If you thought Extraction was just Chris Hemsworth killing half of Bangladesh with a well-placed sniper rifle and some scruffy dad trauma, well, congratulations: you get more of the same, but bigger, icier, and somehow even more self-aware. “It’s like a great sophomore album,” says director Sam Hargrave, still fresh from the stunt world and apparently still high on adrenaline. “You’ve got to honor the first one but you can’t just do a carbon copy. So we stepped up the action — and then dug deeper emotionally. Because you can’t just shoot thousands of bad guys without at least trying to explain yourself.”
Golshifteh Farahani, meanwhile, might be the only person alive who can land a helicopter on a moving train and still make you feel something. “It’s an incredible action movie — and it engages you emotionally,” she insists, with the kind of quiet confidence you only get from indie cinema cred. “These days you watch these big VFX movies and nothing moves in you. It’s like TikTok — you swipe, you forget. But this one, you engage. We are all foreigners, we are all citizens of this Earth, and we land helicopters on trains together.”
The stunt wizardry might be the headline — yes, they really did that — but the emotional core is where they pretend it’s not just an excuse for carnage. “Trauma’s universal,” Hargrave says. “Big T or little t — everyone’s got it. Tyler Rake is working through his. You can see it in how he tries to save that one kid. Sure, he’ll murder a thousand other dudes to do it, but hey, hero’s journey, right?”
Golshifteh’s character, meanwhile, is basically a Bond girl who’d rather you not call her that. “She’s a powerful warrior. She’s not sexualized, she’s not in love with him — but she’ll die for him. She’s feminine and ruthless. You rarely get to see that,” she says. If you’re looking for the backstory, don’t worry — they’re already planning a prequel for her. “She’s coming from grief and pain. That’s where she connects with Tyler. It’s a mystery, but maybe someday you’ll see where she built her Empire. I love everything we don’t know about her.”
Of course, you can’t talk Extraction without those infamous long takes — the ‘oners’ that make your pulse pound and your bladder regret that last soda. “It’s about immersion,” Hargrave says. “If you want to look right, the camera looks right. You feel like you’re in it. And yeah, we do use some fun toys. But it’s staying true to the handheld style — you’re there in the chaos.”
And if you’re wondering how the actors survive it, Farahani has the answer: monk-like dedication. “It’s killer. Mentally you have to be prepared like a soldier. One take goes wrong — you run again. 50 times. Your body’s dead, but you keep going. It’s a dance, it’s a symphony. Cinema is all about rhythm.”
By the end, it’s clear Extraction 2 isn’t just about body counts and explosions — it’s about rhythm, trauma, and global citizenship, all tied up with a bomb strapped to a moving train. “When you leave, you should feel something,” Hargrave says. “That’s the point. It stays with you.”
Just like a great metal ballad — with more bullet wounds.
Watch the interview above and then check out the trailer below.
