Review: Hardcore Henry Puts a Whole New Perspective on Action Films, and it’s Totally Worth it.
- Jan 5, 2017
- 2 min read
Hardcore Henry is the feature film debut of Ilya Naishuller, a Russian born director and musician, most well known for his first person music videos. Hardcore Henry is no different. Shot from the perspective of a man named Henry, the film is arguably the best video game adaption, despite having nothing to do with video games.
Henry is a cyborg, played by a number of stuntmen, who cannot talk due to a damaged voice modulator. At this point in the film, about 5 minutes in, I knew I was watching a video game, silent protagonist and all. After a telepathic super villain breaks into the facility where Henry is being rebuilt and steals his wife, Henry sets off to rescue the girl and defeat the villain and, naturally, he has some company in the form of Jimmy (Sharlto Copley) a literal man of many faces.
The plot, as thin as it seemingly is, serves little more than to deliver Henry to varying action scenes and set pieces, all seen through his eyes. From parkour to a chase across the top of a bridge to a motorcycle chase and a fight against an army of super soldiers, it is a testament to the stuntmen. The film shows off some of the best stunts around and, due to the nature of the film making, almost all of it is done in camera without wires. It’s incredible stuff to behold and surpasses even the best that Tom Cruise can do.
Aside from the incredible action and over the top violence, Hardcore Henry has a number of genuine laughs, mostly from Jimmy as his various personas are caught up in increasingly ridiculous situations. Copley is a joy to watch as he chatters his way through what feel like video game levels.
There’s not much else to say about Hardcore Henry. The action is great, it’s violent in an incredibly over the top way and features a use of Queen that The Suicide Squad couldn’t hold a candle to. It fun, entertaining and is the perfect video game in film form and it’s worth watching.
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