Diksha Sundriyal
If there is one reason for which you should watch ‘Extraction’, it is the action sequences. The entire film rests on the incredibly choreographed stunts that make the film thrilling to watch. Sam Hargrave, who has displayed his talent for action movies in the blockbuster ‘Avengers’ franchise, is at the helm of the Chris Hemsworth-starrer drama. Between the two of them, there is a lot of experience of cinematic gunfights, hand-to-hand combats, and car chases. Their combination effortlessly delivers some of the best action you have ever seen on any Netflix original. It is explosive and exciting, and that is perhaps what the audience craves right now.
Extraction Plot
Ovi Mahajan is the son of a drug lord in India. His father has been a fierce rival of Amir Asif, the drug lord in Dhaka. With Ovi Sr in prison, Asif uses the opportunity to kidnap his son. It is not about ransom, but reputation, which is why Ovi Sr asks his trusted man, Saju, to get his son. Bringing back Ovi from the heart of Dhaka, every inch of which is under the rule of Asif, is not a one-man job. He will need an army or someone good enough to bring down the legion of Asif’s goons.
This is where Tyler Rake comes in. He is a mercenary with a broken heart. The death of his son weighs heavily on his soul, and he goes into the most challenging missions hoping that one of these days, he will meet his end. He walks into the mission with relative ease and gets Ovi under his protection. However, when it comes to getting out of the city, things get complicated, and it starts to look like Tyler’s death wish might be granted after all.
Extraction Review
The film begins with a couple of scenes about character introductions and quickly shifts the pieces on the board to get to the central part of the plot. It steadily works on the momentum, and when the action finally begins, you know that there will be no holding back. It is everything that you wish an action film to be, and you wish you could have seen it in the cinemas, in all its grandeur and flair.
One of the scenes in the film is a 10-12 minutes long sequence that follows the characters in the middle of the city. Through the maze-like housing apartments to the crowded streets outside, it has so much action-packed in itself that you worry the film will have exhausted all of its tricks by the time this scene ends. It also reminds you of a similar oner take in ‘Atomic Blonde’ where Charlize Theron kicks ass in Cold War-era Berlin. But this is Dhaka, and Hargrave uses the unpredictable elements of the crowd to his advantage, keeping you on the edge of the seat the entire time.
Circling back to the concerns about exhaustion, the film tends to be so focused on its fight sequences that it doesn’t pay much attention to the characters. Hemsworth tries to add the emotional angle to his role, but there is no time to work the backstory and give the emotional depth that the ending needs. On the other hand, we do get to see a good amount of Saju’s arc, enough to feel good or bad for him. Randeep Hooda puts his acting skills on display and holds his ground against the mammoth stardom of Hemsworth.
In a similar vein, Priyanshu Painyuli, who plays the antagonist Asif, makes good use of the handful of scenes in which he gets to show off his character’s brutality and viciousness. David Harbour lights up the screen with his energy and highlights the morally corrupt lines on which every character of the film walks. It is all due to the actors that we get a semblance of complexity in their otherwise generic roles. The film is all about action, and it shows- from the brilliant action to the equally bland storyline.
There is no doubt about the fact that ‘Extraction’ delivers relentless action and thrill in its entire runtime. It does get rough around the edges, and the final battle scene is not handled with as much nuance as the action sequences at the beginning of the film. But it does manage to keep you engrossed and, even with all its flaws, it is worth a watch for action fans.
Rating: 3/5
Read More: Netflix’s Extraction Filming Locations
