Back to the 90's we go in this highly forgettable action flick that obeys every cliche and adds exactly nothing to the genre. Brooding tough guy? Check. With a layer of scars and calluses from countless unnamed wars? Check. That are hiding a the soft centre of a genuinely good man? Also check. Right, let's have a quick flashback to hint at his tragic backstory and explain why he's so broken and self destructive. Done. And give him one last mission - a rescue, someone vulnerable that reminds him of his tragic loss. The list of action tropes goes on and on - right down to the pretty lady, the hint of new beginnings, of a relationship that can happen once the hero's dealt with his demons. *slaps forehead and sighs* There's just no reason for this thing to exist - other than to prove Hemsworth can do more than Thor. Which he probably can, but this does little for his case. The plot is purille; Rescue drug dealer's kid, oh no, we've been double-crossed (imagine that) but we'll carry on despite the fact he's nothing to us because it's the right thing to do. Even if that means killing hundreds of police with families who are just doing their jobs, a whole lot of innocent bystanders, truck loads of bad guys and a few highly trained professional mercenaries. This makes not a lick of sense considering at one point the mercenaries actually say they couldn't keep the kid safe even if they could pull off the rescue. This is glossed over at the end. The characters are flat and predictable. We know the bad guys are bad because, like Bond villains, they just stand around throwing kids off buildings and doing evil stuff. A lot has been said about the action but really, it's just OK. It's mostly down to shaky camera work making everything seem faster and more frenetic. The location is the film's one interesting point. And also the source of some of the problems with the action. There's a few chase scenes that anyone who's tried to drive in India would know are impossible. Pedestrians etc jump out of the way like in a bad computer game. And in one scene a speeding vehicle comes out of absolutely nowhere to hit poor Chris. Despite the fact we've just see that all the narrow streets are blocked. Inconvenient. But don't worry, we'll just take this truck that's conveniently appeared - from the same narrow alleyways that we've just seen to be jam-packed with people and overturned stalls and carts and whatnot. And drive off at speed. The simplistic plot goes from dumb to dumber as we head towards the inevitable showdown on the bridge we caught a glimpse of at the beginning. It's the typical 'we have to get from A to B' scenario via the hardest way possible ignoring any possible alternatives. "The police have all the bridges blocked? And for some obscure reason you can't get a chopper to us until we get to the other side?! Umm, what about a boat?" "Shhhh. You're spoiling it." This is anachronistic, dated, dumb action that simply shouldn't be. After watching 6 Underground which felt fresh and interesting (for a popcorn action movie), you have to wonder why Netflix greenlit such a backward leap for the genre.
Review of Extraction
