Extraction
Netflix has a new hit on its hands, and for once it’s not a scripted series or documentary, it’s a new original movie. They’ve attempted blockbusters before, but Extraction, written by Joe Russo and directed by stuntman Sam Hargrave, seems to have struck a chord with viewers, myself included (read my review here).
The movie is good, and lead Chris Hemsworth is good in it as Tyler Rake who does, at one point, kill a man with a rake. As I watched the movie and realized how much I was enjoying it, I figured that this was setting itself up to be a John Wick or Jason Borne situation which spawned multiple movies starring Rake.
Spoilers follow.
Until Tyler got shot in the neck.
Extraction
It’s the climax of the film, where Tyler finally gets his extraction kid to safety, but one lowly thug manages to get a shot off and the round goes through Tyler’s neck (after he’s already been shot a few other times, before this). Tyler gives one last longing look to the kid and his team, and falls off a bridge into the water.
But wait!
The final seconds of the film show the kid swimming at school, and a blurry shot seems to show a Tyler Rake-sized figure lurking in the background.
Extraction
Yes, I believe Tyler Rake is alive. The cardinal rule of movies like this is that if you don’t see a body, the person in question isn’t dead, even if there wasn’t a tease at the end like what we saw at the end of Extraction. Would his injuries have killed pretty much anyone else on the planet? Yes, but he’s an action hero, and John Wick got thrown off a roof in his last movie and he’s still okay. These things happen.
I fully believe that Netflix will reunite Hemsworth, Hargrave and Russo for an Extraction sequel or two, taking Tyler to new locations so he can murder new people and possibly save more children or pets or whatever else needs to be extracted.
The India plotline does seem to be wrapped up completely. The big bad drug dealer was indeed assassinated by the end of the film by Tyler’s team (as revenge? were they hired? unclear), so it’s probably time for an entirely new story and new villain to take on.
As for when we might see this? I don’t know, a year or two, at least. But I absolutely believe this will get greenlit if it hasn’t been already, with Extraction currently the number one movie or show on the service. Netflix has not exactly created many film franchises with its original offerings, but it seems pretty clear this could be one, and Tyler Rake might join John Wick and Jason Borne and James Bond in the multi-movie action film pantheon soon enough.
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