Inventive staging makes for exceptional Extraction 2
Sporting a $70 million budget and a leaner script than its predecessor, Sam Hargrave’s Extraction 2 delivers its fair share of thrills, including an extended action sequence for the ages. After inexplicably surviving his previous mission, covert ops specialist Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth) accepts an uneasy retirement. Of course, we all know that’s not to be and the reason he leaves his remote Austrian home is a doozy. His former sister-in-law (Tinatin Dalakishvili) and her two children are being held in a prison in Kojori, Georgia, and has gotten word to Rake’s ex, asking that he get them out.
Joe Russo wastes little time in his screenplay as Rake finds himself behind enemy lines once more before the first half hour comes to a close. And it is at this point that the real fun begins. The prison escape is a seemingly “unbroken” 20-minute take that, even if this is a sequence cobbled together with multiple scenes, is still an astonishing piece of filmmaking. I won’t attempt to describe this set piece in detail – I simply don’t have the space – but the short version is that it begins inside the walls of a prison and ends on a moving train, some 20 miles away. Along the way there are many incidents of hand-to-hand combat, firefights, a car chase, a foot chase and multiple explosions, as well as helicopters shot down from a moving, runaway train that derails and crashes. This may seem like overkill, but it’s an impressive, immersive experience, Hargrave getting the viewer as close to being in the characters’ shoes as the medium allows
While many will focus on this sequence, the rest of the film is far from an afterthought, the pacing of the second and third acts relentless, the rest of the action just as imaginatively rendered. On the basis of its premise and trailer, the temptation would be to dismiss Extraction 2 as just another action film. However, exceptional filmmaking is at play here, this being one of the most entertaining and thrilling genre entries in recent years. Streaming on Netflix.
Elemental a bit too blah to work
Without question, Peter Sohn’s Elemental couldn’t be more timely, its message one that should be shouted from the rooftops. I just wish the way in which it was delivered was a bit more compelling. The film gets off to a poignant and promising start, as a family of fire beings emigrate to Element City, a vast metropolis populated by beings made of air, water and earth.
While these three “species” can live in harmony, the addition of new spark-based inhabitants spells trouble. Ernie and Cinder (Ronnie Del Carmen and Shila Omni) simply want to build a better life for their daughter Ember (Leah Lewis), and they take steps toward this by opening a neighborhood bodega specializing in spicy foods and all things pyrotechnic. However, one day a pipe bursts in the basement of the store, Ember meets Wade (Mamoudou Athie), a water being, and despite some obvious problems, they find themselves attracted to one another.
Yep, it’s a rom-com, and not a particularly charming one at that. As the couple gets to know each other there are obvious gags, as when they get too close, he starts to boil or she starts to flicker (insert your own subtext or metaphor here), while meetings with their respective families are predictably awkward. More problematic is that there is little in the way of chemistry between Ember and Wade, which seems an odd thing to say about animated characters. Still, if you’re going to venture into rom-com territory you need to toe the line where conventions are concerned, and I just didn’t see them as a couple. Frankly, Wade is rendered as not nearly as smart or charismatic as Ember, and I’m pretty sure after two or three months, she’d probably move on to a hunky lump of coal.
And while the social commentary – hey, we need to get past our obvious differences, recognize our commonalities and get along – has been covered ad nauseum, the state our country is in proves it needs to be said once again. Though it lacks the punch of Zootopia, which delivered the same theme far more powerfully, this film will likely be more suited to younger viewers to get this message across. It isn’t that Elemental is necessarily bad, it simply lacks a spark. In theaters.
Hot full of holes but compelling
As we know, the disclaimer “based on true events” casts a wide net and allows filmmakers to color outside the line that separates fact from fiction. The justification is often that liberties must be taken in order to capture the true spirit or essence of the story, whatever that might be. Depending on who you believe, Hot is a wildly exaggerated version of events or the gospel truth. Be that as it may, there’s no denying this is a very entertaining film, one that as you watch it, you’ll probably end up caring less about the veracity of the story.
Richard Montanez’s (Jesse Garcia) road to success certainly wasn’t an easy one. Under the thumb of an abusive father, the object of prejudice in school and resorting to the gang life while a young man, being locked up or killed on the streets seemed to be his destiny. However, an entry level position – janitor – at a California Frito-Lay plant gives him the opportunity he needs. He takes advantage of his new environment and begins experimenting with product that is to be discarded, enhancing potato chips and cheese curls with spices used in the Mexican cuisine he knows so well.
Longoria takes a light-hearted approach and brings a great deal of energy to the film. Brisk camera movements, whip pans and crisp editing invigorate sequences focused on the creation of this taste sensation, as well as how Montanez persists in overcoming one hurdle after another to get his idea out of his kitchen and into the factory. The sense of pacing Longoria employs sweeps the viewer along, while Garcia’s sincere turn has us in Montanez’s corner from the start.
The spirit of Frank Capra hovers over Hot, Montanez much like the director’s Longfellow Deeds or Jefferson Smith. He’s a common man who finds himself as a fish out of water and relies on his tenacity, confidence and character in order to succeed. And while the film might not contain the whole truth, you’ll likely find yourself wishing it were so. Streaming on Hulu.
This article appears in Juneteenth 2023.
