Directed by Ilya Naishuller
Written by Ilya Naishuller and Will Stewart
Cast: Sharlto Copley, Danila Kozlovsky, Haley Bennett, Tim Roth (cameo), Andrei Dementiev, Svetlana Ustinova, Darya Charusha, Oleg Poddubnyy
Soundtrack: Darya Charusha
There is no denying the influence of movies on videogames. From directly licensed properties to heavy homages, it’s only natural that game developers would draw inspiration from the silver screen.
Now, it seems the reverse is happening in a significant way.
What started with a couple of NSFW music videos by Russian director Ilya Naishuller has morphed into something bigger, and I’m not afraid to call it groundbreaking.
‘Hardcore Henry’ is a violence-laden action thriller with a sci-fi twist that’s shot almost entirely in first person perspective. Now, the POV shot has been around for ages; the movie version of ‘Doom‘ featured a “first person shooter” sequence (although that was more so a compilation of movie magic than what ‘Henry’ is), and the 2012 remake of ‘Maniac‘ is almost entirely first person (though done with more traditional techniques), not to mention there’s been the unfortunate proliferation of shakycam “found footage” films, but no movie has ever been quite like ‘Henry’.
This is, of course, largely thanks to the magic of GoPro® cameras. With a special rig attached to a performers head, the makers of ‘Henry’ were able to put the audience right inside the action like never before. The result is largely spectacular, but there are drawbacks. For one, the highly portable cameras simply can’t compete with traditional film or standard digital HD in terms of image quality (this isn’t prevalent throughout the entire runtime, but it crops up quite a bit), nor can they compete in terms of stabilization. I love me some roller coasters, but I was a bit unnerved to feel my head tilting at one point when I wasn’t actually tilting my head; other people may feel stronger side effects and I want to give fair warning.
Basically, the world is not ready for a slew of ‘Henry’ imitators because the technology just isn’t quite there yet (and, frankly, I don’t want every single movie to become first person; I see in first person every day); but don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it to action fans and videogamers, and the work that went into its creation absolutely has my respect, both in front of and behind the camera.
What really makes the movie work, other than the gratuitous action set pieces, is its sense of humor. The movie knows what it is and has the good sense to not take itself too seriously (I think I would seriously loathe it if it wasn’t funny).
Nowhere is this more present than in the character of Sharlto Copley’s “Jimmy”. I can’t say too much without giving away major spoilers, but let’s just say he has a very unique role and he fully embraces every bit of it, much to the audience’s delight (and who knew he could dance?).
So, if you’re in the mood for some videogame-type action, or just want to see something different, pop some Dramamine® and go see ‘Hardcore Henry’.
Rating: ★★★★☆
P.S.
For those going to Alamo Drafthouse, the “Hardcore Cocktail” was delicious, but they ran out of the Bacon Cheesecake before we could get some, so I can’t give you my opinion. Next time, baby.
