutchPoints spoke with the director at the film's junket on Monday and discussed the upcoming sequel with him about the unique release of the first film, the difference between working on MCU projects and action films like Atomic Blonde and Extraction, and working with Chris Hemsworth.
Here's hoping that a third film gets greenlit if for no other reason than seeing how Hargrave and Co. can even top the one-shot in Extraction 2.
Sam Hargrave interview
ClutchPoints: I wanted to start by asking a question about the first [Extraction film] because if you remember, Extraction came out right in the height of the pandemic — I remember it being one of the major releases that came out. I know it was a streaming/Netflix release, but did it feel weird putting a film out during that time?
Sam Hargrave: I remember it very well as if it were just a couple [of] years ago [smiles]. It didn't [feel weird]. You know, what's interesting about the timing of it all is it felt weird in that there wasn't a lot of other content coming out at that time, but also kind of the perfect time for something like that to come out because there wasn't a whole lot of other stuff coming out and people were prisoners in their own homes and they're starting to run out of entertainment.
They could only watch Friends reruns so many times [smiles], and so then you're looking for something new, something fresh to entertain them, and I think in a way, it came at exactly the right time for the world considering where we were and what was going on.
CP: You've had a long career doing stunt stunts and you've worked on things from the Avengers movies to Atomic Blonde — a film I really love —and I was just curious what the biggest difference between coordinating stunts in something like an Avengers movie versus something like Atomic Blonde or Extraction is?
SH: Well, a lot of the difference comes in scale, and then the heavy use of visual effects and working with visual effects characters cause a lot of the characters in the Marvel universe, like Iron Man and the Hulk, they're completely CG characters. You know, you have performers there for reference, but then when Iron Man takes off, he's a CG character. When Hulk starts smashing, that's a CG character.
In something like Atomic Blonde or in the Extraction universe, these are real people [and] real performers doing real stunts. And I think there's an appetite for that because of the prevalence of CG-heavy movies in the Marvel universe. There's a bit of a refreshing break from that with these throwbacks to the kind of '80s, '90s, early-2oo0s, real adrenaline-fueled action movies — and I enjoyed those films and it's [Extraction] a bit of a tip of the hat to the things that inspired me as a filmmaker.
CP: As a stunt coordinator, I don't know how closely you worked with the actors, so I don't know if you ever worked with Chris Hemsworth when you worked on the Avengers movies, but assuming that you didn't really work with him that closely with him, is there anything that people would be surprised to know that you've learned while working with him over these two films?
SH: Well, I don't mean to burst your bubble, but I did work with him very closely before in the Marvel Universe [laughs]. I met him first as a fellow performer — I was doing stunts for Chris Evans as Captain America [in] the first Avengers movie — and that was the first time we met, and then we kept up through the years.
When Extraction came [along], it was actually [during] Infinity War when I was doing second unit [choreography] for that and Endgame when I got to direct Chris doing second unit stuff on the Russo's movie[s] — so we got even closer. That's where we pitched him the idea for this Extraction world.
And then working with them on Extraction, I think it was solidified. It wasn't learning as much as it was just reiterating how wonderful of a human being he is. I mean, what you see is what you get, right? He's not only physically talented and a great actor who gives everything he's got to a character, but he's also a collaborative artist — he's thinking about the picture as a whole. He's not just coming in and doing his lines and then running off to do his thing. He's there early, he stays late. He commits to the whole process, not just his part, but he's also just a good person — he treats people well. He's very giving. Like, he'll stay and deliver lines off-screen for actors and perform to give them something to work with. He'll work on weekends with new actors and he's just a very giving, loving, humble human being, and I would work with him any day of the week and twice on Sundays [smiles].
Extraction 2 will be released on June 16 on Netflix.
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