Hardcore Henry

Rated R for non-stop bloody brutal violence and mayhem, language throughout, sexual content/nudity, and drug use. ___ It's only been five years since Henry was in theaters, and I already feel the need to retrospectively appreciate it as a throwback to the trend of the GoPro videos which YT was fed up with in their day, before they started being replaced by passive YouTubers in the quiet of their homes, and also the end of the era of big video game titles driven by the promise of technological advancement before that market shifted and games started being developed on social platforms. Here we find the usual climbing over buildings (Assassin's Creed, Mirror's Edge), sniper missions (Call of Duty), escaping from unknown snipers (Half-Life), augmentations (Deus Ex, even with a very blatant rip-off of the soundtrack of Human Revolution at the beginning), obstacles you can shoot through, or papers flying around during the gunfights (FEAR). Add to all that the familiar nightmare of falling somewhere you don't actually fall. Hardcore Henry is actually a fan film in the best way imaginable. It's incoherent (tied together, thankfully, by the FP format), doesn't know when to calm down, and just tosses in one idea after another, whereas it carries the film's tricky and thorough choreography all the way through with tremendous effort just for the sheer spectacle of it. Besides, despite his muteness and anonymity, the protagonist is somehow actually quite likeable, and that's only through the way he occasionally gesticulates with his hand, turns his head, and when he knocks a girl down on the stairs waits to see if she's okay, despite having a bunch of evildoers at his back. The shenanigans he comes up with during the action sequences is actually his way of expressing and building character. But I recognize that this may be because I'm a pretty die-hard gamer who would ideally live his entire alternate life somewhere in a fictional universe, and I can tune into that kind of storytelling much more easily. "Take down the proto-baby!" (23/04/2016)

In terms of innovation of the action genre, it’s only an appetiser, because Hardcore Henry is far from a full-fledged cinematic experience. There’s no plot and the frantic sequence of action scenes can’t disguise the feeling that this farce is merely a consumer piece with a short shelf-life. Original, technically very accomplished, but also exhausting almost to the max. And this time there was no need for a second or third part, 90 minutes of the first one was enough. (13/07/2016)

The pure fire of an avid fan of decadence who pursues the ultimate physical experience with the vigor of a Soviet bulldozer. The creative stubbornness is admirable, but dramaturgically it's pretty bad because, around the 60th minute, it starts to chafe. The frantic ending, however, lifts up the video game concept (literally) into high gear (arcade jumps included) and revs into the red. It’s a progressive genre detour, but unfortunately into a dead end. (23/04/2016)

The ultimate bachelor party with a lot of thoughtful details, Hardcore Henry is violent, bloody, witty, furious and visually stunning. It is an important genre event (somebody finally got it right!) and I believe that someone in the future will put this concept on a more complex story and thus make a breathtaking point. Then I will be the happiest man alive. (27/04/2016)

Hardcore Henry, or how to use a shaky camera to create a stylish piece from the first person point of view, which draws you in and most importantly, and I feel obliged to say this, you see everything clearly, transparently and without any difficulties. Add in the fact that they did not bother at all with any age restrictions, which makes it a clear R rated film. The only thing that is missing to make this film perfect are some cool lines, as Henry during the whole film does not speak at all. Luckily, the acting is saved by Sharlto Copley, who has multiple roles here and moves between them in the blink of an eye. (03/06/2019)