Extraction 2 Uses An Outdated And Uncomfortable Villain Trope

This article contains spoilers for "Extraction 2"

Playing the villain in "Extraction 2" is a tall order, given that the antagonist in the first "Extraction," Saju Rav (Randeep Hooda), is such an intriguing character. The sequel solves the problem by introducing Zurab Radiani (Tornike Gogrichiani), a powerful and utterly ruthless gangster who makes his mission in life to hunt down Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth) when the mercenary kills Zurab's brother Davit (Tornike Bziava) during an extraction mission from a Georgian prison. 

Though slightly less proficient in the intricacies of hand-to-hand combat than Saju, Zurab is a deadly force to be reckoned with. A skilled tactician and gunman, he's the hands-on leader of a paramilitary criminal organization with fiercely loyal men and access to attack helicopters and other formidable weapons that Tyler's mercenary team isn't quite prepared for. Unfortunately, "Extraction 2" does the villain a disservice by giving him prominent facial scarring and impaired hearing. This puts Zurab squarely in the tired, outdated "disabled villain" stereotype box. 

The all-too-common "disabled villain" trope uses the character's features and visible traits to indicate their evil nature. Media outlets like The Guardian and organizations like The Nora Project and Media Smarts have called out this stereotype, yet it continues to persist. 

Though it doesn't exactly give its villain a hook hand or anything, "Extraction 2" nevertheless embraces the trope with open arms. While Gogrichiani gives a surprisingly nuanced performance for a villain who basically exists to provide an unstoppable force to clash against Tyler Rake's immovable object, Zurab's hearing aid and scarred features are clearly meant as visual signifiers of his nature as an antagonist ... and if they weren't enough, he also acquires a bloodshot "evil eye" over the course of the movie. 

It's understandable that the makers of the sequel wanted a gruff, devious antagonist who's clearly different from the suave, skilled, and occasionally bespectacled Saju — who, after all, is not so much a villain as a guy who's simply trying to do his job. Still, "Extraction 2" could probably have achieved this mission in a way that didn't involve one of the more unfortunate villain stereotypes out there.