Netflix’s premier action franchise returns with a sequel this week
Summer movie season is gearing up in earnest, with The Flash coming out this weekend and movies like Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Barbie, Oppenheimer, and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One all right around the corner.
While you wait, there are plenty of new releases to enjoy this weekend from the comfort of your own couch. Leading the way is Extraction 2, the sequel to one of Netflix’s most successful original hits, bringing back Chris Hemsworth for the explosive action franchise. There’s also Ari Aster’s new movie Beau Is Afraid, a Stan Lee documentary on Disney Plus, a new Gerard Butler-Ric Roman Waugh action collaboration, and the critically acclaimed Polite Society, an action-comedy about sisters and martial arts.
Let’s get into it.
New on Netflix
Extraction 2
Where to watch: Available to stream on Netflix
Photo: Jasin Boland/Netflix
Genre: Action thriller
Run time: 2h 2m
Director: Sam Hargrave
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Golshifteh Farahani, Tinatin Dalakishvili
One of Netflix’s biggest-ever originals gets its long-awaited sequel, as star Chris Hemsworth and stuntman turned director Sam Hargrave return for Tyler Rake’s latest adventure. This new one promises a flaming fistfight, an extended one-take sequence, and much more.
New on Disney Plus
Stan Lee
Where to watch: Available to stream on Disney Plus
Photo: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic via Getty Images
Genre: Documentary
Run time: 1h 26m
Director: David Gelb
Cast: Stan Lee
The life of the comics legend gets the documentary treatment from Jiro Dreams of Sushi director David Gelb, premiering on Disney Plus after debuting at the Tribeca Film Festival.
New on Hulu
Chevalier
Where to watch: Available to stream on Hulu
Photo: Larry Horricks/20th Century Studios
Genre: Biopic
Run time: 1h 48m
Director: Stephen Williams
Cast: Kelvin Harrison Jr., Samara Weaving, Lucy Boynton
Chevalier tells the story of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, the groundbreaking Black fencer and musician in 18th-century France who became a prominent member of high society.
New on Peacock
Polite Society
Where to watch: Available to stream on Peacock
Photo: Parisa Taghizadeh/Focus Features
Genre: Action comedy
Run time: 1h 44m
Director: Nida Manzoor
Cast: Priya Kansara, Ritu Arya, Renu Brindle
When a teenage girl on her path to being a stuntwoman learns that her sister is betrothed to a man, she suspects the man and his mother are up to no good. So she does the only thing you can in such a situation: try to sabotage the relationship and beat the shit out of the guy in the process.
Polite Society sounds like an uproarious fun time, and it’s one of the movies I’ve most been looking forward to this year — it’s on our list of the best movies of the year so far for good reason. After you see it, make sure to read this interview with the director about Polite Society’s varied influences.
New on VOD
Beau Is Afraid
Where to watch: Available to rent for $19.99 on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Photo: Takashi Seida/A24
Genre: Dramedy
Run time: 2h 59m
Director: Ari Aster
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Patti LuPone, Amy Ryan
A24 horror maestro Ari Aster returns with a different kind of horror project in this story about a man confronting his fears after the death of his mother.
Kandahar
Where to watch: Available to rent for $19.99 on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Image: Open Road
Genre: Action
Run time: 1h 59m
Director: Ric Roman Waugh
Cast: Gerard Butler, Navid Negahban, Ali Fazal
Gerard Butler reunites with stuntman turned director Ric Roman Waugh (Greenland) for this multidimensional war story about a CIA operative trying to make his way to Kandahar, Afghanistan, after his cover is blown, with the help of a translator (Navid Negahban, who is fantastic in this movie).
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