Praise be to Netflix! While cinemas remain closed for the forseeable future and most productions are on hold or delayed, the streaming giant continues to release fresh content from its shelves.

The latest effort is Extraction, which sees some of the team behind the world's most successful franchise come together for a slightly different heroic caper.

Extraction, as a pure white-knuckle action flick, is a supremely impressive endeavour. It's an explosive, gauntlet-style journey into the streets of Dhaka, Bangladesh through the eyes, ears, and (many) guns of a miserable mercenary played by Thor's Chris Hemsworth. 

The plot is but a whisper but manages to suffice, delivering a rough and tumble redemption story featuring a broken-inside black ops soldier tasked with rescuing a kidnapped teen.

First-time director Sam Hargrave wisely keeps it within his wheelhouse, drawing upon his years as a stuntman and fight coordinator for several Marvel Cinematic Universe movies (including the ones with the best action, Winter Soldier and Civil War, where he even doubled for Chris Evans).

Extraction isn't much more than its eye-popping violence but Joe Russo's script is sparse enough to make room for someone looking to make their stamp on the action world. Hargrave does this well, delivering a lead character who fights like he's one of the more successful super soldier serum test subjects - along with a very impressive 12-minute single-shot set piece that moves from a car chase into a foot chase into a showdown inside an apartment building.  
 
Hemsworth, as the extremely action movie-named Tyler Rake, is formidable in his fighting, shooting, and overall frenetic physicality. He's also able to move the slender story along with his pathos, giving Tyler a layer of sadness that a lesser-performer would probably glower their way through. Basically, Tyler's lost everything, including the will to live, and he finds a small spark again by helping Rudhraksh Jaiswal's Ovi, the teen son of an Indian crime boss who's been kidnapped by a rival drug lord. It's conventional, but Hemsworth and Jaiswal are able to create a believable and emotional dynamic very quickly and effectively.

Is Extraction necessarily good or grand enough to tout the Avengers: Endgame reunion between that film's directors the Russos (who produce this one), Hemsworth, and Hargrave? Probably not. In the very least, it's interesting, and Hargrave has crafted an honourable first entry into the realm of action cinema. Even if viewers' only takeaway from this is the long, crazy one-shot, it's a better impression than you'll get from most shoot 'em-ups.

Indian star Randeep Hooda is also on hand, as a wild card foil for Hemsworth's Tyler, giving the film an extra formidable fighter so that Tyler doesn't feel like the only super soldier of the bunch.

Using one of the world's most densely populated cities as its storyline sandbox, the film is able to create a gritty, claustrophobic feeling without having its main characters get trapped in a building or some other enclosed structure.

Ultimately, Extraction works because its simple, yet sufficient, story allows the film's action to take centre stage. If the stunt work were mediocre, the entire thing would be an utter waste of time. Thankfully though, Extraction boasts an exhaustingly awesome showcase of expertly choreographed fists, knives, guns and explosions. If you enjoyed the hard-hitting showdowns between Bucky and Steve in the Captain America films, you'll dig this flick. Unfortunately, when the John Wick's of this world exist, it can't quite elevate itself to the top level.

Kristian's rating: 3/5