The Mosley Review: Extraction
The action thriller genre has had a bit of a lag in quality recently. Mostly, films like the John Wick franchise have taken over and the thriller aspect has been missing from the spectrum of action. To make more thrillers standout, they need bring back what makes them fun to watch. The key elements to a good action film is not only the action, but its the character arc and momentum of the story. Even the most simple stories have most of that, but you feel the momentum fizzle out mid way through you're no longer engaged. That was not the case with this film. From beginning to end, there were some of the most tension filled, gritty, story driven action sequences that were impressive to watch. The characters in the film I enjoyed the most and the world around them kept them on their toes as there really weren't too many moments to rest. The momentum of the film was brilliantly paced with a great emotional payoff that was predictable, but well executed. You'll definitely see comparisons to other films about a witness transfer or escort out of a hot zone, but this time you didn't want the asset to die because of how annoying they were.
Chris Hemsworth is always a class act in everything he does and as Tyler Rake, he delivers the perfect balance between classic action hero and a charismatic savior that has emotional depth. He nails the action scenes in this film and it was exhausting to see him go through so much to save the kid. He gets a chance to shine with his more dramatic talents in a great scene midway through the film and it was lovely. Rudhraksh Jaiswal was fantastic as Ovi Mahajan Jr. He had more character development than most kids in films like these. Even though bullets were flying towards him most of the time, you get the great chemistry between him and Hemsworth. Randeep Hooda was outstanding and relentless as Saju. He matches Hemsworth blow for blow in their action scenes, but more so in their dramatic moments. Golshifteh Farahani was excellent as Nik Khan and you see the genuine care she had for Hemworth's character. David Harbour makes an appearance as Gaspar and he was fantastic as always. Priyanshu Painyuli was evil and smooth as the villain Amir Asif, but I felt he was too one note and not really as sinister as he could've been.
The score by Henry Jackman & Alex Belcher was perfect. He added to the tension and energy of the action. Speaking of action, there is an almost 15 minute action sequence that is in one complete take. There are many other films that have done this, but this was truly impressive and I felt that they were trying to break the record by having the longest single take action sequence. I truly had a great time watching this film and I recommend it if you wanna see some great action with a good story that'll keep you engaged all the way through. It is currently available to stream on Netflix and I highly recommend it.
