With the cinema closed, its time for a little Netflix and Lewis Pearce from Pearcey’s Picks has provided us with a fabulous review of Extraction.
Extraction is a violent but predictable action-thriller
Since directing the monumental one-two of Infinity War and Endgame, Directors Joe and Anthony Russo have turned their attention to producing action-thrillers lead by a member of The Avengers. First up was last year’s 21 Bridges starring Black Panther lead Chadwick Boseman, a by-the-numbers but watchable thriller that shined in places due to some brilliant action and epic shootout sequences (which is now currently streaming on Amazon Prime). Next up for the Russo’s is Extraction, which stars the mighty Thor himself – the brilliant Chris Hemsworth.
Joe Russo also penned the script here and the story follows Tyler Rake (Hemsworth) a fearless black market mercenary, who embarks on a deadly mission to rescue the kidnapped son of an imprisoned international crime lord.
In a time where new movies are few and far between, Extraction fills that gap nicely with a thoroughly entertaining and ultra-violent thriller. It’s nothing we haven’t seen before, with the film giving off major Man on Fire and John Wick vibes, but this is riveting viewing with a good central performance and some jaw-dropping action scenes.
Chris Hemsworth, repping his native Australian accent, is fantastic here. Early on we learn that Tyler is not afraid of death, so the sheer disregard for his own safety makes him an even bigger threat and he goes on this one man mission to retrieve this child. Hemsworth commands the screen throughout and gives it his all in the lead role.
The action sequences are crazy and fully take advantage of the 18 rating. From the opening scene, the film does not mess about and the tension and violence only amps up as the film reaches its climax. In what is easily the best action sequence of 2020 so far, there is an 11 minute scene which is made to look like one unbroken shot (similar to how 1917 was directed) and it is brilliant. Whilst the hidden cuts are obvious, it still blew me away and how they filmed it I do not know.
In between these action sequences is a lot of screen time which is given to the villain side of the story, which does slow the film down. You simply do not care about any of them and how much power leading antagonist Amir Asif has over his people and the Police is never made clear.
The film is helmed by first time director Sam Hargrave, who is most notably known for being the stunt co-ordinator on films such as Deadpool 2, the Avengers franchise and Atomic Blonde, and what the film may lack in originality it sure makes up for in visual flair. Filmed on location in India, the film is gorgeous to look at and wonderfully shot. Hargrave has surprised me here with an ambitious debut behind the camera, and I cannot wait to see what he does next.
Verdict: Hemsworth’s Tyler Rake would give John Wick a run for his money in this no holds barred action bonanza. You can see far worse this lockdown.
Best Moment: The 11 minute one shot alone makes this film worth while.
Rating: 7/10
So grab the popcorn, sit back, relax and enjoy.
