OLD SCHOOL ACTION FEST

gangster Asif (Priyanshu Painyuli). Hemsworth as the mercenary Tyler Rake is hired for a whopping sum to bring the boy back.

Extraction operates on a nebulous kidnapping that is never explained, as if Joe Russo saw too many old Hindi action dramas of the ‘80s and ‘90s before writing this screenplay, where you throw logic out the window while setting up the hero as a portrait of machismo.

Clearly, stunt director-turned-film director Hargrave gave more attention to a highlight 12-minute action sequence filmed on Hemsworth than storytelling details.

EXTRACTION (Netflix)

STARRING: Chris Hemsworth, Randeep Hooda, Pankaj Tripathi, Priyanshu Painyuli

DIRECTOR: Sam Hargrave

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Extraction may be billed as a highoctane action film, but a lot of its stunts would remind you of old-school Bollywood. For a change, this is not so much about contemporary Hollywood CGI razzle as it is about vintage Mumbai action masala. In this film, Thor comes to India – to Bangladesh, according to the script, but it’s Ahmedabad that’s being passed off as Dhaka.

Avengers director duo Anthony

FOUR MORE SHOTS PLEASE SEASON 2 (Amazon Prime series)

STARRING: Sayani Gupta, Kirti Kulhari, Maanvi Gagroo and Bani J

DIRECTOR: Nupur Asthana

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There is an element of simplistic joy that drives Four More Shots Please and it’s a quality that endears you to the show. Beneath the grit driving its admirably unapologetic protagonists, it has a fairy-tale spirit propping the narrative. Same-sex love or business woes, broken marriages or cheating partners – within the realism that this series sets up, the drama invariably flows with abundant feel-good zest.

Perhaps it is meant to be that way. The four lead actresses of the show have, after all, learnt to comfortably coexist with their flaws and life’s worries. The new season takes the individual stories of these four women forward with more introspective edge and the same irreverent wit that we loved the first time around.

Season Two takes off a few months after the first season ended, and starts and Joe Russo, who co-produce this film with Hemsworth and action choreographer-turned-filmmaker Sam Hargrave, have gone for more than just locations while delivering an Indian feel. Driven by the clear intention of cashing in on violence, they haven’t bothered to check on the subcontinent’s socio-cultural nuances (so typically Hollywood). Ahmedabad simply does not look like Dhaka, never mind the deliberately done Bengali hoardings and occasional Bengali lines thrown in.

The film won’t disappoint action buffs, though. It is unabashedly unidimensional in situations, plot and characters despite a backdrop that could have been tapped to create a smart socio-political thriller. Instead, the effort never deviates from its intention of being a loud stunt fest and little else.

Joe Russo’s screenplay draws from a graphic novel that he once co-authored, titled Ciudad. While the drama in the book is based in the Paraguayan city of Ciudad del Este, the film transfers the story to Bangladesh’s capital city of Dhaka (incidentally, the film was originally titled “Dhaka”, too).

The plot is basic. Ovi (Rudraksh Jaiswal), the teenage son of a jailed drug lord (Pankaj Tripathi in a blinkand-miss role) is kidnapped by the

Indeed, Tyler the hero goes to places where even Thor the superhero wouldn’t imagine – in the domain of the hardcore commercial Bollywood. He acquires infallible swag as he bashes up a dozen baddies singlehandedly, and spectacularly goes about his mission. Oh, and he is lonely too, as brooding men of action normally are. Just for the heck of it, they might have given Hemsworth a love story too, and some naach-gaana!

Pankaj Tripathi is wasted, Randeep Hooda gets a few scenes of note as an action star, and those who dig world cinema will be disappointed with the raw deal Golshifteh Farahani gets. Perhaps only Hemsworth fans won’t be disappointed. Extraction is a package tailor-made for the hunky superstar (it is his co-production, after all.)

By lockdown logic, though, the film should be good enough to sail through.

Vinayak Chakravorty are more impressive in their respective roles this season. They seem to have settled down comfortably in their screen avatars. with a rather unnecessary check on where each lead character currently stands, before taking off with their individual stories.

(Lisa Ray) a proper shot. Anjana wants to patch up with her ex-husband, while Siddhi is trying to make it as a stand-up comedian.

Damini (Sayani Gupta), Anjana (Kirti Kulhari), Siddhi (Maanvi Gagroo) and Umang (Bani J) are still dealing with familiar crises. Damini, reeling under the loss of her website, has turned her attention to writing a book that has the potential of stirring up a storm. Umang, after outing herself to the world, wants to give her relationship with Samara

While Nupur Asthana takes over from Anu Menon to direct, the overall uniformity in the unique mix of drama and humour probably owes itself to the fact that Devika Bhagat returns as writer for all 10 episodes of the new season. Bhagat keeps up the intrigue factor about each of the leading ladies by reiterating their quirky flaws from season one.

This is a show brought to life by an all-women crew. Beyond Asthana and Bhagat, the narrative is sufficiently enriched by Ishita Moitra’s dialogues. The writing of characters as well as the lines they get to speak, blend well with Asthana’s tack as a filmmaker.

It is something that lets the cast relish the job at hand. Sayani Gupta, Kirti Kulhari, Maanvi Gagroo and Bani J

The male cast, really the supporting acts here, are however impressive in well-penned roles. Milind Soman, PratiekBabbar and Neil Bhoopalam are back in familiar roles, while Sameer Kochhar and Prabal Punjabi join the cast, too. The men are particularly useful in triggering off the conflict points in the lives of the show’s four female leads, with their many hues between black and white.

Sure, there are flaws. The start of the season, for instance, need not have wasted time with recap, and taken us straight into the current lives of the four girls. After a while, many of the stock plot points keep coming back, rendering some of the middle episodes without pace at times.

Still, you come out of the experience happier – if only because Damini, Anjana, Siddhi and Umang have adamantly decided they won’t let negativity enter their world, no matter what. Despite the feel-good simplicity, their world continues to be nuanced.

Vinayak Chakravorty