Hardcore Henry:
You, the audience, awake in a POV state. Your scientist wife, Estelle, addresses you as Henry, and says there was an accident that has led Henry to becoming a cyborg. Suddenly, mercenaries burst in, slaughtering the staff and kidnapping Estelle. Henry barely escapes the facility, and must travel the countryside without memories, chasing his wife with your mysterious new associate Jimmy (who may or may not be trustworthy), pursued by the mercenaries, led by the telepathic and gleefully theatrical villain Akan. Learning the extent of his newfound powers, Henry shoots, stabs, and bludgeons his way across Russia, becoming a hardened killer and super solider on his quest for revenge.
I was very excited for this film, having heard it compared tonally to films like Mad Max: Fury Road and Crank for its emphasis on style over substance, and mindless and bloody fun over plot or character. Not that I don't love films with deep, fleshed-out characters and intricate plotting, but I also enjoy a well-made piece of escapism as well. Now, the actual film was disappointing on a few fronts, and I'll cover those right away. I felt the use of GoPros for the limited budget and goal of entirely being in first-person was impressive and practical, but the quality of the cameras does not exactly translate to the big screen all that well, as many shots were slightly fuzzy-looking. The special effects for many shoot out sequences were fine, but the CGI blood sprays and explosions often looked like a YouTube video, which is not to disrespect CG animators on YouTube, but for a feature film, it's a little more noticeable.
Also: the lack of plot and incredibly rigid structure of this film made it often exhausting. While that sounds contradictory, I mean there was no real characters (just archetypes) to get into, so the action took center stage, But after a while, the rinse-and-repeat formula (crazy action scene, then calm break of about two minutes, then next action scene) left me feeling drained, and that this would function better as a web series or video game, something where you can take breaks at your leisure or that felt more interactive. There was also a sound issue in the final battle (the song was quieter than the sound effects), and the way the film ended felt abrupt and kind of awkward and amateur but those are incredibly minor.
Other than those minor issues, I felt the film delivered on its promise of weird, crazy, chaotic, fun, violent action and the set-pieces were incredibly well-constructed for a first time feature director, and the lack of characters and over-the-top acting often added to the charm of this wild movie. There were non-action sequences that were incredibly Neveldine and Taylor-esque (a song and dance number near the climax of the film added some much-needed comic relief as well as tied together a mysterious plot line). The final battle was jaw-dropping, as I was not expecting the film to pack the amount of gore it did, especially not in its' final moments. It was exhilarating and entertaining as hell. Also: the opening credits sequence was very Bond, while also foreshadowing the possibly Evil Dead inspired splatstick style of humor.
Danila Kozlovsky was entertaining as the tongue-in-cheek and ridiculous villain Akan, Haley Bennett played a decent damsel in distress (though the reveal with her character is very predictable towards the climax), and Tim Roth has a nice cameo. But the only character i can truly say is impactful in any significant way is Sharlto Copley as Jimmy. Once again, Copley shows his incredible range as an actor: he spend the movie doing silly accents and wearing goofy outfits, but is also some good comic relief and ultimately a bit of a tragic character who I actually grew to care about on some level (he is supposed to be the audience's guide/companion of sorts).
Do not go into Hardcore Henry expecting a traditional moviegoing experience. If you like any sort of linear narrative or strong central characters, then I suggest looking elsewhere. But if you love so brainless, energetic, if a bit gruesome action and humor, then I would highly recommend it (if you've seen the music videos the film is based on, or listened to the director's band Biting Elbows' punk-style pop rock, you'll know pretty much what to expect). It is a lower budget indie film, so it may not have the special effects many Western audiences are used to expecting from action films, but the impressive choreography and insane sequences will provide ample distraction. Bravo to Ilya Naishuller on a terrific first outing, and I'd like to see him pursue more films in the future. 7/10 stars.
(Image: Wikipedia)
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