Movie Review: Extraction

Extraction

Director: Sam Hargrave

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

Rating: R

Runtime: 116 minutes

Directed by Chris Hemsworth’s stunt double Sam Hargrave as his directorial debut, Extraction is filled with hardcore action thrills and high body counts. Hargrave, who had previous experience and knowledge of the stunts, manages to show off a bit by fully embracing this film as a hardcore action film filled with well-choreographed fight and chase scenes but lacks the depth in both story and characters.

For actors who have played one role for over five years, it becomes difficult for the viewers to detach the actors from their well-known characters. For instance, Daniel Radcliffe, Hugh Jackman, Johnny Depp, and Robert Downey Jr. remind us of their previous roles. So, when these actors try to break that image with new roles, it is hard not to see some of their last character’s characteristics to shine on screen. Likewise, Chris Hemsworth, who played the god of thunder Thor for the past nine years, tries his best by playing a solemn character without one ounce of fun.

The story begins with a fearless black-market mercenary called Tyler Rake, who goes on a mission to extract and rescue a kidnapped son of an Indian crime lord. He fights his way through cops and kills a lot of people. At the same time, things get unexpected as agents try to stop him and get double-crossed. Hemsworth, who also played a similar role in 12 Strong (2018), provides a similar approach to his character, mixing his stern, dark emotions. However, most of the Bollywood actors—especially Randeep Hooda and Priyanshu Painyuli—lift the dryness and bring some freshness to the story.

This film explores the themes of acceptance of the past, and that’s pretty much it. Hemsworth tries to add psychological depth to his character, but Hargrave does not provide a lot of opportunities to work on the backstory of the character to connect with the audience. Still, it feels like the story could have been a bit more complete as the relentless thrills eventually numb the viewers. At the same time, since this is Hargrave’s first directorial debut, maybe instead of trying to stuff in both the character depth and die-hard action sequences, his best move is to invest more in the chase scenes to highlight Hargrave’s skillsets to the film. Specifically, he showcased his abilities in one of the scenes by employing a one-take long shot outtake that resembles Call of Duty.

Overall, if you are looking for an action film with a strong narrative, there are other films to watch. But if you are looking for the thrills and hardcore action, Extraction does enough as Hargrave focuses on the beautifully choreographed fight scenes, combined with the expert cinematography of chase scenes, and the visual effects of non-stop bullets and explosives.