Here's why Chris Hemsworth was the obvious choice for 'Extraction', says director

A sweaty and determined Chris Hemsworth, kitted out in full military gear, is facing off against an equally determined and sweat-drenched Randeep Hooda in a narrow street of the sweltering city of Dhaka in Bangladesh.

Visibly tired, the two men lunge at each other with knives, trying to avoid oncoming tuk tuks, buses and other vehicles, while the building they've already demolished lies smouldering in the background.

And that's only halfway into the 11-and-a half-minute single-shot stunt sequence that makes up a key moment in the skop, skiet en donner, high-octane action world of Extraction.

It is the debut feature from former stuntman Sam Hargrave, whose previous work includes some of the biggest films in recent blockbuster history, including Avengers Infinity War and Avengers Endgame.

Based on the graphic novel Ciudad, written by Avengers directors, the brothers Joe and Antony Russo, Extraction is the high-energy, guns-blazing, cars-racing, bombs-exploding-everywhere story of an adrenaline junky mercenary named Tyler Rake (Hemsworth), who's hired by an Indian drug lord to rescue his kidnapped son from the clutches of a rival Bangladeshi drug lord.

The action unfolds in Dhaka, which has become an impenetrable fortress of angry foot soldiers determined to ensure that Tyler never gets out alive.

Told in real time, it's a piece of stunt-filled escapism that Hargrave hopes will pay tribute to the Hong Kong action cinema of the '80s and '90s.

"Those films were my biggest inspiration growing up. I think that a lot of my contemporaries, the guys who are redefining action, are not doing something that's brand new but coming full circle and going back to the way of shooting action and cutting action that we enjoyed growing up," said Hargrave.

He was first approached on the set of Avengers Infinity War by Joe Russo, who told him: "Hey I think I have the perfect script for your first film."

He said he loved the story and the characters and said: "Yeah I'd love to do it."

Having worked extensively with Hemsworth on the Marvel films, Hargrave said, it made sense for the Australian actor to play Rake.

"He has this natural physical ability to withstand all the punishment the character has to take. There was also a depth to the character that Hemsworth was very attracted to and we were excited about getting the chance to explore that and so the progression of that match up was natural."

The sequence at the heart of the film took three months of preparation to achieve, in keeping with Hargrave's motto: "Fix it in prep."

"I try to get as much prep time as I can because once you've prepped and rehearsed and everyone's on the same page, it's much easier to execute the sequence on the day," says Hargrave.

He adds: "Chris brings an extremely versatile background physically and has a work ethic like few others I've come across - he brought an element of professionalism that shaved down a little of that prep element because he was already so prepared.

"He spent a number of weeks working with the stunt team on the fight choreography and the car rehearsal and then, after shoot days, he would rehearse for an hour to two with the stunt team at the hotel afterwards because he wanted to get it right."

Extraction is a solid piece of old-school, over-the-top action entertainment that Hargrave said he hopes will transport audiences "during these crazy times to somewhere they can escape and get away from reality, enjoy the action and go on a journey that affects them emotionally. Hopefully through the course of this film you get to understand the character of Tyler Rake and his motivations and he becomes somebody that you like and want to follow."

• 'Extraction' is streaming now on Netflix.