Dir: Sam Hargrave
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Rudhraksh Jaiswal, Randeep Hooda, Golshifteh Farahani, David Harbour
Run time: 117 minutes
At the time of writing this review, Extraction has been viewed on over 99 million Netflix accounts, making this the most-watched single piece of entertainment on the service. For a plot-light action caper with a cast largely comprised of Indian and Iranian actors, that’s positively staggering.
It wouldn’t have been as big a draw, of course, without the looming presence of Chris Hemsworth, hot off his decade-long stint as Thor in Marvel’s box office juggernaut franchise. The Australian actor reveals himself to be something of a triple threat here, as he brings an emotional weariness to the role of Tyler Rake – a grieving soldier with a death wish – along with some truly imposing action credentials and the raw physicality that the genre demands.
Case and point: there’s a now-legendary 11-minute ‘single take’ sequence (it’s not actually one shot, instead it’s several stitched together by some clever whip-panning techniques) that spans several gun fights, a car chase and some melee encounters. It’s comfortably the movie’s show-piece and Hemsworth makes the entire sequence shine.
That’s because he looks utterly convincing as a highly skilled yet haunted mercenary whose life is in immediate danger, growing tired and more aggravated by his situation as the sequence progresses. The way he moves with purpose while wielding a pistol in a tactical sideways grip (ala John Wick) has genuine weight to it. He carefully manoeuvres around an apartment complex, plugging heavily armed cops while grimacing and acting his way through each weighty, violent kill. A lesser actor might have pulled off the stunts just fine, but it’s unlikely they would have sold the emotional weight of the sequence as well as Hemsworth does.
When Tyler gets hurt, Hemsworth sells that pain through facial expression alone. When he’s grappling hand to hand with a blade wielding attacker, he looks like he’s functioning on instinct alone. When he kills someone in self defence, he looks slightly upset by the act – as if the death he’s witnessed through his military career and his constant state of mourning is crushing the man. You don’t get that with an action star who places acting second. You mostly either get one or the other. Hemsworth delivers both here, and it elevates this movie above the average.
The premise of Extraction is simple in the best possible way. You get enough character attachment, plot intrigue and motivation to really care about whatever the heroes live or die – all without (mostly) bogging the pace of the arc down. That’s thanks in large part to the plot by Marvel stewards Joe and Anthony Russo (of Infinity War and Endgame fame) and the directing skills of Sam Hargrave – who, amazingly – is Chris Evans’ stunt double whenever he’s playing Captain America. Action movies rarely get talent behind the screen like this, and it shows here.
The plot centres around the kidnapping of Ovi (Jaiswa), the son of an Indian crime lord. His father isn’t willing to pay the kidnappers’ ransom demands, so he orders his right-hand man, Saju (Hooda) to track him down. Meanwhile, Tyler Rake (Hemsworth) is assembled as part of a crack team of extractors to find Ovi first – triggering a violent chase across Bangladesh to reach the boy first.
What starts as a highly-planned military operation to extract Ovi descends into chaos as the plan goes horribly awry. What follows is a tense, rapid-fire chase across the city as Rake and Ovi evade Saju and a legion of crooked cops, inching their way towards freedom beyond the city outskirts. Along the way, they bond through several heartfelt scenes that see them learning more about each other, while revealing more and more cracks in Rake’s hard man exterior. His wounded nature and trauma seeps through bit by bit along the way, revealing the true source of his sadness.
Props must also go to Hooda’s turn as Saju, a man thrust into a terrible situation by his boss. Either he finds Ovi before Rake or his family will be slain. He cuts a tragic figure who goes through absolute hell to protect those closest to him by the time Extraction’s end credits roll. He also racks up plenty of decent gun fights and scraps that he carries exceptionally well. It would be great to see him in more action movies in the future.
Culminating in an explosive and finely-shot action set piece on the only open bridge out of Bangladesh, the movie finishes on a strong note, but there are still a few issues to consider when weighing up the overall package. For one, there are a few moments where the movie takes a breather for a few beats too long. Character development and moments of calm are key to any great action movie, but some of the quieter moments do tip over to the point they slow the pace down too much.
There’s also the violent and lawless depiction of Bangladesh, which has been called out by a few critics. I’ve never been there personally so I won’t defend either the movie or the critics, but if there is some weight to the accusation then that could certainly be a problem. If so, that’s a shame, as the diverse cast is definitely something to be applauded. Other critics have accused the movie of having a ‘white saviour’ complex, but I didn’t take that read on it, as Rake is anything but a saviour – he’s actually a bit of a dickhead and is deeply flawed – and he’s helped and saved along the way by both his Indian and Iranian co-leads.
Overall, Extraction is a damn fine action movie that excels thanks to Hemsworth’s presence. The production value is impressive, the choreography and cinematography are best in class – being both exciting and clear to follow in the heat of battle – and lastly, the plot is finely-crafted.
If you saw this one and wrote it off due to it being a Netflix original – think again and treat yourself to a viewing.
Final score: 8 reloads out of 10
Pros:
- Hemsworth makes a good case for being inserted into the top tier of the action pantheon with this movie.
- The supporting cast is all top shelf and compliment Hemsworth wonderfully.
- The action production is best in class.
- That 11 minute ‘one take’ is truly masterful
- The final battle is exhilarating.
- A nice cameo turn by David Harbour.
Cons:
- The movie unfortunately paints Bangladesh as a hellscape
The Hipfire 