Hardcore Henry Review

Hardcore Henry is the first film to be shot in an entirely first-person point of view.  It was advertised as being  a game changer in the action genre.  While I do not think many films will follow the path that Hardcore Henry has now paved, I do think it is a technical marvel. This movie is a lot of fun.

If you are interested in seeing this movie, make sure you are an action movie fan.  If you don't really care for action, this movie has nothing for you. However, judging from the fact that you saw the trailer and are interested in seeing a point of view action movie entitled Hardcore Henry, I am going to assume that you are not expecting to see a smart movie that makes you think.  The movie revolves around the title character, Henry, who must save his wife from the evil, telekinetic villain Akan.  Akan is using his wife to help him create an army of super cyborg soldiers, and Henry must stop him before he takes over the world.  And that is the entire plot of the movie right there; there is nothing else to it.  Needless to say, the plot is paper thin, and often has to deliver random twists just to keep the ball rolling.  It is often strange how jumpy the plot can be when there really is not much of one to begin with.  And if you could not tell from the telekinetic bit, the film does feature a fair amount of sci-fi elements, which I could see detracting from the enjoyment of some more level-headed viewers.

The acting is supremely hammy, led by Sharlto Copley, who plays at least eight different characters in the film.  That aspect really threw me through a loop for a while, and I found myself thinking that if they do not explain why he keeps reappearing as a different person, I would be upset.  Luckily they do, and it is as cheesy and silly as you would expect it to be.  But that is not is bad thing, rather it adds to the ridiculousness of it all.  Akan is portrayed as a mix of the Magneto and Tommy Wiseau.  And the title character, Henry, does not speak a word.  Again, do not go into this movie expecting anything smart or reasonable.  However if you enter this movie expecting to see a ton of over-the-top, nonstop action, you will get exactly what you paid for.

The action was actually fairly tame for the first two-thirds of the movie, and I was actually disappointed at the lack of excessively bloody and overblown sequences.  But it seems as though the film was holding back its best ideas for the last third, which was utterly explosive and laughably ludicrous.  However, the quick cuts and choppy editing can be a bit bewildering at times.

Going into the movie,  I was worried that the camerawork would give me motion sickness, which thankfully did not happen, but I did leave the theater slightly disoriented.  I believe that is because I am not used to watching a movie like this, though.  However, if you can not handle the use of shaky cam, I would stay away from this one.  The first person POV aspect is a gimmick, but since this is the first time it has been done, it was truly entertaining.  You are in the shoes of this super soldier cyborg as he shoots and stabs and punches his way to his final boss fight with Akan.  I mention boss fight, as this movie plays out exactly like a video game, including an endless supply of guns and ammunition, a map on a phone telling the character where to go, and even a first aid kit in the middle of a fight to help him heal.

First-person shooters have been so popular in the video game world that I am surprised it took this long for a movie to utilize this technique.  Perhaps it is because it is difficult to pull off.  Throughout the entire runtime, sitting at a perfect ninety minutes, I sat in awe at how some of these sequences were pulled off.  The choreography training must have been absolutely brutal, as all this chaos needed to fit within the space of one camera.  I cannot wait to watch the special features on the blu-ray release just to see how they managed to capture some of these action set pieces.  Despite my enjoyment of the POV use, I believe that if other films start to become filmed this way, it will grow tiresome, at least without the use of Virtual Reality.  We will soon see if Hardcore Henry remains a unique gem, becomes the starter of an awful gimmick, or has paved the way for some interesting new use of first-person point of view camerawork and technology.


Get to the Point:

While Hardcore Henry is over-the-top, strangely acted, and wholly preposterous, I believe that that is the reason it is enjoyable.  Go in expecting to see a stupid, hammy, shoot-em-up, and you will leave a happy cyborg.

Rating:

3 1/2 out of 5 Sharlto Copleys