Chris Hemsworth is mostly known for his role as the Asgardian god Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So, seeing him go full Stallone in the recent Netflix action hit Extraction was exciting. The movie was produced by Avengers: Endgame directors Anthony and Joe Russo.
But is it Chris Hemsworth's best non-MCU movie? An argument can be made for the sports biopic Rush. In it, Hemsworth played the controversial Formula One driver, James Hunt. The plot centered on his rivalry with legendary champion Nicki Lauda. Here is where each movie trumps the other.
Extraction: Action Sequences
Audiences are used to seeing Chris Hemsworth fighting villains in the MCU and Extraction kept the actor with his fists clench. Only this time, he wasn't clenching them to have a proper grip on the hammer. He was clenching them to deliver punches. And he did deliver more punches than Evander Holifield on his heydey.
The action sequences in the movie are so good they make you blind to the film's other flaws. This is thanks to the fact that the movie was directed by MCU stunt coordinator, Sam Hargrave. Remember the beautiful action sequences in Captain America: Civil War? Hargrave is the man to thank.
Rush: Character Development
Apart from arguably being the best racing movie of all time, Rush did a better job of exploring the lives of the main characters when they were not doing what they do best. Family lives and social lives were heavily emphasized upon, providing fans with a break from the thrills that characterized most of the film.
James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) was a drunkard and playboy who slept with every woman he met. Nicki Lauda (Daniel Brühl) was an introvert who only cared about cars, planes, and his wife. Extraction, on the other hand, was all action from start to finish.
Extraction: The Stakes
In Extraction, Hemsworth is Tyler Rake, a highly-skilled black-ops mercenary and former Australian Special Air Service Regiment, soldier. He is hired to rescue the son of an Indian drug lord who has been kidnapped by a rival in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and ends up facing plenty of obstacles in his mission.
The stakes in the movie are so high because Rake barely gets time to breathe. There is no shortage of people hunting him down. And the young boy is so adorable that audiences can't help but pray that Tyler gets him out of danger soon. He manages to do this but not without his fair share of injuries.
Rush: Life Lessons
Though not mandatory, great films often thrust upon themselves the extra responsibility of educating the audiences rather than just entertaining them. Rush did this magnificently. Hunt's penchant for living life on the first lane eventually costs him. He dies at an early age with just a single championship to his name.
Meanwhile, Lauda shows the importance of resilience, discipline, and ambition. He recovers from a terrible crash that left his face disfigured and goes on to win more Formula One races than any other diver in history. His wife also believes in him and stays by his side through the worst of times and it pays off.
Extraction: A Worthy Villain
Rush didn't have a villain, just two rivals competing against each other. Your own personality determined who you rooted for and related with. However, in Extraction, there is one big bad boss. He isn't an Oscar-worthy villain but he is so evil and unlikeable that you can't wait for him and all his men to be sent to the afterlife.
Amir Asif is a wealthy crime boss in Dhaka who has the police on his payroll. He is also a sadistic person who sees no problem in throwing kids off buildings or making his henchmen cut their fingers off as a sign of loyalty. The way he's able to command hundreds of men to go after Tyler is admirable.
Rush: Emotional Moments
Seeing Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth) getting shot in the neck in the final moments and falling into the river in Extraction was an emotional moment. Did he die? Well, it's not clear but due to his ability to hold his breath for long times in water, there is a high chance he didn't.
However, Rush had plenty of tear-drawing moments. The major one happened when Niki Lauda tried to get the Nürburgring Nordschleife race circuit canceled because of bad weather. Other drivers disagreed and Lauda ended up crashing his Ferarri. Watching the accident as well as the recovery journey as fluid is siphoned from his lungs through pipes in the hospital is too emotional.
Extraction: The Cinematography
Extraction might not have had a unique plot but the cinematography was exemplary. Every scene is rich in color and there's a 12-minute single shot that includes everything you'd want to see in an action movie: a car chase, a foot chase, a shootout, a knife battle, fisticuffs, and explosions.
Every little detail concerning the camera work is done to perfection. Try as you might, you won't notice a single continuity error. While the camera work in Rush was impressive too, it doesn't match the mixture of quick cuts and extended shots seen in Extraction.
Rush: More Realistic
It all comes down to the fact that Rush is a biopic whereas Extraction is totally fiction. However, there are plenty of fictional movies that feel realistic and relatable. Extraction is not one of them. Not many people can stay underwater for dozens of minutes or take out a whole city's police force.
With, Rush, everything is as real as it gets. From the family drama to the rivalries and races, everything comes off as something we've seen before or something we know can happen. Even the real-life Niki Lauda praised the movie during a 2013 interview on Carjam TV, saying: "When I saw it the first time, I was impressed. There were no Hollywood changes or things changed a little bit Hollywood-like. It is very accurate. And this really surprised me very positively."
Extraction: The Setting
What makes Extraction stand out is the location in which events take place. All the action unfolds in the city of Dhaka in Bangladesh. This feels like a welcome change from the traditional action movie locations of North America, South America, and Europe.
The city of Dhaka provides another obstacle for the protagonist - the population. While most action heroes normally have an easy time moving around thanks to the scarcity of people, Tyler has to frequently find his way through groups of people and crowded buildings. This makes his job more difficult.
Rush: Critic And Fan Reviews Are In Its Favor
Rush has an 88% score on Rotten Tomatoes and an 8.1 rating on IMDb. Meanwhile, Extraction has a 68% score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 6.8 rating on IMDb. Box office figures can't be used to compare the two because the latter was released exclusively on Netflix.
Extraction has obviously had more buzz but its clear that fans and critics enjoyed seeing Chris Hemsworth behind the wheel rather than him holding a gun. What remains a fact is that both movies are wildly entertaining and worthy of watching again and again.