When a fearless mercenary called Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth) and the crew supporting him decide to embark on one of the deadliest extraction operations of their careers, they quickly find out that there is much more to the mission than just rescuing the kidnapped son of an imprisoned international kingpin. When things start to get complicated, bodies start falling and moral decisions must be made. A really well-made action movie from Netflix with an incredible high tempo throughout.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Director: Sam Hargrave

Writers: Joe Russo

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Golshifteh Farahani, Rudhraksh Jaiswal

First and foremost, it has to be said that if you’re hoping to enjoy Extraction to its fullest, then you must have the ability to suspend your belief before hitting play. I’ve seen and read many people compare this to a John Wick-esque flick and they’d be right, it’s definitely a movie out of that playbook and one where you’ll probably need a quiet minute or two by yourself after it’s over with!

On a whole, it has to be said that the filmmakers did a great job of detailing Tyler Rake as a character. His backstory was one that as a viewer, you became invested in as it was pretty obvious that he was a seemingly broken man with hidden demons and nothing to lose, harbouring an apparent death wish, which made him more open to any task put before him – even if there is a high risk of fatality involved. The filmmakers also effectively placed the occasional flashback that Tyler had during the film, further highlighting his backstory and the previous life he once had and realistically, still yearned for.

Another thing worth noting is that in any film of this nature, you’d expect a high volume of action and that’s exactly what you got. Some of the camera work and choreography was amazing and really emphasised just how seriously Netflix are taking this genre. There was even a specific part of the film where I found myself wondering whether I was sat watching an action movie or whether I was sat watching a video game, it was that intense and immersive.

With that being said however, with the highs, come the lows and one thing is for sure, it did seem extremely far-fetched at times and I also found myself wondering whether Tyler Rake had miraculously transformed into the Terminator at times – he was seemingly an indestructible force that was singlehandedly tearing his way through the Bangladesh police force.

In terms of the performances, Chris Hemsworth did a really solid job portraying the ruthless, Tyler Rake. Rather importantly, he seemed to have more than enough chemistry with the characters around him and didn’t look out of place at all. Elsewhere, Golshifteh Farahani found herself adopting the role of Nik Khan, one of the people assisting in the extraction operation and it’s worth noting that Ovi Mahajan (the young boy being rescued) was played by Rudhraksh Jaiswal.

Overall, a really impressive movie that also delivered a somewhat ambiguous ending that leaves you as a viewer a little puzzled. In my opinion, a great way of ending a movie of this nature.

“You drown not by falling into the river, but by staying submerged in it.” Ovi Mahajan – Extraction