Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		1.5

Extraction Blu-ray Movie Review

Way too many days of the Condor.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 17, 2016

Even folks who typically don’t pay that much attention to the so-called “below the line” talent in any given film will recognize the name of Saul Bass and instantly link it to the visionary artist’s title sequence work on such films as Carmen Jones, Around the World in 80 Days, Bonjour Tristesse, Vertigo, Anatomy of a Murder, North by Northwest, Psycho, Spartacus, West Side Story and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, to name but a very few. But the use of the very word “artist” highlights one of the other skills Bass brought to the film industry, one he shared with perhaps lesser known names like Drew Struzan, Jack Davis, Tom Jung, Reynold Brown and one of my personal favorites, Bob Peak. That particular skill is of course poster illustration, which back in an earlier less interconnected time provided the first look at a “coming attraction” often well before any trailers showed up to be viewed at the local movie house. This is all to say that there’s a rather handsome illustration gracing the cover of Extraction, one which was also offered on one of this film’s posters during its understandably brief theatrical exhibition. Extraction’s art was done by a consortium called Kustom Creative (the film evidently handled all of the film’s poster art), and they provide a kind of cool, burnished and retro-60s ambience to their work. Unfortunately if the film itself captures any retro quality, it’s more the style, tone and generally uninspired competence that tended to inform many 60s’ television series or made for tv movies.

The formulaic quality of Extraction is so pronounced that some brave souls who actually worked up enough courage to watch The Transporter Refueled may feel like they’ve wandered into an alternate universe where at least some salient plot points from that overheated (if still undercooked) action adventure espionage entry have been ported over whole cloth into an at least ostensibly new context. Once again the relationship between father and son spies (or at least operatives of some kind) is front and center, though sadly this film doesn’t offer the blandishments of a trio of women who look like they’ve stumbled out of a Robert Palmer music video. Instead there’s a sole female named Victoria (Gina Carano) who gets caught up in the supposed maelstrom of a kidnapped CIA agent named Leonard Turner (Bruce Willis in just the latest quasi-cameo taken to evidently pay off some old bills), Victoria ultimately ends up working with Leonard’s son Harry (Kellan Lutz), another CIA agent (albeit an underutilized one), to retrieve Leonard and keep the bad guys from realizing their terrorist ambitions. Think romantic sparks will fly? Think the terrorists will be thwarted? If you're thinking at all, Extraction may in fact not be the right film for you.

A brief prelude sets up what is evidently already a somewhat dysfunctional relationship between father and son, as the story details an event ten years prior to the bulk of the film’s time frame, when a somewhat younger Leonard tries to talk his then young son Harry through a home invasion scenario by some nefarious bad guys. Young Harry manages to retrieve his father’s gun, but isn’t able to pull the trigger after having witnessed the traumatic murder of his mother (Leonard’s wife). Luckily Leonard’s cohort Ken Robertson (D.B. Sweeney) arrives to save the day, if not the Mom. A decade later, Ken has taken Harry under his wing at the CIA’s Prague branch, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that Harry has ever seen or is ever going to see actual action. That turns out to be due at least in part to some backstage maneuverings by Leonard, of course. When Leonard is kidnapped during a mission dealing with a world changing technology known as Condor, the CIA doesn’t want Harry anywhere around the investigation. Guess who “goes rogue”, ending up partnering with a CIA agent with whom he just happens to share a romantic history?

There’s virtually no plot point here that any armchair scenarist won’t be able to predict from miles out, including a supposed mind blowing “twist” for one character and an expected late third act tragedy. Director Miller stages the action scenes well enough, but even those have a tired, rote aspect to them. Lutz steps into these clichéd action adventure hero shoes with ease, at least from a physical standpoint. The performances here are barely placeholders at time. By the way, the film actually does feature something kind of retro cool—a title sequence that seems deliberately evocative of a certain Saul Bass.

Note: My colleague Brian Orndorf may have had an even less positive response to Extraction than I did (if that's possible). You can read Brian's thoughts here.

Extraction Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Extraction is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This digitally shot feature boasts a generally very sharp and well detailed image, though director Miller and DP Brandon Cox apply various hackneyed bells and whistles to some sequences, including a gritty, faux grainy prologue with pushed contrast that actually offers some surprisingly excellent fine detail in some extreme close-ups. Later scenes have the requisite color grading, though a couple of sequences have been really oddly pasted with a kind of sickly green-yellow hue that does some patently weird things to flesh tones. Extraction was filmed entirely in Alabama, and there are some almost shockingly shoddy looking establishing shots (assumedly sourced from stock footage) of various locales.

Extraction Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Extraction features an expectedly boisterous, even noisy, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix that offers good surround activity in some of the big set pieces, as well as appealing if at least relatively more nuanced placement of ambient environmental sounds, especially in some outdoor scenes. While rife with surround activity, the thumping, repetitive score by Ryan Dodson may end up distracting or even annoying some listeners. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and with excellent prioritization.

Extraction Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary by Director Steven C. Miller and Actor Kellan Lutz. This is a passably engaging and pretty chatty commentary, albeit with some lulls in the dialogue. Miller lets drop fairly early that he only had Willis on set for one day of shooting.


• Deleted/Extended Scenes (1080p; 4:42)


• The Making of Extraction (1080p; 12:57)


• Cast/Crew Interviews (1080p; 29:10) include Steven C. Smith, Kellan Lutz, Gina Corano, D.B. Sweeney, Dan Bilzerian, Joshua Mikel, Brandon Cox - Director Photography. Notice anyone missing?


• Extraction Trailer (1080p; 2:06)

Extraction Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

At the risk of being accused of being too cute with my dismissive comments, my hunch is the only thing most viewers will want to extract from Extraction is—themselves. This by the numbers outing hits all the expected plot points and set pieces without an ounce of originality or innovation. Adrenaline junkies may find enough here to warrant a rental, at least if The Transporter Refueled isn't available. Technical merits are strong for those considering a purchase.