Extraction

In a time where modern action flicks have been accused of losing their touch, the arrival of the John Wick series (and arguably lesser known entries similar to it) have demonstrated a new jolt of energy with intrigue and excellent fight choreography. That type of inspiration has spurred filmmakers to stride towards that goal in different settings such as Atomic Blonde. That sensation seems to have caught the eyes those who worked in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a chance to enhance their skillset to prove their quality in those blockbusters wasn't a fluke. There's a little bit of a trend that MCU crew members struggle either critically and/or financially outside of those features. One of these examples would be actor Chris Hemsworth (who's best known as Thor) as he would certainly fit that bill. A pair of filmmakers who made their wide mark in that franchise, Joe and Anthony Russo, have been on their own journey to prove their prowess outside of that lore source material. This brings us to Extraction, a new project on Netflix tying together not only these aforementioned individuals but also stunt coordinator Sam Hargrave in a directorial debut (who was Chris Evans Captain America action double), based on the graphic novel "Cuidad" by Andre Parks. Due to the interesting style of filmmaking that results from these experienced stunt people such as Atomic Blonde and the John Wick series, I felt this was something to look out for during my 2020 catchup. I watched it on the streaming service and felt like the viewing experience was definitely worth it but not without flaws holding it back. 

What's it about? The story follows a mercenary who's tasked with rescuing an incarcerated crime lords son out of Bangladesh, India from a rival antagonist. This type of escort plot is nothing new in this genre and is definitely a challenge to make something familiar/overused remotely interesting. This has an idea of where its priorities are between the characters and the violent stunts/shootouts, which will either make or break the quality for some audiences when they find the answer (the latter). The character development in spots feels like it's saying "Here's a few couple of minutes to establish a someones personality and motive. Happy with that? Good...let's move on." That can work alright in the main protagonists case but the standard stock value in the villain is hard to ignore. Nothing new is really done with this premise but its entertainment value isn't found with the basic writing but the production value of the fights. 

 

How's the violence? With a focus on the fight choreography and stunts, this is where it shines well. This is aiming to be violent with the kills (but not gory) from either hand to hand combat or guns. The camera work isn't following the standard multiple edited cuts but rather showing what's actually happening with limited cuts. It aims to make sure that its main active combatants have at least 1 moment to shine. Out of the sequences that take place here, the standouts in terms of excellence are the apartment group scuffle, the 11 minute long take (edited to look like one continuous shot), and the unintentionally attack by child soldiers. 

How are the actors? In regards to story importance, the actors to focus on are Chris Hemsworth, Rudhraksh Jaiswal, and Randeep Hooda. Chris gives a pretty good performance in the parts where he actually gets to express deep emotions when he's not in must accomplish the mission mode (plus it's cool that he does some of those sequences himself). Rudhraksh is a competent performer with the role he has with some decent chemistry with Hemsworth but needed more material to work with in his limited script. Randeep is a surprising strong actor that shouldn't be underestimated with doing a great job with not only his characters motivation but also his share of combat prowess to match Hemsworth. Honorable mention go to David Harbour and Golshifteh Farahani for shining enough with how short they are on screen. Dishonorable mention go to Priyanshu Painyuli for underutilizing his talents in a weak villain part.

 

Overall Consensus: Extraction is a wild entertaining action showcase with great well-made sequences and some good acting moments, despite weaknesses in the familiar story and lacking character growth. ⭑⭑⭑3/4 Runtime: 1 hour 57 minutes R

 

Reasons to watch it: You like any of the aforementioned actors and/or director Sam Hargrave. You like seeing individuals associated with the Marvel Cinematic Universe teaming up outside of those blockbusters. You are only focused on wild battles and don't mind simple basic writing. You want to see someone compete against the main protagonist for nameless soldier kills. You like these type of genre movies that take place in India.  

 

Reasons to avoid it: You dislike any of the aforementioned actors and/or director Sam Hargrave. You are bored with films focusing on wild battles and simple basic writing.