Brock Swinson's video: How Extraction is Leading the Stuntman Revolution

This is Sam Hargrave. More than likely, you’ve seen him before and not realized it. He’s been featured in 13 films in the last 5 years, including many Marvel films, Atomic Blonde, and The Accountant. Most notably as a stuntman though, he’s Chris Evan’s double, meaning he’s the muscle behind Captain America. But, in his latest film, he’s working with a different Avenger, and in a different role, directing Chris Hemsworth in Extraction. Netflix’s latest film is an action-packed thriller written by the Russo Brothers, based on one of the Tyler Rake graphic novels. But, like John Wick or Atomic Blonde, we’re not really here for the story. We’re here to see a slightly more human version of Thor crush some skulls, blow up a few helicopters, and generally destroy everyone and everything in his path. That said, there is a story underneath. Rake is a black market mercenary, enlisted to perform a job of extraction as he needs to kidnap the son of an imprisoned international crime lord. Within this formula, Hemsworth, a natural athlete, and Hargrave, a madman director, are given the freedom to make something incredible. At the 17:00 minute mark of the film, we get to see Rake unleashed. The chaos begins when Rake is knocked down the stairs in a hood. Despite being blinded, he triumphs. And, this continues a streak of attempts to make Rake appear to be inferior. He’s blinded. He’s tied up. He’s outnumbered. He’s confined to a small space. It doesn’t matter. The fight, which took four days to shoot, starts with guns, used for both shooting and spear-like blocking, then requires Rake to improvise as he’s overtaken in the tight space with various men who have machetes. To make the violence look real, Hargrave used an array of stuntman methods to make it look authentic. The table here and the stuntman here are both are on deadman cables, meaning they don’t actually get hit. In this skull-crushing takedown, the team used a method straight out of John Wick, which meant swapping out a weighted dummy in the last minute for the powerful slam. But what’s so unique about this fight scene is that all of it works. Everything is used to enhance the fight, not to cheapen it. And that’s also what’s so great about the oner, or single shot, which moves from a car to a staircase to a knife fight in the street… For these insane chase scenes, which feel like one take but there are hidden cuts to regroup for safety, the Director is literally strapped on to the hood of a specialized camera vehicle. In other scenes, he’s in and out of the vehicle. Despite the hidden cuts, that doesn’t make what he’s doing any less impressive. Here’s the Director himself describing part of this scene… Thanks for watching! Join my weekly newsletter for creator insights, exclusive gear, special offers and motivational content: https://mailchi.mp/078267fc5487/creativeprinciplesnewsletter Support Creative Principles Video Essays & Podcasts: https://www.patreon.com/creativeprinciples Listen to interviews with icons like Aaron Sorkin, Christopher McQuarrie, William Monahan, and Mel Brooks on the Creative Principles Podcast: SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/creativeprinciples/tracks iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/creative-principles/id1292130289?mt=2 References… Extraction Making Of Video: https://youtu.be/xso-ELEIlss NY Times Anatomy of a Scene: https://youtu.be/_M6DabJ7GYM Sam Hargrave & Chris Hemsworth Shot for Shot: https://youtu.be/Cf3YJM_TxSQ Sam Hargrave for Men’s Health: https://youtu.be/hKpU3Frpzpc Sam Hargrave Stunt Reel: https://youtu.be/G61z1cH4dog Music… "Pursuit" by Alec Koff “Apollo” by Infraction