(film review) [STREAMING] - Extraction

There are stories in film which have been done over and over again.  One guy on a mission to save someone from the clutches of evil.  I mean, Mario has even done it to save Princess Toadstool and Princess Daisy from Bowser and King Kooper!  The point I'm making is, it is NOT new and to regurgitate something like this for people to watch and be fully invested in, you need to come with something different.  I mean Mario always had a different trick up his sleeve or in his or some kind of hat or raccoon tail.  Anyway, for an example of how this movie of an ex-soldier/marine/mercenary goes about taking this job to save this kid from the evil clutches of some guy and lead him to safety, handles the task in a very basic way, BUT John Wick style! Action, Action and ACTION! And if action is your thing, you will love this!

Tyler (Chris Hemsworth) is an ex-marine with who is asked by a friend to extract a young child of a drug lord and lead him to safety as a rival gang wants to abduct him.  The plot doesn't get any more complicated than that other than a few road bumps along the way for good measure.

The movie starts off with action immediately, so you get a rough idea of what you are about to see, but it doesn't fully prepare you for the action and carnage which will ensue.  The storyline is pretty much non-existent.  You get a little backstory with Tyler, but for the most part, they only skim the surface with it.  There is also another character in the movie in which you also get a little backstory with in which may help you with sympathising with the character, but like I said, for the most part, this movie serves the audience with action John Wick style mostly. There will be no awards for the compelling drama and character acting.

Not only is this movie lacking story like John Wick, ironically enough, but the fight/action scenes are enough to rival John Wick movies themselves.  I cannot remember the first movie to achieve a long continuous shot/take, but this movie has a long shot which is a sight to see.  If anyone remembers and had watched the Netflix Daredevil series, there were a few long shots which worked well.  Everyone remembers the 'Hallway' fight.  To the point, they repeat some kind of long continuous shot in a hallway in the other Daredevil seasons.  A few movies that also did it was Gravity and Birdman, however, this movie achieved this feat akin to Raid 2 and if you remember Raid 2, that movie was just action on top of action like blocks of action piled up on top of each other, only to pull a block out and, more action.
The scene starts off in a type of Jungle, goes into a car chase (both alongside and outside of the car) leading into a hand to hand knife fight.  I cannot remember if it then goes into a street chase (I feel it does), but the movie is intense and keeps the action at a height to keep you entertained.
There are some real funny moments in the movie which made me laugh out loud.  I actually paused the movie and then tweeted Hemsworth because I was soo caught up in the action and the scene, I had to 1. Stop crying with laughter, 2. Stop laughing and 3. Catch my breath.  The moment involved some kids in an alleyway and everything about it was superb.  Moreover, the action is superb.  Every action scene.  What I do want to see is a shared universe of John, Tyler and Jason in a movie, together.

As this is coming from the Russo Brothers and Captain America's stunt double, it goes without saying, the directing, the fight choreography and glimpses of humour are ALL there and done well.  The movie also does a good job in making things seem very real to the point where the fight scenes are very visceral.  And coming from Thor himself, Hemsworth totally sells the part with his native tongue included.  If a sequel could be possible, I'll be game for that as Sam Hargrave handled his business with this one. Maybe a one-off, or maybe expand the world a little.

If you like action and little story, this should be for you.  You won't be disappointed.  Imagine, I saw this film without seeing a trailer first!  Well done Netflix.