Hardcore Henry (2015)

Jimmy: Like my father always said, a grenade a day keeps the enemy at bay.

Director:  Ilya Naishuller
Producer:  Ekaterina Kononenko, Inga Vainshtein Smith, Timur Bekmambetov, Ilya Naishuller
Main Cast:  Sharlto Copley, Danila Kozlovsky, Haley Bennett, Tim Roth
Runtime:  96 minutes of insane first-person action

Lists.  I like lists that go through the Top 10 movie of this or that as they can be a great way to find out about a little known movie that ranks high in a certain category, according to the reviewer. In this case I came across a list of the Top 10 worst Sci-fi movies of 2016 and I thought it would be interesting to have a quick look.  Well in Number 10 came Hardcore Henry which I had not heard about however after the first sentence which said it was “shot entirely in first person- yes, like an actual first person shooter” I had a quick look at the trailer and didn’t even finish the trailer before deciding to take advantage of a sale at JB-Hifi (Australian retail store).  

There are very few movies that have been shot in first person, the first being 1947’s Lady in the Lake directed by and starring Robert Montgomery however the audiences didn’t like the view point very much and the film was a flop but has since gained decent interest in this unusual film noir.  There have been other films which have segments in first person but the only other film which takes Lady in the Lake’s viewpoint is Hardcore Henry and you are stuck in his head for the whole journey of the movie.

The movie begins with Henry being immersed in a red fluid and upon being woken up we find out that he was severely beaten up to a point where most of “Henry” was broken and busted up.  We see him getting prosthetic limbs from his scientifically intelligent wife and as she asks questions he either nods or shakes his head in response which naturally translates to what we see on the screen.  We also find out that Henry is mute and before they get the chance to give him a voice all chaos breaks out and the action begins and does not let up till the end.  Running, shooting, punching (or being punched), chasing…everything is in first person and whilst it may not be for everyone, I really enjoyed the different perspective.

In basic terms, the bad guys break into the lab in order to steal the technology powering Henry.  They kidnap his wife and with the help of a few others Henry, just like in many first person shooter games, begins the action packed hunt to kill the bad guys, rescue the girl and save the world.  There really isn’t much more to the story than that but to be honest, that’s not the great thing about the movie.  The whole movie feels like a live action version of a Far Cry (or many other first person shooter’s) video game where all you see of yourself is arms, hands and legs.  In fact, there is really only one scene where you see a reflection of Henry for more than 5 seconds. It really takes it to a whole new level and that is what makes this movie so original.  The story isn’t great, the action is consistent and full-on though sometimes you may wonder what is going on, but it’s the kind of movie where you can put logic on the backburner and just sit there and enjoy the show.  

I don’t usually go into how something is executed or filmed, but you may be wondering “How did they film it?”  Well they simply used a Go-Pro camera strapped to the actor’s head as shown above.  Whilst there is some stabilisation involved, I will give warning to those who do not like the shaky cam effect.  This movie is the result of a camera being strapped to someone’s head so there will be shaky cam to some degree and all the stunts are from a first person perspective so again, shaky cam warning!  
The film is primarily a Russian production and they also raised funds via crowdfunding to complete the film, much like 2012’s Iron Sky, but this is just so original in its execution and it will certainly be spinning in my Bluray player again.  That being said, I don’t think I would like to see lots of movies like this as I am sure the effect would lose its glamour after a while.

Another warning I will give up front is that the movie does contain a lot of violence that is in your face (well it is filmed in first person!) and some of it can be quite graphic.  There is also a section of the film which contains pieces of nudity and there is also a language warning too so these combined makes it unsuitable for children, hence the R rating.  But violence aside, is it really necessary to have the nudity and some of the language??  

The Bluray reviewed is the Australian release and gives us a solid disc with some great features.  The film, as indicated above, was filmed on Go-Pro cameras so whilst the image is good it’s not the same quality you would get from the standard studio cameras used in movies but it is still decent with only dark scenes losing some sharpness, but overall it’s a great image in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio.  The sound is DTS HD Master Audio and sounds brilliant and will give your system a good workout.  The Bluray has the following extras:

• Deleted Scenes
• Fan Chat interviews
• Commentary by Director/Producer Ilya Naishuller
• Commentary by Actor/Executive Producer Sharlto Copley

Personally, apart from the nudity, I really enjoyed the movie in how it was executed and in its unusual point of view.  Sure, it doesn’t have the deepest story around but it is just a blast of fun seeing a movie taken from a FPS (first person shooter) game point of view and really makes you feel directly involved in the action.  It certainly isn’t for everyone, but if you like action and first person shooters or action games than this will be right up your alley.  Give it a whirl!

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