Director: Ilya Naishuller
MPAA Rating: R
Run Time: 96 Minutes
A few years ago the internet was taken by storm with a music video from Russian punk band Biting Elbows for their song Bad Motherfucker, in which frontman Ilya Naishuller directed an entirely first-person action story reminiscent of a first-person shooter game. After a sequel of sorts was released for their song The Stampede, it seemed like only a matter of time before this technique was lengthened into a feature film, and now we’re blessed with the violent onslaught that is Hardcore Henry.
The film’s loose plot, if you want to call it that, revolves around we, the viewers, taking on the role of Henry, a man who wakes up in a lab having with no memory and who is being fitted with robotic limbs after some apparent horrific event. A woman in a lab coat tells Henry that she’s his wife, and suddenly there’s a group of mercenaries here to kill him. Naishuller’s action then begins and never lets up for the remaining 90 minutes.
After escaping the clutches of a strange, albino-looking telekinetic man, Henry meets Jimmy (Sharlto Copley), a man who says he can help him figure things out. Unfortunately, Jimmy is quickly shot in the head, only to be replaced a bit later by yet another Jimmy who helps him get a bit further before he’s also killed, and the cycle repeats until Henry finds the truth – sort of.
As you might expect if you’ve seen the trailers, Hardcore Henry is presented entirely in first person, which is a feat unto itself. But after witnessing the insane amount of nonstop action, I couldn’t help but find myself in awe of the technical achievements this movie showcases. As a critic, I often had to disconnect myself from the film just to attempt to process what was unfolding on the screen. I kept wondering how the filmmakers were able to pull off some of these shots and how they managed to keep the momentum at a constant, frantic, ceaseless pace, never giving you a chance to catch your breath.
From the brutal hand-to-hand combat to bloody shootouts and an insane car chase, Hardcore Henry stays true to its namesake and delivers one gut punch after another in an ever-escalating series of testosterone-laden set pieces, each more vicious and grandiose than the last. At one point the action was so nonstop that I actually found myself becoming bored with the endless waves of nondescript bad guys, but the gory climax pulled me back in despite how utterly ridiculous it had become.
There are a lot of Triple-A video games released in the modern era that are aiming to become more “cinematic,” borrowing heavily from film in terms of shot composition and developing a narrative, but it’s a rare thing that the opposite occurs. Hardcore Henry does this in spades, stripping away silly things like logic and plot and just delivering non-stop action and little else. Sure, I could have used a bit more development of the plot, at dare I say the expense of a few action sequences, but this is still a theater experience worth having.
With its out-of-control action, breakneck speed and some much-welcomed levity from several great performances by Copley, Hardcore Henry is nothing if not a unique movie-going experience. Just be cautious about heading into the theater if you easily suffer from motion sickness as it. will. wreck. you.
