Extract This

Explosive and thrilling Netflix film series gives major Hollywood blockbusters a run for their money.

Action movies are a dime a dozen. Good action movies, with precise camerawork and creative fight choreography (John Wick, Mission Impossible), or practical effects and death-defying stunts (Mad Max, also Mission Impossible), are a bit more rare. Considering the dominance of superhero films these days, you’d think moviegoers would be treated to an endless array of mind-blowing spectacle. But the sad truth is, in this age of CGI overkill, so much of the action in these movies is reduced to ugly digital slop.

One notable exception is Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which I consider to be the best movie in the MCU, hands down. Not only is it a tense and multi-layered political thriller (with earth-shattering consequences for our heroes), it is also a magnificent action film, containing some of the best choreographed and most hard-hitting sequences in the entire MCU. The Winter Soldier was such a resounding success that, for better or worse, the Russo Brothers were handed the reins for the rest of the big event films in the MCU’s Infinity Saga.

Apparently intent on squandering all the goodwill they earned over eight years, and four insanely successful movies, the Russos would go on to direct one of the worst movies ever made, The Gray Man. I don’t know if I can think of another movie with so much potential that was so thoroughly wasted by the sheer vanity and laziness of its filmmakers (just kidding, I totally can: it’s The Last Jedi).

Anyhow, in between that utter travesty and their MCU glory days, the Russo Brothers wrote and produced a movie for Netflix called Extraction. Starring Chris Hemsworth as brooding mercenary Tyler Rake, and (in what seems to be an emerging trend within the film industry) skillfully directed by former stuntman/stunt coordinator Sam Hargrave, Extraction is the most watched Netflix original movie in the streaming giant’s history.

Three years late to the party, spurred on by the recent release of Extraction 2 (and my own resurgent interest in action cinema), I made it a priority to watch both films. These movies, in no uncertain terms, absolutely ROCK.

One of the things that’s been lost in all the MCU buffoonery of the last six years is just what a towering screen presence Chris Hemsworth really is. We’re so used to seeing him as Clueless Space Bro Bumbling His Way to Victory that it’s easy to forget the man is built like a freight train, capable of kicking serious butt. Thankfully, Extraction, and its somehow superior sequel, are here to remind us.

The serie’s main character, Tyler Rake, is the polar opposite of the infernal clown that Hemsworth’s Thor became when Taika Waititi reduced the character to an endless, unfunny punchline of male ineptitude. Rake is capable, confident, and lethally efficient. As written by the Russo Brothers, Tyler Rake’s adventures may lack the slick pathos and mystical world-building of something like John Wick, but, in between the thrilling shootouts and expertly choreographed fights, there are deeper themes lurking just beneath the surface.

Both movies grapple with the consequences of absentee fatherhood. The teenagers at the center of either film are largely neglected by their fathers, and are manipulated by every male authority figure in their lives. Tyler himself is haunted all throughout both movies by his past decision to abandon his wife and son during a time when they needed him the most. This thematic through line makes for an especially poignant scene near the end of Extraction 2. Granted, these ideas are mostly just used to propel the action along, but the Russos don’t shy away from the emotional fallout that comes from boys not having a positive male influence around.

And boy, oh boy, what glorious action there is to behold. Sam Hargrave’s background and expertise in stunt work are on full display as every action sequence is filmed with precision, clarity, and inventiveness. One scene in Extraction 2 sees Rake making use of gym equipment to dispatch bad guys in increasingly clever and painful fashion.

Both films also feature an extended one shot as their main set piece, and these sequences are marvelous to behold: particularly in Extraction 2, where the continuous take lasts for over twenty minutes (a few fairly obvious hidden cuts notwithstanding). This stunning segment rivals just about anything the John Wick series has ever done.

There are many legitimate criticisms to be levied against the Russo Brothers. Outside of the aforementioned The Winter Soldier, I’m not really a fan of the direction in which they took the MCU. And the less said about The Gray Man, the better. But when they do something right, they ought to be commended.

With Extraction and Extraction 2, they’ve definitely done something right.

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