Extraction (2020) Review

“Extraction” Theatrical Poster

AKA: Dhaka
Director: Sam Hargrave
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Rudhraksh Jaiswal, Randeep Hooda, Priyanshu Painyuli, Golshifteh Farahani, Pankaj Tripathi, Suraj Rikame, David Harbour
Running Time: 117 min.

By Paul Bramhall

Say what you want about Netflix (and the endless scroll that usually comes with it), but as action fans it’s treated us remarkably well. Indonesian actioner The Night Comes for Us was saved from production limbo thanks to the platform, we got Gareth Evans follow-up to The Raid in the form of Apostle, and Korean fight flick Revenger all debuted on the streaming giant. Sure none of these movies are exactly suited to an evening of ‘Netflix and chill’, but as a means to get the adrenaline pumping, you can’t go too far wrong.

The latest production to be distributed via Netflix is Extraction, which marks the feature length debut of Sam Hargrave. Part of the stunt team for many of the Marvel movies (usually doubling for Chris Evans as Captain America), if you’re reading this review then chances are you’ll know him more for his work on the likes of Blood and Bone (in which he acted as fight choreographer and fought against Michael Jai White) and Unlucky Stars (in which he played the main villain, and was also one of the fight choreographers). It was thanks to Hargrave’s talents that Wu Jing’s Wolf Warrior 2 turned out to be so entertaining, leaving the forgettable original in the dust, so to see what he can create in the director’s chair is an exciting prospect.

The Marvel alumni runs deep through Extraction, as it originally started life as a graphic novel titled Ciudad, written by Captain America: The Winter Soldier helmers Joe and Anthony Russo. While the comic follows a weary mercenary hired by a Brazilian drug lord to extract his daughter from the notorious Ciudad del Este in Paraguay, the movie changes the setup, replacing a Brazilian drug lord with an Indian one, and replacing Ciudad del Este with Dhaka in Bangladesh. While the graphic novel was first offered up for movie treatment in 2013, with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis attached in the early stages, the finished product offers up another of the Marvel alumni as its lead in the form of Thor himself, Chris Hemsworth (also Tourism Australia’s Global Ambassador!).

I confess Hemsworth isn’t usually an actor whose movies I go out of my way to watch. I mean, this is the guy who thought it’d be a good idea to star in an ‘international’ Men in Black spin-off, and lest we forget the ill-fated Red Dawn remake. In fact I think the last movie I saw him in was Michael Mann’s 2015 thriller Black Hat, and that was more to see how Mann would shoot Hong Kong (the presence of Tang Wei being a nice bonus). In any case, it wasn’t worth it. However in Extraction Hemsworth does a decent enough job. He’s playing an Aussie, and is introduced soaking up some rays with a beer in the wilderness of The Kimberley in Western Australia, quickly ticking off his obligation to Tourism Australia. Hemsworth’s mercenary comes with a cool name, Tyler Rake, and his character traits aim for equal coolness. He’s a hard drinker, has a devil may care attitude, is a man of few words, and keeps a chicken in his bathroom.

Hemsworth’s lack of enthusiasm for life makes him the go-to guy for taking on those jobs that no other mercenaries would touch with a barge pole, so when an Indian drug lord requests for help in retrieving his kidnapped son from neighbouring Bangladesh, naturally he accepts. Of course, things go wrong. It turns out the kidnappers are far more powerful than anticipated, and soon Hemsworth and the son (played by relative newcomer Rudhraksh Jaiswal) are being pursued through Dhaka by an ex-special force’s enforcer, the police, the military, and a small army of child soldiers. In short, all of the ingredients you need for an effective action movie. The good news is, with someone of Hargrave’s calibre at the helm, none of those ingredients go to waste. An effective action movie is very much exactly what we get.

I’ve always said I’d rather watch a movie with a bunch of talented action directors behind the camera, dealing with non-martial artists in front of it, than I would a bunch of martial artists in front of the camera, but a lack of any talent behind it. A talented action director can make anyone look good, but if a martial artist doesn’t have someone behind the camera to utilise their skillset for the screen, then all of the training in the world won’t make any difference. Case in point – check out Cynthia Rothrock’s Hong Kong work, then watch one of her US movies. Hemsworth may not be the next Donnie Yen, but he doesn’t need to be when you have the pedigree working behind the scenes that you have here.

The fight choreography is handled by Michael Lehr, who can be seen in action in the likes of The Debt Collector and Escape Plan: The Extractors, and he’s backed up by no less than six stunt coordinators, amongst them Patrick Kazu Tang (Rocky Handsome). Their work is very much there to see onscreen, the highlight of which is a 12-minute no-cut chase scene involving multiple vehicles, a foot chase, and various tightly knit buildings being weaved in and out of. The sequence is a joy to watch, and while it’s obviously been stitched together in post to give the illusion of it being one unbroken shot, I defy anyone to call that a detriment to it.

For me this sequence really represents the evolution of action cinema and how movement is captured on camera. In the golden age the camera used to remain static, then in the 70’s and 80’s we saw pioneers like Sammo Hung show how camerawork could be an integral part of an action scene. Today how action is put together in post using the latest technology is the next evolution, and this particular sequence stands up as a stellar example of that. All of this is complimented by the Bangladesh setting (although it was mostly filmed in India and Thailand) to give Extraction a unique look, which is put to great use in the chase scene, with the dilapidated high-density buildings making for a maze-like experience as the camera stays glued to Hemsworth and Jaiswal.

The type of action on display for the most part is gun based. I confess one of the initial scenes had me concerned that the influence of the John Wick franchise was going to be a little too apparent, with the whole ‘shot to the torso, lift gun, shot to the head’ approach, but thankfully Extraction soon finds its own action style. Sure, there are shades of The Raid in some of the kill choices, but the style works thanks to the franticness of the scenarios Hemsworth finds himself in. What really elevates the action to the next level though are the stuntmen. Hargrave understands the power of impact, and Extraction is full of high impact stuntwork, a timely reminder of how exciting action movies can be without the need for abundant CGI. Every one of Hemsworth’s kicks or punches is enhanced by a stuntman flying face first into a wall or executing a dangerous looking fall, and there’s a couple of fantastic vehicle impacts that induce a wince.

Credit should also go to Randeep Hooda (Baaghi 2), who plays the ex-special forces agent employed by Jaiswal’s father to also retrieve him. Hooda gives as good as Hemsworth in his action scenes, and the pair both have an opportunity to go at it one on one in the middle of the bustling Dhaka streets. His character is attempted to be given some depth through the relationship he has with his own family, however ultimately none of this amounts to much by the time it gets to the final set piece. Extraction knows what it’s there to do, and deep characterisation isn’t particularly high on its list, which is just fine.

Joining the likes of Liam Neeson in Taken and Won Bin in The Man from Nowhere, as Tyler Rake Hemsworth has embodied the kind of no-nonsense action hero that action cinema needs more of. As for Hargrave, he’s more than proven his worth here as a director, joining the likes of Chad Stahelski and David Leitch as part of what will hopefully be a growing pool of directors who know exactly how to shoot action. Extraction would have been a joy to watch on the big screen, however the decision to distribute it through Netflix is an understandable one, enabling it to be easily accessible for its substantial subscriber base. If you’ve yet to check it out for yourself, chances are it’s just a click of the remote away, what are you waiting for?

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 8/10