Why You Should Be Excited About Netflix's Extraction

Good news, everyone. Netflix just released the trailer for Extraction, the upcoming old-school action thriller that drops on the streaming service on April 24. The film looks to be a return to the tried-and-true era of a lonesome action hero fighting against insurmountable odds — but seeing as the action heroes of old are getting on in years (or at least saving their hips for the fourth Expendables movie that's yet to materialize), Extraction opts for a younger actor with a roughly equal power level: Chris Hemsworth, the thunder god himself. Hemsworth plays black market mercenary Tyler Rake, and if his incredibly action movie appropriate name and profession aren't enough to make you hanker for some popcorn, the fact that he embarks on a dangerous mission to rescue a crime lord's kidnapped kid should do the rest. 

The Extraction trailer immediately makes it clear that we're in for a wild ride. We see Rake jump down a cliff in order to meditate at the bottom of a lake, then beat up a bad guy with every single item he can lay his hands on — up to and very much including a wall. What's more, there's reason to believe that the movie will have a few more tricks up its sleeve, because hoo boy, there are some seriously talented people involved. Eagle-eyed viewers of the trailer may notice that apart from Hemsworth, Extraction also features Stranger Things' David Harbour, a fellow expert on playing world-weary men of action who ultimately rise to the occasion. Oh, and there's also the small matter of the people behind the scenes. 

Here's why you should be excited about Netflix's Extraction. 

If Chris Hemsworth isn't enough for you, how about adding some extra Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame goodness in the form of Anthony and Joe Russo? Yes, the directors of the two hit movies (along with the last two installments of the Captain America franchise) are the producers of Extraction. This actually marks the second time the Russo Brothers have produced a movie starring a Marvel franchise player, seeing as the two also played the same role with 2019's 21 Bridges, starring Black Panther's Chadwick Boseman. Per The Verge, the brothers are also set to helm the upcoming Netflix show about the uber-popular card game, Magic: The Gathering, so clearly, they're pretty serious about their Netflix involvement. Interestingly, Joe Russo has also written the script for Extraction.

That's not the extent of the brothers' involvement, either. Extraction has actually been in development since 2013 — before Captain America: Winter Soldier even came out. Also, it's based on Ciudad, a graphic novel by the Russos, Ande Parks, and Fernando Leon. (Their graphic novel-writing ventures are just part of the untold truth of the Russo Brothers.) 

Basically, we're looking at a story that the Russos have been tinkering with for ages, and that they now get to revisit with all the experience that directing four MCU movies has provided them.

Chris Hemsworth and the Russo Brothers somehow still aren't enough Avengers goodness for you? Well, there's also the fact that Extraction is directed by Sam Hargrave. The name doesn't ring a bell, you say? That's probably fair, considering that he has a only handful of short films to his name... as a director, that is. As a stunt coordinator, however, Hargrave the proverbial bee's knees. 

Apart from Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, he's also worked on multiple Captain America movies, the Hunger Games franchise, Atomic Blonde, and Suicide Squad — to name but a few of his endeavors. He's also well versed in the physical side of stunt work, and Hargrave's stuntman career includes gems such as being stunt Wolverine in The Wolverine and stunt Captain America in the first Avengers movie. 

Sure, Hargrave might not be the guy you'd pick to make the next Citizen Kane — but really, does Extraction look like it aims to be that? Isn't a top-level stunt coordinator who has successfully worked with both the Russos and Chris Hemsworth before the exact sort of person who you'd want to helm a crazy bundle of old-school action hero goodness that this movie seems set to be? Yes. Yes, he is.

Dive into Extraction when the film hits Netflix on April 24.