Extraction

By: Raffay Sheikh

The fresh new Netflix blockbuster action film, by up and coming stuntman turned Director Sam Hargrave. Proves once more that action movies are best handled by those who truly understand it.

The roughly 2 hour film follows an Australian Mercenary played by the ever charismatic Chris Hemsworth does just enough in the writing and acting departments to make he film stand out from the mindless slugfests that plague the action genre.

A noteworthy decision by the filmmakers was to use local Indian and Bangladeshi actors for their respective roles. Never do you see a Bangladeshi character ramdomly start a monologue in English and this really helps Extraction stand out by providing an extra bit of realism.

The standout performance in this film was definitely by Rudhraksh Jaiswal performs does extremely well even with a rather bare bones script. His chemistry with Chris Hemsworth also prevents his character from being a helpless weak passive character and helps him have an active role in the plot. The one scene where Hemsworth and Jaiswal truly shine is where they just sit and talk. Unravel and share. It gives far more dimension to the character and for the badass killing machine that Tyler is, by this scene alone he is endeared to the audience.

Now let's discuss the real crown and jewels of this film. THE ACTION. Right off the bat the camera work is truly unique and the lack of cuts and edits paired with the long continuous shots with perfect choreography makes for an edge of the seat experience right up there with the modern greats. The fight scenes between Tyler and Saju were really well handled and choreographed as they both seemed quite equally matched and then had to resort to different tactics in order to one up each other.

The camera work is truly spectacular as it creates a sense of immersion that I have never quite witnessed before. The car chase scene. The hand to hand knife fight. The final shootout. All of these could have been very average amd by the numbers but the amazing camera work really levels up the action and helps the pace of this film to never hinder. The low reliance of CGI and more favour towards practical effects helps the audience have something real, something tangible to hold on to. All of this of course help this summer action movie become an experience like none before it.

An interesting concept by acclaimed author Paulo Coelho that this film references is that "You drown not by falling into a river but by staying submerged in it". The question raised throughout the film that Tyler may just have a death wish. That he is welcoming death. Really fits in with this. The metaphor becomes quite literal when Tyler actually falls in a river at the end bit we never quite see him again. The film ends at an ambiguous note with a figure that resembles Tyler looking over Ovi. This may end up souring the experience for certain types of viewers but for me and many others ot just anticipates me for future projects by Sam Hargrave. Extraction was a true standout from this year and I believe that this, John Wick, Atomiv Blonde and a few other new films that challenge the limits of what can be done in the action genre will help evolve the genre and my fingers are crossed for more adrenaline filled thrill rides like this.