Review: Extraction

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

PLOT: A black-ops mercenary (Chris Hemsworth) is hired to rescue the teenaged son of a Mumbai drug lord from his rivals in Bangladesh.

REVIEW: It’s hard to deny that of all the directors to work with Marvel the Russo Brothers have arguably contributed the most to their in-house style. This is especially true as far as action design goes, with their stunt team being the ace of up their sleeves, and in such high demand that they routinely sign on to projects like WOLF WARRIOR 2 to elevate the action. With EXTRACTION, they bring all the innovations they pioneered with Marvel to a gritty, down and dirty contemporary action flick, with long-time stunt coordinator Sam Hargrave at the helm. The result is a slam-bang action flick that should prove just the tonic to lift everyone out of their COVID-19 inflicted blues once this hits Netflix on Friday.

Chris Hemsworth is ideally cast as the lead, a battle-hardened mercenary named Tyler Rake (an action hero name if ever there was one), who, natch, is full of angst and essentially suicidal (one of the archetypes of the genre). Hemsworth’s been hit and miss outside of Marvel, but is perfectly suited to a straight-forward action flick, and is easier to accept as a badass mercenary than a hacker (although I must admit I have a fondness for BLACKHAT).

Hemsworth’s in incredible shape and EXTRACTION is kinda his version of RAMBO or COMMANDO, with him diving head-first into non-stop gunfights, car chases and hand-to-hand scraps. The action design is perfection, with Hargrave and DP Newton Thomas Sigel pulling off some really impressive long-take action scenes, such as a car chase through the packed streets of a slum. EXTRACTION also earns its hard-R rating, with heavy-duty carnage and some pretty cold-blooded kills courtesy of the hiss-worthy villain (Priyanshu Painyuli) who, at one point, has a street kid thrown off a roof pretty willy nilly. Hemsworth’s bad guy kills are pretty gruesome too, including a pitchfork to the face although Hargrave pulls back from showing too much gore lest it turn-off the Marvel audience too much (I figure that despite the rating, this is probably ok for older kids – it’s a movie I would have loved at about eleven years old).

However, there are a few things that keep EXTRACTION from being a perfect action flick. For one thing, the premise is pretty thin. Based on a graphic novel, “Ciudad”, in many ways, it just feels like an excuse to string together action scenes, although that doesn’t stop them from getting very melodramatic at times, complete with Hemsworth having a tearful breakdown midway through. Its a little clunky, especially in the wake of 1917, which was a masterclass in narrative economy. Audiences are sophisticated enough that the trauma in Rake’s past didn’t need to be spelled out, while the ending is a little hard to swallow.

Still, EXTRACTION is about 90% action, so if the drama doesn’t work, you’re still left with a lot that does. While Hemsworth’s show, the supporting cast is unusually strong, with Rudhraksh Jaiswal sympathetic as the teenaged son of a drug lord that Rake has to protect. You get why he’d stick his neck out for the kid once they’re double-crossed. I was also really impressed with Bollywood star Randeep Hooda as Saju, the special forces trained bodyguard Rake goes head-to-head with, with him a believable physical threat for Hemsworth, and their fights are top-shelf. He has a strong arc, being shown as a family man thrown into an impossible situation and is more of a secondary protagonist than an all-out antagonist. David Harbour has a small but pivotal part as a mercenary pal of Hemsworth’s, with him even previewing some of his BLACK WIDOW moves during a memorable scrap, while Henry Jackman and Alex Belcher’s score is evocative and low key, as is the fashion these days (part of me misses the more bombastic Jerry Goldsmith-style scores we used to get in movies like this).

While EXTRACTION isn’t perfect, it’s still an action extravaganza that should prove to be a welcome distraction from our current situation once it bows on Netflix, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this becomes one of their biggest film hits in a while. It’s solid escapism and the type of hardcore action flick we never really get outside the superhero or spy genre anymore. As imperfect as it may be, this is still a must-see.

Extraction

GOOD

7

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