Extraction 2 was first for me, back then in 2020 I was starting to get into movies but Extraction (2020) didn't appear on my radar, after watching the sequel then realize there was a first movie and didn't make time to watch it until a couple of days ago. Since the sequel was very good in my opinion I was very excited to check it out, especially with Chris Hemsworth in the lead and the Russo brothers producing, I can tell back then the movie was not going to win any awards and was just perfect to stay on the streaming catalog so it can shine bright on the platform still today.
Source
The movie develops around Tyler Rake, a mercenary who clearly seen better days, from the moment Chris Hemsworth shows up; playing the role of Tyler, on the screen you know its business, although his life style is a mess from drinking a lot and getting into dead wish missions when ever he can. The movie does something I really enjoy and that's flashbacks, its like telling you "this is how it all ends", grab my hand, I'll take you there. There is Tyler shot and falling off a bridge into the water, one of those flash forward openings that's become pretty common in action movies, it takes from the mystery and might also be a liability as it could set the wrong expectations. We then jump back to see how Tyler ended up in this situation, which involves him taking on a job to rescue a drug lord's kidnapped son from another drug lord in Bangladesh. What starts as a standard extraction mission quickly goes sideways and Tyler finds himself fighting against impossible odds to keep this kid alive. The whole setup is pretty straightforward and honestly the plot isn't breaking any new ground, basically a vehicle to get us from one action sequence to the next but that's not necessarily a bad thing when the action is this good.
The kid Tyler has to rescue is called Ovi, the son of an imprisoned Indian crime lord. Tyler gets hired for the extraction job and things go wrong almost immediately as right after successfully grabbing the kid he discovers he has been double crossed and all of the sudden every corrupt cop and gangster in Dhaka is hunting them down. Its here were when a non stop chase through the crowded city as Tyler tries to keep Ovi alive while fighting off all kind of attackers. This job has a hidden meaning for Tyler as the story slowly tells us why he keeps dragging his life around with a dead wish at every job he takes, he lacks meaning and purpose after he lost his son to illness years ago, having to protect Ovi creates an attachment to the kid. Within all the men hunting them down there is a special story next to it involving a man called Saju, who actually works for Ovi's father and is force to go after Tyler and Ovi to protect his own family, he is been blackmail but eventually Saju and Tyler team up to go after their enemies. There is nothing particularly special about the story, we have seen this before but the cast did a great job, also the crowded city at times feels very claustrophobic making the chase and shooting very intense.
SourceChris Hemsworth does shine in his role as Tyler, the man has some range for action movies and comedy too. Now that I look back comparing his Thor movies to both Extraction 1 and 2, I would say I prefer Extraction over his Thor role, probably because its my preference pure action movies rather than a mix of comedy with action, in my opinion it takes away from the excitement, I prefer that minimal dialogue style and all business. Hemsworth performance is mostly physical and he clearly put himself through the wringer for this movie. The fight scenes look brutal and knowing that Hemsworth did a lot of his own stunts makes them even more impressive with a raw intensity to his performance that I enjoy more than Thor.
The kid who plays Ovi; actor Rudhraksh Jaiswal, does a solid job holding his own alongside Hemsworth. Their relationship forms the emotional bond of the movie and Jaiswal makes Ovi more than just a plot device as it is mos of the time with the person been rescue after a kidnap. Randeep Hooda plays the role of Saju, who also standout, bringing a more complex reason to his character because of the decisions he has to make during the movie to switch sides back and forward to what could have been a one dimensional antagonist. His motivations are clear, he is a man just trying to save his own family, which makes his conflict with Tyler more interesting than your typical hired hitman, in this case blackmail. The villains on the movie are not that much develop as I would wanted, including drug lord Amir played by Priyanshu Painyuli, aren't given much detail and screen time, but they serve their purpose in the story.
SourceExtraction is now a hosehold name for Netflix, after the sequel success now a third movie; Extraction 3, has been confirmed currently under development. Joe Russo who wrote the first two movies recently revealed that filming is happening in 2025, I'm amaze how some of this movies a film so fast, there must be a hole strategy on producing movies this fast specially now days with so much tech. I'm almost sure the concept of the plot will be the same as the other two movies, the story foundation on the third one will rely mostly on how good and impressive the action scenes will be, very like John Wick movies, its not about the drama its about the action sequence scenes. Each movie had location changes and may be on the third one will do again trying to shake things up but the one constant for sure will be Tyler himself.
Going a bit further, Netflix has also announced an ExtractionTV series, this is where things can go south since I doubt they will get Chris Hemsworth to play Tyler for an entire TV Series, changing the main character and just using the name of the movies doesn't work very often. The series would feature Omar Sy; mostly known for Lupin on Netflix, he also play a mercenary on a mission in Libya, the Russo brothers are involve on this project but probably just to make sure the essence of the movies remain through the series.
Looking back at Extraction as a whole, I'd say it's a solid actionmovie that knows exactly what it is and delivers on its promises. It's not trying to reinvent the wheel or make some profound statement, it's about a badass mercenary fighting his way through impossible odds to save a kid and it succeeds at doing so. The plot is straightforward, the characters are somewhat one dimensional but with action sequences are genuinely impressive, Hemsworth gives a committed performance and the movie keeps that intense tone throughout. It does start to feel a bit repetitive by the end since is just gangster chasing them the entire movie so how many times can a man be in a shooting through an entire movie. The ending is very ambiguous and that might frustrate some viewers but it had to be that way to keep the door open for a sequel, now days we know that for sure and it work great for what could now turn into a franchise. I give it a solid 8/10 despite the internet been a bit harsh on it, the movie is very good at what it is suppose to be, plain constant action and that is all I needed from it.
