Extraction (2020)

Dhaka gets treated like one giant obstacle course in Extraction, and almost nobody who lives there gets to say a word. The story is the oldest one in action movies: a burned-out mercenary with a sad past finds a reason to care. Tyler Rake’s grief gets doled out in moody flashbacks that slow everything down, and the villain mostly glowers from a distance. Then the big chase kicks off, and you stop caring about any of it. Sam Hargrave stitches a car chase, a foot chase and an apartment brawl together so it looks like one unbroken shot, and it’s genuinely breathtaking. Chris Hemsworth sells every punch and every limp. Randeep Hooda is excellent as Saju, a bodyguard with his own family on the line. Rudhraksh Jaiswal makes Ovi a real kid, not luggage. Every bit of the reported $65M budget is on screen. A 6.2 because the stunts deserve a better movie wrapped around them. $15.67 says you finish it feeling winded and realize you never once got off the couch.

What works: The long one-shot chase is breathtakingly staged, and Randeep Hooda gives the movie a second, sharper lead.

What doesn’t: The story is a stack of clichés about a grieving mercenary, and Dhaka is treated more like a set than a city full of people.

Who it’s for: Action fans who study fight scenes frame by frame and don’t need much plot to stay on the couch.