“Extraction,” on Netflix Friday, is a
straightforward shoot-em-up about a
jaded mercenary, Mr. Rake, played by Chris
Hemsworth, who’s hired to save the 14-year-
old son of a drug lord from another drug lord in
Bangladesh. It doesn’t do anything to push the
genre forward, but it’s better than you might
think, existing comfortably somewhere on the
action flick spectrum between Tony Scott and
Peter Berg.
Much of that rests on Hemsworth’s (very large)
shoulders. The Australian actor hasn’t had the
easiest job finding solid roles outside of Thor.
He’s always good even when the movie isn’t,
and obviously has some tricks up his sleeves
that belie his action-hero physique. But many of
his leading man roles that don’t have anything
to do with the God of Thunder have come
and gone without much fanfare. So it makes
a certain amount of sense that “Extraction”
is Marvel-adjacent. It’s written by Joe Russo
(one half of the Russo brothers who have
directed a handful of Marvel movies, including
“Avengers: Endgame”), directed by Marvel stunt
coordinator Sam Hargrave in his debut and
based on a graphic novel (“Ciudad”).
The graphic novel origins help explain “Tyler
Rake,” but that name is about the extent of
the comic book elements in the actual film.
And, to be fair, “Extraction” even knows it’s
ridiculous, hence the rake and the fact that
the 14-year-old asset Ovi (Rudhraksh Jaiswal)
walks up to the line of making fun of it at
one point.
The film begins at the end, showing Tyler Rake
(it just feels more right to say his full name)
bloodied, battered and near-death on a bridge,