While we’re all (most of us) are stuck in our homes, many of us have turned to the TV to keep us company. Thankfully, Netflix has released an enjoyable, if not gritty action movie called ‘Extraction‘, that features the former lord of thunder, Chris Hemsworth, showing us that he’s capable of doing more than throwing hammers. While I won’t spoiler the entire movie, there is a sequence of events towards the end of the movie that has the internet asking the same question.
So I figured, since I’m on of those people asking that question, I’d provide some instinct and hopefully help answer the question. If you haven’t watched the film but continue you on, you’re doing a huge disservice to yourself.
So does Tyler Rake die at the end of Extraction?
After watching the flick with my wife, I was asking myself the same thing. Despite getting Ovi Mahajan, the crimelord’s son from the hands of the Bangladeshi crime lord who kidnapped Ovi, Amir Asif, and making it across the bridge. Tyler eventually gets shot through the neck. By the same kid that he disgraced and I’m sure was furious to get some payback. I’m sure being slapped around and having a door slammed into your face will do that.
After Tyler is shot through the neck, he watches as Ovi is in the hands of his fellow extraction team. Shortly followed with a clear vision of Tyler Rake’s six-year-old child who passed away. While we’ve seen visions of him throughout the movie, they were never clear. This time we’re seeing the vision of his son and Tyler playing on a beach. Afterward, Tyler falls to certain death from the bridge.
Ovi and the extraction team fly away in the helicopter and the movie starts to clue all the gaps. Ovi is back in school, while Nik Khan (Golshifteh Farahani) pays a visit to Amir Asif while he’s attending a party and shoots him dead in the men’s restroom. Side note, apparently this was done out of revenge as she was close to Tyler Rake. So much for being a mercenary.
Eight months later we fast forward to Ovi as he’s diving off a diving board at his school’s swimming pool. After the dive, he sits at the bottom of the pool for a short period of time, similar to what we saw with Tyler doing so under a river at the beginning of the movie. When Ovi swims back to the surface, everyone is gone yet this a figure that looks like Tyler Rake. At first, Ovi doesn’t see him, then turns around for a split second and the movie fades to black.
So the question that I’m sure is on everyone’s mind is did Tyler Die? It’s not clear and the way this is all presented is bound to get you thinking about it all. Something I’m sure the Russo Brothers did on purpose as they love this sort of thing.
While it may not seem clear, I firmly believe that Tyler did survive. A body was never found, and he has shown to be very resistant. Staying under the water for long periods of time is something he’s used to as well. Finally, being shot in the neck has been proven time and time again to not be a death sense. People recover from broken necks, and gunshots to the neck more than people would think. Of course, Tyler was quick to apply pressure to the wound as well.
While I’m not a doctor in any part, I still remember some training I had when I was in the military once upon a time ago. During training, I remember a Field Surgeon explaining how soldiers can survive gunshots and it was asked if a being shot to the neck was fatal. While I don’t recall of all it, she did state that as long as a major artery wasn’t hit, then survival rates were decent. For the uninformed, the neck has two major arteries, the carotid arteries.
I’m guessing Tyler got extremely lucky here.
Does this mention there could be a sequel?
While I’m sure the Russo Brothers have a bunch of other projects now that they are no longer attached to Disney and the Marvel movies, I’d imagine they are busy. Though, Extraction was a fantastic movie. Well, less of a movie and more of one long action scene that never let up. If they do decide to return to produce a sequel, I’m sure Netflix wouldn’t mind, and neither would I.
If you haven’t watched Extraction, but you enjoy a good action flick and possibly Chris Hemsworth at his finest, you need to check it out. Extraction is available to stream on Netflix and was released on April 24th, 2020.