Sam Hargrave delivers a kinetic action thriller starring Chris Hemsworth from a story partly created by Joe Russo from the graphic novel, Ciudad. Hemsworth is Tyler Rake a mercenary who seems to be willing to take any mission that pays in the hopes of some day fulfilling a death wish caused by the loss of his wife and the death of his son.

Rake is offered an extraction op. It seems Ovi (Rudhraksh Jaiswal) the son of an Indian mobster in Mumbai has been kidnapped by Asif (Priyanshu Painyuli) a vengeful drug dealer in Bangladesh. Unfortunately for Rake and his team, there are shifting boundaries of trust, betrayals and a city that seems to, as one, turn against Rake and his rescued charge.

Hargrave keeps the story moving, and Hemsworth is extremely engaging as Rake works to add substance to the character and elevate it above a standard action hero, though he is comfortable in that role as well.

The action sequences are intense and brutal, and put Rake through the wringer and force him to confront all manner of obstacles and opponents.

In fact, Hargrave is so intent on making sure he delivers something exceptional, choreographing a giant action sequence that seems to run as one continuous shot for over eleven minutes. It’s actually made up of thirty-six sequences timed and organized and edited to make sure that it appears to be one shot.

It looks fantastic. The entire film looks great, the visual effects are top-notch (all the muzzle flashes had to be added in because of India’s strict gun laws), and the camera work is absolutely stunning, and making sure there is the occasional breather slipped into allow the audience to tentatively relax, the film progresses at a breakneck pace, easily resting on Hemsworth’s shoulders.

By setting it outside of North America, even Europe, the filmmakers can introduce a number of unfamiliar talents to North American audiences, something that helps to ground the film and help establish its reality. Sure there may be a few faces you recognize, Rake asks for assistance at one point and I was delighted with who showed up, but for the most part, I was introduced to a whole new group of actors and loved the performances delivered.

Painyuli imbues Asif with threat and charm, while Saju portrayed by Randeep Hooda takes us on a surprising emotional journey, while Rake’s partner, Nik Khan (Golshifteh Farahani) layers her performance to suggest a bit more of an emotional connection to Rake than she would like to admit.

The final action sequence on a bridge, as Rake tries to escape the city, leaves the character in a dire state at the end of the film, though there’s an interesting suggestion with the film’s final shot. Not to mention that shortly after the film was completed and released to Netflix it was announced that a sequel would be following.

It definitely doesn’t change the enjoyment of the film, but the final shot illustrates that the film could have stood on its own, and didn’t need a sequel, but I’ll be curious to see what Rake goes through in Extraction 2, which I’ll check out tomorrow!