Whenever I overhear or read someone describe a pure action film as dumb my inner monologue counters with “do you think they were trying to make a smart movie? The answer in this imaginary back and forth is often no. Sometimes the answer is “kind of.” Sometimes you just need enough backstory to make us truly care about the fate of the protagonist. And Chris Hemsworth. In the 80’s and 90’s all an action movie needed was a star for the poster and enough oomph to the story to create real stakes. Sam Hargrave, Extraction director and second unit director of season 2 of The Mandalorian, picked up on this and smartly returns with Extraction to this old school type of actioner that cares little about dazzling us with the script. Its only want is to provide a logical and emotionally compelling canvas on which to unleash an A-list action star. In this case it’s Hemsworth. There are many other modern examples. John Wick in Keanu Reeves. Liam Neeson in Taken. Denzel Washington in The Equalizer (my personal favorite modern action franchise – I hope we get a third). As long as the story is coherent and the dialogue isn’t completely stilted these films succeed because they live and die on star power and ingenuity of stunt choreography. Sam Hargrave cut his teeth collaborating with the Russo Brothers as stunt coordinator on MCU films such as Captain America: Winter Soldier. That film has inarguably the best hand to hand combat of any MCU film and now we know why. When it comes to hand-to-hand fight choreography incorporating bladed weapons and firearms, Hargrave delivers over and over and gives us what we want. Yes, much of Extraction is nameless henchmen dispatched in increasingly complex and thrilling sequences. It absolutely works. Hemsworth is electric and Extraction is the best Netflix-produced action film to date. Aspiring action film makers will watch this film for inspiration.
Extraction receives a score of 8/10 for general audiences and a 9/10 for a smart script that knows it’s target audience and delivers.
The Quick Critic
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