Extraction (2020)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2020
	Director: Sam Hargrave
	Actors: Chris Hemsworth (Thor 1-3, Avengers 1-4, The Cabin in the Woods), Rudhraksh Jaiswal, Randeep Hooda
	Country: USA
	Genre: Action, War
	Conditions of visioning: 23.07.2020, VOD, 10" tablet screen.
Synopsis: Tyler Rake (Hemsworth), a fearless black market mercenary, embarks on the most deadly extraction of his career when he's enlisted to rescue the kidnapped son (Jaiswal) of an imprisoned international crime lord.
Review: Another Netflix Original production. They are getting better at delivering those movies for a niche audience. This one's particularity is that it is produced by the Russo brothers (Avengers: Infinity and Endgame), durected by the stunt coordinator on a bunch of Marvel movies, and stars the beloved actor playing Thor in those movies. The story is exciting and exotic, confronting India and Bangladesh drug lords and taking place in the capital of the latter: Dhaka. Another characteristic of the movie is that it is brutal: executing children, showing the worst of society and a total body count in the 200, most of them shot in the head. That would then be my first problem with the movie: it is shot like a video game, enemies appearing slowly and unprepared in the hero's field of view just to be shot. On the other hand, the shooting style is very immersive, in particular the 12-minute shot looking like one long continuous take the movie is praised for. That is something I like to see. My other problem is still with the enemies. It is hard for filmmakers to find bad guys in the movies that we don't mind watching die. It usually helps when they are thugs, hired bad guys (like in the recent Rambo: Last Blood which displays a similarly high kill count), aliens or members of the opposing military. For example I would hate to see in an undercover cop movie the hero let another cop be shot to protect his cover. Some filmmakers are very aware of that, like Josh Wedon, showrunner of the TV-series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., as from the first episodes he insists on equipping his agents with non-lethal weapons. In Extraction, the guys shot by our hero are mostly soldiers doing their job, and it only helps a little that it is in a far-away country and we don't see their faces under helmets. It still disturbed me and took me out of the movie. But if you are simply looking for change of scenery in a violently satisfying action flick with immersive scenes, go for it!
Rating: 5 /10