New In Review: Extraction

Extraction is a Netflix released action thriller directed by Sam Hargrave and is based on the comic Ciudad  by Ande Parks.  It stars Chris Hemsworth, Rudhraksh Jaiswal, Randeep Hooda, Priyanshu Painyuli, Golshifteh Farahani, Pankaj Tripathi, Suraj Rikame, and David Harbour.  Hemsworth plays Tyler Rake, a haunted, Australian mercenary that’s roped into a job of extracting a drug lord’s son who’s been kidnapped by a rival drug lord deep in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

There really isn’t much to say about this movie, it’s a brutal but ultimately by the numbers action film that offers little surprises. The action comes quick and heavy, putting the characters through the wringer with only small moments for the movie to breathe and establish relationships.  Hemsworth does offer some good character moments, though the “death-seeking action hero looking for a chance of atonement” is more than just a little cliched.  Still, the scenes he shares Rudhraksh Jaiswal are good and the young actor manages to do well alongside the the more seasoned Hemsworth.  What was surprising was Randeep Hooda who holds his own against Hemsworth during the action scenes and brings a Terminator tenacity to his character.

But as said before, the action scenes come so quickly that moments of proper character development are just too few and far between.  We barely learn the names of the other extraction team members much less anything about them.  Which means it’s a little difficult to get invested at times as there’s just not enough to truly hold your interest.  The action scenes and choreography are pretty well done, I have to give credit to not only the director but choreographers and stunt workers.  The highlight of which is a twelve minute, single take that includes multiple chase scenes, crashes and a brutal hand-to-hand and knife fight.  The only thing that takes you out of it is the somewhat noticeable CGI used (though that’s used more for the safety of the performers rather than as a cost-cutting measure).

All in all Extraction is a perfectly acceptable popcorn flick, something to turn on if you need an action fix while you’re stuck at home in quarantine.