‘Extraction’ puts emphasis on action
And now star Chris Hemsworth is happy to kick back at home and give his pecs a rest
Tyler Rake sounds like a MadLibs action hero name. When you add to the mix that this character actually, literally kills someone with a rake, it starts to veer into parody territory. That’s why it’s somewhat surprising that the film built around that wonderfully silly name, “Extraction,” is entirely sincere and also pretty fun.
“Extraction,” on Netflix Friday, is a straightforward shootem-up about a jaded mercenary, Mr. Rake, played by Chris Hemsworth, who’s hired to save the 14-year-old son of a drug lord from another drug lord in Bangladesh. It doesn’t do anything to push the genre forward, but it’s better than you might think, existing comfortably somewhere on the action flick spectrum between Tony Scott and Peter Berg.
Much of that rests on Hemsworth’s (very large) shoulders. The Australian actor hasn’t had the easiest job finding solid roles outside of Thor. He’s always good even when the movie isn’t, and obviously has some tricks up his sleeves that belie his action-hero physique. But many of his leading man roles that don’t have anything to do with the God of Thunder have come and gone without much fanfare. So it makes a certain amount of sense that “Extraction” is Marvel-adjacent. It’s written by Joe Russo (one half of the Russo brothers who have directed a handful of Marvel movies, including “Avengers:
Endgame”), directed by Marvel stunt co-ordinator Sam Hargrave in his debut and based on a graphic novel (“Ciudad”).
The graphic novel origins help explain “Tyler Rake,” but that name is about the extent of the comic book elements in the actual film. And, to be fair, “Extraction” even knows it’s ridiculous, hence the rake and the fact that the 14-year-old asset Ovi (Rudhraksh Jaiswal) walks up to the line of making fun of it at one point.
The film begins at the end, showing Tyler Rake (it just feels more right to say his full name) bloodied, battered and neardeath on a bridge, having blurry flashbacks to some feet in the sand before cutting to two days earlier in Mumbai. (Don’t hate “Extraction” for its cliches, they’re just part of the fun).
It won’t shock you to learn that Tyler Rake is a bit of a loner who keeps his living quarters in shambles, but you get the sense that he always knows where the bottle of Oxy is. A woman (Golshifteh Farahani) comes to him with the job to save the kid, whose father is in prison, and Tyler Rake sets off to Dhaka to track him down. There, the criminal underworld plays out in broad daylight, with crime bosses, child soldiers, corrupt police and an overall vibe of instability populating the streets. Tyler Rake finds the kid easily enough, but then things start to get more complicated when he discovers that he’s not the only one looking for Ovi (and ready to kill to get him).
But don’t despair, Tyler Rake has about two hours of nonstop fight in him before he gets to that bridge and the blurry flashbacks. He’ll fight, and win, against anyone who comes in his way — even a group of kids. He doesn’t kill any of them, though. He just kind of injures and disables the “Goonies from hell.”
The word distraction has started to lose all meaning this deep into our home lockdowns, but there is a certain comfort in curling up with a big, silly action pic like “Extraction.” It reminds you of something you might have spent money on to see in an ice-cold theatre on a hot summer day.
Extraction,” a Netflix release, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for “strong bloody violence throughout, language and brief drug use.” Running time: 118 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.“
Q: My son (in his 30s) and I had a huge argument over something he’d done in 2019. We’d always been very close, but this was a big deal.
He left our home and moved in with his girlfriend. Contact became difficult and sporadic.
He went away for work for a couple of months and spoke with us a lot by phone. Two months later, he flew home for the holidays.
No contact for days.
There were sightings from neighbours/friends saying he looked great. I received a text saying he hadn’t come to our house because he’d been ill.
I revealed that people had told us about seeing him. We then heard that he got engaged to his girlfriend. It was posted to Facebook. He hadn’t called us. Heartbreaking.
Since then, we get no response.
In this world of COVID-19, I’m afraid of something happening to one of us while we’re still estranged. I’m in my 50s with diabetes and Crohn’s disease. Any advice?
Estranged Mom
A: Apologize. Whatever the initial “big deal” was, it’s nothing during this virus and its threat.
If you said something negative about his then-girlfriend, apologize for that and say you were wrong. He was old enough to choose whomever he wanted.
You may have given him an ally in whatever grievances he already had with you.
Even if he doesn’t respond send emails, but don’t harass him. Write the positive feelings you two have for him as your son.
Ask how he’s dealing with the virus — is he employed, are he and his fiancée feeling well?
You can tell him your own virus concerns, but don’t go heavy on him. This is to reestablish contact, not to immediately lay expectations on him.
Readers’ commentary regarding untoward advances by a “friend.”
“My husband and I had many friends, including one couple who had two children, as we did. We shared many meals together over the years, and cross-country ski weekends with them and some other couples.
“We’d drink, but not excessively. One evening, my girlfriend said to me, ‘You’re not going to get my husband.’
“Shocked, I said I had no interest in him. My husband thought that the fellow must have told my girlfriend that he liked me (he’d told mine that he was lucky to have me).
“Her husband was always joking. I enjoyed his humour. Since we knew each other so well, we’d hug hello at gatherings.
“My husband and I decided that it was important to be very cautious so we saw them less.
“My friend became less friendly. One day, her husband was at my door, alone. He said he had an appointment nearby and thought he’d drop in. Strange, because he lived nearby.
I was very uncomfortable and showed it. I said that my husband wasn’t home so I couldn’t invite him in. He left.
“We’ve since noticed that he’s very friendly to most women and caused the split of another couple.
“The very close friendship I had with this girlfriend no longer exists.
“I’m in my early 70s and still feel sad about it. I could never tell her that he came to my home alone even though I didn’t let him in.
“Should I have done something to keep this girlfriend? I think she knew he was untrustworthy.”
Still Hurt
A: Given her comment, she apparently suspected the possibility of a mutual interest.
Had you confided his attempt at seeing you alone, she would have ended the friendship anyway. She chose her marriage.
Ellie’s Tip of the day
At a time of pandemic fears, try to smooth family squabbles any decent way you can.