There is a very fine line between “innovative” and “stupid.” A first person video game in movie form, Hardcore Henry straddles that line, crosses it, crosses back, tightropes, rappels the line, and finally fashions the line into a crude weapon and kills three bad guys with it.
Hardcore Henry is not the worst idea anybody has ever had for a film, but on the idea spectrum from burnout to full 100-watt lightbulb, Hardcore Henry is a “how many _____ does it take to replace?” joke.
Basically, the camera is the 
center perspective of this world. The people on the screen talk directly to you. Well, I say “talk;” they often yell because there’s always some battle going on. These people themselves come essentially in three varieties – women of little clothing, people you kill and Sharlto Copley playing about ten different versions of the same guy. If you recognize Sharlto, don’t kill him; he’s the one guy who can help you along.
The plot here is YOU are Henry. You wake up in some sort of high-tech ICU where your hot scientist/wife (Haley Bennett) – tastefully made up in labcoat, cocktail dress, and ruby red lipstick – screws on your new leg and arm, hints that you’re now bionic, and then the world goes to pieces. Video game villain Akan (Danila Kozlovsky) shows up to demonstrate he’s evil and then you, Henry, escape with the girl.
In the hands of a poor director, this material doesn’t work at all. Because of perspective, the camera work is horrible – we’re constantly moving and changing. It’s the kind of film where you long for exposition not because you care what’s going on, but because you want your stomach to settle; there’s only so much first person parkour on film one can take before lunch starts emerging. Also, action movies are intended to have actual heroes in them. Heroes are meant to have expression and dialogue (Henry is mute, which is how we get around that one). A good action movie has better hero than action; Hardcore Henry gave us no such option.
And yet, there were many things I appreciated about Hardcore Henry. I did imagine several times how “I” was going to get out of a particular jam. Good thing I knew the terrain pretty well. Oh, and good thing I’m a badass, too. And the film definitely had some nice touches. At one point, we’re escorted by camouflage Jimmy (Copley) to Jimmy HQ, which is essentially a refurbished abandoned parking lot in the middle of jungle. Dressed 
as a heavily armed furry bush, Jimmy escorts “me” into his residence of concrete. The ante-chamber is concrete plus maybe a rug and two pieces of furniture and yet Jimmy-the-green-machine-gun-toting-yeti makes a disapproving gesture when I fail to wipe my feet. A sense of humor always goes a long way.
I don’t want a sequel. I hate the Cloverfield cinematography. I guarantee that if first-person shooter becomes a genre, it will eclipse “found footage” as my least favorite in current moviedom. However, Hardcore Henry was just clever enough to be worth my time … which is good cuz I’m the star.
♪You could have a ‘bot leg
If your main squeeze was a freak
You could kill every Russian you see
Even if you cannot speak
I want to be your cocked hammer
Why don’t you play my game?
Hey there did I stammer?
You’ll enjoy the kicking ass ♫
Rated R, 96 Minutes
D: Ilya Naishuller
W: Ilya Naishuller
Genre: First person movie
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Shooter game addicts
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Easily nauseous folks
♪ Parody inspired by “Sledgehammer”
