Chris Hemsworth, who is best known for portraying the mighty Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is explaining how working on Extraction 2’s practical stuntwork is extensively different from Marvel’s CGI-led action scenes.
In a recent conversation with Entertainment Weekly, Hemsworth talked about the process of filming these action-packed scenes for the franchise and how he finds the making of such sequences “so satisfying” in Extraction compared to Marvel. “We sort of went for the moon,” Hemsworth said. “In a very crowded world of action, I think we did something that’s very unique.”
Comparing Extraction’s filming process to a Marvel film, Hemsworth stated, “There’s something so satisfying about that,” he explained. “Not to take anything away from the special-effects-filled sort of Marvel film, but you have a lot of help in post-production there. Obviously, I can’t fly, so they help me through that. Whereas in this [Extraction] film, the action is grounded in reality, and so much of it is on camera. So, it’s a different energy, and the preparation is a lot more extensive.”
“We’ve got fist fights, car chases, explosions, trains, helicopters,” said Extraction director Hargrave. “It’s like an action fan’s fantasy come to life. At least it was for us action designers.” The duo also talked about one of the notable and exhilarating action scenes in the film where a helicopter lands on a moving train, which was all done practically.
“I will never forget standing underneath that helicopter,” the director said. “I was our camera operator for that moment, so I was filming. I could reach out with my hand, and I could have high-fived our pilot. It was amazing.” Hemsworth added, “Probably the most intense part was not so much the exhaustion levels, but just the sheer terror of all the things that could have gone wrong, but thankfully didn’t.”
Extraction is based on Ande Parks’ 2014 graphic novel ‘Ciudad.’ Netflix’s 2020 film adaptation follows “a black-market mercenary who has nothing to lose is hired to rescue the kidnapped son of an imprisoned international crime lord. But in the murky underworld of weapons dealers and drug traffickers, an already deadly mission approaches the impossible.”
The original film was positively received at the box office and got much praise for its exhilarating action sequences. While much of the details around the action-packed sequel are being hushed, it is being said that the film picks up after Hemsworth’s Tyler Rake survives his apparent death at the end of the first film. Hargrave returns to helm the second installment.
