Out of the Fire

Crazier version of Man on Fire, in other words another movie made by a “stuntman/director" where it is going without saying that shaky camera and frantic editing are a course of the action genre. From the same department as The Raid and Wick movies. Not in terms of the style of action, the type of movie or the uncompromising rawness, but because when watching action scenes you will inevitably delighted to say several time “I've never seen anything like this before, but I have always wanted to". You may not say it as often (basically twice; in a one-shot eleven-minute action hell while watching slums and rogues being beaten) as when watching the second Raid movie or John Wick sequel, but still more often than when watching most of the action movies from the last decades (exceptionalmovie ). On top of that, frequent action is so diverse that you won’t become bored of it. Straightforwardness does justice to this movie, the characters are sketched but functional, emotions work well, it simply does the job. The outcome is a genre move that knows what it wants to be and to who is the viewer. The only minor imperfection is a little bit too much sad, gloomy self-questioning, a too yellow toning and a rather open ending. (2020-04-24)

In an ideal world, it would be John Wick meets The Raid with a touch of The Punisher... but hey. The first one lacks greater action exaggeration, although there is nothing to complain about with regard to most of the fights and shooting, and the film has a top stunt show-reel. Compared to Gareth Evans and his group of Indonesian suicidal people, Extraction never quite takes your breath away. Hemsworth looks good on the field, but he also carries with him a mediocre back story and a lot of boyish tenderness, which is not very believable, even though I like the guy and enjoy every one of his Instagram posts. There is only one expert on this deadly tenderness deal, and that is Joe Bernthal. I would have given it a higher score had it not been for the blatantly stupid finale and the fact that Bangladeshi Ivan Jonák should have been given more space. Thank you, BTW, for the scene with the beating of children. After a month of quarantine, it’s solidly cathartic. P. S. If someone from Netflix reads this (and they certainly will), shoot the author of the translation in the foot and pay for a proper translator. This man is a fraud and does not need to be rescued, but rather deboned. (2020-04-24)

There’s a strange contemporary trend – making action movies with good actors but without emotion. Which is a pity in this case, because Chris Hemsworth usually knows how to crack jokes, like he showed us in Thor. If he got some space for that, instead of just massacring left and right like Robocop, it could have been the best action blockbuster of the decade. As it is, it’s just an average action flick with one delicious chase in the middle, where the camera was working magic and I was just gaping at the screen with my mouth hanging open. (2020-04-29)

Extraction has an indisputably significant place on the notional chart of trends in the action genre. This dot chart, marked out in one plane by unbridled low-budget action movies with athletic, ready-for-anything actors and in the opposite by constrained Hollywood big-budget productions with stars, shows us in the points the emphasis on action as an attraction and the evocation of the wow effect by the physical dimension. In this definition, however, Extraction is not an essential or revolutionary milestone. Rather, the very fact that it appeared on that notional chart further reinforces the hope that better times are ahead for the action genre in Hollywood. Sam Hargrave emerges from this as a good and likable apprentice of the 87eleven stunt school and stands somewhere between his masters Chad Stahelski and David Leitch. But Hemsworth is neither Keanu Reeves nor Tom Cruise, so he obviously does not have years of training or personal commitment under his belt. Therefore, his director and choreographer have to come up with gimmicks such as one seeming long shot that is digitally stitched together, which, with its obvious transitions, only brings to mind the ambitions of filmmakers from the lower budget categories, but who gain greater fondness through their greater tenacity despite the production conditions (in, for example, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning) or honest craftsmanship (such as in Jailbreak). And that’s not to mention projects that still remain unsurpassed today, where physical action and directorial craft achieve the ideal synergy, us as in The Raid 2. ____ Extraction is a fine contribution to the genre that shows Netflix’s potential, but also its real face as a video rental company. And that will perhaps remain the primary benefit of this project. Netflix is surprisingly consistent in bringing the schizophrenic “VoD video rental” label to mind. Although it will never achieve the pampered selection and community function that carefully curated autonomous video rental shops offered, it needs a regular supply of shiny new products, following the example of the major chains. In the best case, they will attract viewers to the more out-of-the-way sections, where they will discover not unique gems, but a bunch of other genre flicks that will compel them not to cancel their subscriptions. So, if you find yourself in these nooks and crannies because of Netflix’s recommendations, have a look at some of the films mentioned above. However, after these years of shakycams and CGI colouring books that completely lack a physical dimension, we can once again look forward to the coming development. It even makes one want to talk about the renaissance of the action genre. (2020-05-16)

After Triple Frontier, another likeably uncompromising and gritty action flick from Netflix. The choreography and direction are so predatory and imaginative that there are several scenes that I wanted to rewatch immediately after the credits rolled, and I did. The story is simple, but it also manages to surprise with one unusual, yet logical alliance in particular, and the quiet ending didn't bother me at all, quite the opposite – I felt like I needed a breather. I trusted Chris Hemsworth with everything. (2020-04-25)