“A rival drug lord. A kidnapped kid. Impossible odds,” reads the blurb under “Extraction,” a violent yet entertaining action flick now streaming on Netflix. That’s an apt description, though a more fitting one would be to compare it to running a marathon without water breaks. This non-stop, heart-stopping adventure knows its target audience—genre fans looking for a bloodbath—and delivers with grubby thrills, muscular camerawork, and a pace that literally takes one’s breath away. Plus, it stars Chris Hemsworth. Reprising the role of superhero, the “Thor” star is flaunting a different sort of hammer this time around (one that’s suggested by his infatuation with whiskey, big trucks, and bigger guns). His mercenary is the epitome of Big Chris Energy.
Director Sam Hargrave, working with producers Joe and Anthony Russo of “Avengers” fame, wastes no time inserting his action hero’s dominance. After a couple of close-ups of Tyler Rake’s (Hemsworth) muscles, the Australian mercenary tells his buddies to “hold my beer,” then jumps off a 30-meter cliff into the lake below. It won’t be long before we’re jumping headfirst into some real action. Rake is soon hired to save Ovi (Rudhraksh Jaiswal), the kidnapped son of a drug lord in Bangladesh.
The pleasures of “Extraction” spring from its shock and speed, qualities that are refined with each passing set piece. Guns, bodies, trucks, bombs, buildings, and bridges are all ingredients in a whirlwind of controlled chaos. There’s hardly any plotting, either, which gives audiences an idea of where Hargave’s priorities lie. Starting on a bridge that could pass for a “Call of Duty” map, with abandoned cars meticulously scattered across, all similarities to Tony Scott’s “Man on Fire,” another save-the-kidnapped-kid-in-foreign-territory adventure, are thrown out the window. Instead, Hargrave opts for a more mainstream approach to Scott’s moody premise, having Rake slaughter 20 gangsters without breaking a sweat. One bridge down. Plenty more to go.
These scenes of Rake killing dozens of cronies may seem like a one-man-show for Hemsworth, who makes running through walls look easy, but the real MVPs are behind the camera. All this mayhem is carefully choreographed without a whiff of lightness—every punch is felt; every de-saturated lens adds grit. One car chase is gleefully absurd, as Rake and Ovi swerve through tight, dusty alleys, with who knows how many people in pursuit. Newton Sigel’s camera joins in on the chase, tracking the Mercedes as it does a 180, then hopping into the backseat as if inviting us to join in. It’s one of many spectacular shots that make up the 11-minute track down, edited to feel like one long take.
Fittingly, the movie plays like one long action sequence with exposition thrown in as an afterthought. After cheating death by car, Rake and Ovi go from shelter to shelter trying to avoid a city-wide manhunt. Not an easy task when every Bangladesh citizen is in cahoots with a kingpin named Amir (Priyanshu Painyuli), whose waves of hired guns come like levels in a video game. One second Hemsworth is sweeping legs in a jungle; the next he’s lopping off heads in a compound. One guy even gets stabbed by a rake. But while the action makes for dumb fun, it’s hard not to view Hemsworth as a white savior, summoned from abroad complete a mission no local could have. Were there no capable mercenaries between Asia and Australia? Did Joe Russo’s script have to give every local an AK-47?
Still, it’s dangerous to overthink “Extraction,” a movie that’s sole purpose is to provide extra action to genre fans, most of whom are probably getting tired of watching Michael Mann and “John Wick” reruns during the quarantine. Besides, Hemsworth is the right man for the job. His jaded blue eyes and unflinching swagger command our attention, even when the pace lags during downtime with Ovi. Hemsworth is valiantly committed to carrying out his mission, and no amount of cliches or bad guys are going to stop him from laying down the hammer. [B-]