Move fast, stay low –
Streaming services like Netflix provide a much-needed platform for mid-level films
Jennifer Ouellette – Apr , (8:) (UTC UTC)
The official premise is short and sweet: “Tyler Rake (Hemsworth) is a fearless black market mercenary who embarks on the deadliest mission of his career when he’s enlisted to rescue the kidnapped son of an international crime lord. ”
Compounding matters is the fact that Rake has lost his own son and is dealing with the grief and depression one might expect from such a tragedy — namely, by drinking heavily, popping lots of oxycontin, and taking crazy stupid risks. “You’re hoping if you spin the chamber enough times, you’ll catch a bullet,” his perceptive fellow merc and partner, Nik Khan (Golshifteh Farahani) tells him.
The extraction of the kidnapped Ovi (played by newcomer Rudraksh Jaiswal), proves significantly more difficult than originally anticipated. Ovi’s father is currently in prison, with his financial assets frozen. So when henchmen of Bangladeshi drug lord Amir Asif (Priyanshu Painyuli) kidnap Ovi, he can neither pay the ransom, nor the fee for hiring Tyler, Nik, and their crew. Instead, the crime lord’s top aide, Saju (Randeep Hooda), tries to take Ovi back after Tyler completes the initial rescue to avoid paying him for the job.
Hemsworth is more than capable of the physicality required to play Tyler, and also brings the right amount of dark emotional intensity to his portrayal of the grief-stricken merc. He’s supported by an equally strong cast, most notably Hooda’s Saju and Jaiswal’s Ovi, a shy, sensitive kid who just wants to hang out with his friends after school, and instead finds himself fighting for his life.
Still, it’s a solid, entertaining action thriller, and a nice addition to Netflix’s growing catalog of original films. In fact, that might be the most significant aspect of Extraction :: it was made specifically for digital distribution, rather than a broad theatrical release — even before the coronavirus pandemic shut down movie theaters around the world. The Russo brothers, who cut their teeth in television with the series Community, have fully embraced the changing media landscape, shuttling easily between blockbuster theatrical releases like Avengers: End Game and digital releases like (Extraction) .
“The greatest thing that Netflix has done is take away box office from defining the success or quality of a film,” Joe Russo Deadline Hollywood
in a recent interview. “Movies are having trouble being funded in the old way and models don’t support it anymore.” While he thinks there will always be a place for the communal experience of going to a movie theater, he thinks that will be reserved for big-budget blockbuster releases, where the economics are more favorable. Streaming services like Netflix can provide a much-needed platform for mid-level films like . “Frankly I’m hoping the prejudice between digital and theatrical distribution disappears because I don’t find it helpful,” Joe Russo added . “And I don’t think the audience, especially the young audience, cares. Some of the best quality storytelling we’ve ever had is on television right now through digital distribution.” Well said.
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