The Extraction movies have a secret weapon, besides Chris Hemsworth

Other than the Marvel Cinematic Universe, no other movie franchise has found an effective way to use Chris Hemsworth. Granted, he could be a headlining act for worse franchises than the $30 billion juggernaut that has defined popular culture for the past 15 years. But from the dull, tasteless grays of the Hunter movies to the unnecessarily vitriolic despite the 2016 Ghostbusters excited, Hemsworth hasn’t been able to catch a break for a major movie series where he doesn’t play the God of Thunder. Even when he reunited with his MCU co-star Tessa Thompson for 2019 Men in Black: International, the results were deeply disappointing and forgettable. That movie isn’t particularly terrible, it just drains. And it doesn’t even include a Will Smith rap to spice it up. (Wild Wild West: 1, Men in Black: International: 0.)

Then Netflix came out extraction in 2020, with Hemsworth in the lead role and director Sam Hargrave at the helm. Netflix says the film was an instant success, reach almost 100 million households in the first four weeks – the largest reach for any Netflix original movie at the time. Certain elements of the movie violence, imagesAnd apparently white savior complex were rightfully criticized, but ultimately made an impact with audiences for being such a break from the overly referential, frustratingly insincere blockbuster output of the previous decade. And it spawned an immediate sequel, Extraction 2now on Netflix and will likely quickly beat the viewing record of the first film.

In the second half of the 2010s, the emphasis was on increasingly self-aware, light-hearted blockbuster films that were overrun with lame jokes. The Captain America meme “I understood that reference!” is perhaps the best tonal summation for this period, with that of 2012 The Avengers be patient zero, and Men in Black: International perfecting the formula into an anti-art form. Both on the other hand extraction and that of 2023 Extraction 2 put sincerity and spectacle above all else. Hargrave takes both films seriously and turns them into admirably efficient, effective blockbusters.

The extraction movies have simple stories, mainly focusing on how many bodies mercenary Tyler Rake (Hemsworth) can leave behind in his wake as he takes individuals from dangerous locations. At the heart of both films is the way Rake’s paramilitary work is his way of reconciling with his grief and guilt over his son’s death. Both films centralize the extractions around a young boy Rake is assigned to protect; the allegory is about as subtle as the action, but it hits the audience hard because it’s presented so seriously and because it helps create a heartfelt journey of self-acceptance for Rake.

Nor extraction film is particularly nuanced in its characterizations – they don’t get much more subtle than the metaphor in which Tyler Rake puts out a fire on his arm by repeatedly punching someone. But the stories have a sincerity that hearkens back to a pre-snark, pre-meta, pre-referentialism era of action movies.

It might be hard for young moviegoers who grew up on the MCU to remember, but there was an era of action where a character named Tyler Rake could kill a man with a rake and let that moment of silliness speak for itself, without having Kumail Nanjiani there to comment on it as the trademark Silly Guy. There’s a tonal sweet spot between the edgy dread of Snow White and the Hunter And Men in Black: International‘s quippy snark, and extraction lives in that place, where it can be serious, but not joyless or humorless.

The first extraction in 2020 was part of a new wave of action blockbusters that detoured from light-hearted banter and presented action with a much straighter face: the colossal successes of Top gun: Maverick And Avatar: the way of the water; the acclaimed climatic periods of Creed III And John Wick: Chapter 4; the global sensation that was RRR. The value of sincerity in action films deteriorated in the 2010s, in favor of self-deprecating humor, tension-breaking humor, and banter. But it has made a resurgence, and the spectacular in-camera action in both extraction movies are part of that wave.

Where the action sequences of heavily CG-based, fantasy-focused thrillers resemble Avengers, Transformers, Jurassic worldand indeed, Men in Black: International are typically streamlined into amorphous blobs of pixels that bump into each other like tantrum toys, the Extraction movies deliver action that’s clear and practical, and feels legitimately ambitious. In particular, both films feature extended sequences designed to appear as continuous shots – the first film’s impressive cinematic was about 10 minutes long, while Extraction 2‘s one-shot sequence doubles that length, ranging from a prison break to a train chase with virtually no breathing room in between.

The first movie also features an excellent fistfight between Hemsworth and David Harbour, as well as a sequence where Hemsworth has to fight a group of heavily armed, highly motivated child soldiers. There’s ironic comedic value to both scenes, but the script doesn’t overdo it, and Hemsworth’s performance emphasizes his frustration and desire to escape these situations, rather than letting him waltz through them on one-liners. The sequel ups the action stakes across the board.

Crucially, the Extraction films demonstrate a love for the craft of filmmaking, elevating them from mindless chaos to something truly spectacular. These are not lazy movies. The sheer dynamism rushing through them prevents them from feeling insincere. And as we’ve seen before, there’s a strong correlation between sincere filmmaking, sincere storytelling, and sincere audience reactions.

Sam Hargrave – as well as Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, the directing team behind the original John Wick – started his career as a stunt coordinator but has since switched roles and become an incredibly impressive action director. He brings a wealth of experience and love of action cinema to his work, and it shows through the sheer sincerity of extraction and its continuation.

The identity that this new wave of stunt performer-turned-action directors brings to their films is crucial: they produce blockbusters that feel genuinely involved in the action, and less as the result of an algorithm or commission. Extraction 2 reinforces that shift – neither of these films delivers tantalizing insights into the human condition, but they’re both kickass movies that are grounded in a seriousness that feels fresh and exciting. With any luck, they’ll also announce a new wave of heroes named after garden tools. The lawnmower man deserves its own heartfelt and serious comeback.

extraction And Extraction 2 streaming now on Netflix.