Extracting the best from Hemsworth
Extraction (16+, 117 mins) Directed by Sam Hargrave Reviewed by James Croot ★★★1⁄2
In English and Hindi and Bengali with English subtitles.
Saju’s (Randeep Hooda) worst nightmare has come true. His boss Ovi Mahahan’s (Pankaj Tripathi) son has been kidnapped by men sent by rival druglord Amir Asif (Priyanshu Painyuli). Relaying the news to his incarcerated employer, Saju is left with no choice but to raise an army to get the boy back, or face dire consequences.
Enter Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth). Having been persuaded out of Australia’s Kimberley desert by the prospect of a pay day and potential death, the smoking, swigging, swearing mercenary sporting some serious emotional baggage, has assured his handlers and, in turn, Saju, that extracting Ovi Jr (Rudhraksh Jaiswal) from Dhaka’s own Pablo Escobar and his hostiles will be no problem.
But what Tyler hasn’t reckoned on is having an entire city against him and someone else keen to take all the plaudits for the rescue mission. Yes, with its child soldiers, hazardous traffic and the ‘‘worst smelling sewer on the planet’’, stunt co-ordinator-turneddirector Sam Hargrave’s debut feature isn’t the tourism promo Dhaka might have been hoping for.
However, fans of old school (1980s and 90s) action movies will love this two-hour romp through Bangladesh’s capital and surrounds. At its heart is a bravura ‘‘one-shot’’ sequence, which morphs from a thrilling car chase to tense moments of hand-to-hand combat, as Tyler and Ovi battle to stay alive as Asif and the city throw everything in their path.
Hargrave’s point-of-view shots and limited focus do wonders in creating compelling action, drawing the audience in and ensuring we never know where the next threat might come from.
It also contains a few of the many moments likely to make you wince, as Tyler makes use of any or all implements available.
As you might have guessed, this isn’t a movie for the faint-hearted or those averse to blood-soaked violence. But if the lack of subtlety won’t be a surprise, then the amount of subtitles will. This might feel like a modern-day Hollywood hybrid of Man on Fire, Lethal Weapon, DOA, Terminator 2 and City of God, but it also pays more than just lip-service to its international cast.
English is pretty much a secondlanguage and not just because it’s a story where money, power and weaponry talk first (and last).
Based on a graphic novel that screenwriter Joe Russo (one-half of the brothers behind Avengers movies Civil War through Endgame) wrote with four others, Extraction manages to just pull back from becoming a cartoon through emotional grounding.
Extraction’s visual and narrative flourishes and Hemsworth’s charisma make for an enjoyable rollercoaster ride.
Extraction is streaming now on Netflix.