Extraction

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Rudhraksh Jaiswal,Randeep Hooda, Golshifteh Farahani, Priyanshu Painyuli, David Harbour

Director: Sam Hargrave

Based on the Graphic Novel "Cuidad" by Ande Parks from a story by Parks & Joe and Anthony Russo

Mercenary for hire Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth) is contracted through Nik (Golshifteh Farahani) by a crime lord to find his kidnapped son Ovi (Rudhraksh Jaiswal). While he is quickly recovered, extraction proves more and more difficult. The rest of Rake's team is killed by the mysterious Saju (Randeep Hooda), who is working under his own orders. Also on Tyler's tail is Ovi's dad's competition Amir Asif (Priyanshu Painyuli), the one who organized the kidnapping. As Nik tries to rendezvous at a new extraction point, Tyler must fight his way out to get Ovi to safety on his own.

I'm very bummed this was put out on Netflix because the action scenes would have been great on a big screen. Action fans have a lot to chew on and admire here such as a ten minute "one take" sequence towards the beginning of the film that is brutally well done despite being able to see where they stitched in some edits. I also had to chuckle at a scene where Hemsworth jumps from roof to roof and it looked as if the camera operator revved up to make the jump as well. It's subtle but if you notice it shouldn't take you out of the film. Stunt-Man turned director Sam Hargrave does a fantastic job in his directorial debut delivering the action goods. His stunt work from many of the MCU films has prepared him well to tackle his own feature as the stunt work is excellent.

If Jason Bourne and John Wick had a baby, its name would be Tyler Rake. Hemsworth is fantastic in a very physically demanding role. When he isn't throwing bad guys around like rag dolls, he is using every weapon imaginable to dispose of a never ending supply of bad guys. When the movie does take a second to slow down, Hemsworth makes the most of his limited backstory and gets to show some emotion and bring his character's sadness to the forefront. It's actually a powerhouse performance and Hemsworth tackles it like the movie star he is. He has good chemistry with young Rudhraksh Jaiswal, who is likable despite getting even less backstory than Hemsworth. He doesn't fall into the trap of being the annoying kid.

One doesn't go to these movies for the plots and the one featured here is very simple and serves the movie well enough to get from action scene to action scene. And there are plenty of those to keep one entertained, so I honestly didn't mind the lack of plot. I was not a fan of the film's decision to start the movie in media res and then flash back two days prior. It shortchanged some of the suspense of the movie is able to build throughout.

Bone crunchingly violent, but not any more than a John Wick movie, this movie has more than enough to satisfy hardcore action fans

Grade: A-

Extraction is available on Netflix