How Extraction 2’s director personally saved the one-take action sequence

polygon.com:

When it comes to modern filmmaking’s fascination with one-take, no-cuts action sequences, the nexus point is undoubtedly Alfonso Cuarón’s dystopian epic Children of Men. That 2006 movie features several of those extended one-shot scenes, or “oners,” as the industry calls them. The most impressive comes early in the film, as Clive Owen and his crew drive through a secluded forest. Suddenly, a burning car barrels down a hill and blocks their path. In an instant, they’re beset by attackers, leading to an astonishing one-shot chase where the camera moves from inside the car to out in the road. Cuarón and his team had to create entirely new technology to achieve it. But now, more than 15 years later, CGI has made this kind of trick old hat.

For every jaw-dropping fight scene like Atomic Blonde’s 10-minute barnburner, there are endless instantly forgettable attempts at long-take action scenes, awash in CGI blurring to cover their cuts. For Extraction 2 director Sam Hargrave, escaping that dynamic and finding something new and personal within the oner was a challenge as thrilling as the finished product. His answer to that challenge is one of the most head-spinning oners ever committed to the screen. And how he achieved it is equally extraordinary.

“I think the oner, when used as a storytelling tool, can be very effective,” Hargrave told Polygon over Zoom, ahead of Extraction 2’s release. “I think if you use it as a device, as a gimmick, it can be overdone or get a little bit cliche. But the reason for my wanting to use it in the first [Extraction] and then in this film is to provide an immersive experience for the audience. And for something like this, it’s also a way to lens the action in a manner that differentiates it from