An amnesiac man awakens to non-stop carnage and a convoluted chain of events as he goes on the hunt for the man who kidnapped his wife in the uniquely filmed and enthralling Hardcore Henry.
The found footage genre can be hit or miss, and a lot of it hinges on the subject matter being interesting enough to keep you hooked. These films are largely horror, and they’re often a schtick to avoid the higher expenses of cinematic camera usage. Very few films, however, use that “found footage” filming style with such originality and usefulness as Hardcore Henry. Instead of being a front or an excuse, the found footage style isn’t simply someone with a camera, but rather from full on first person perspective, with the viewer looking out of the eyes of the titular Henry as he punches, kicks, stabs, burns and otherwise plows his way through legions of “enemies” like a video game on autopilot. And it’s a hell of a good time.
Starting with a bang and refusing to relent until the explosive finale set to none other than Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now,” director Ilya Naishuller takes a tried and true basic story and turns it into the most action packed and illogically explosive mess of thrilling set pieces I’ve seen in decades. Yes, there’s a plot, but who really needs it when there’s flamethrowers, machine guns, rocket launchers, car chases, clones, and someone using their own eye to cut someone’s head off? Yes, that really happens. No, I’m not elaborating. David Lynch taught me well.
Because of the first person perspective, we don’t get much in the way of a performance by our beloved Henry. Being a half human, half robot hybrid who didn’t get the chance to have his voice box activated before everything goes to hell, we don’t even hear his voice. What we do get, however, is a dose of fun and humorous character from Sharlto Copley, a criminally underrated actor if ever I did see one, who comes along as Henry’s only friend. That is, if he can trust him. And then there’s Haley Bennett as Henry’s purported wife, another criminally underrated actor who plays the duality of her role with finesse that both endears and misleads us in all the right ways. Last but not least is Tim Roth in a minor role as Henry’s father, and while he’s not on camera for very long, he’s always an absolute treat.
With almost the entire film shot in one continuous take that’s pretty seamless in execution, and stunt choreography that feels like somebody stole a handbook from the Russian Army, Hardcore Henry knows exactly what to do with what it’s given. It’s a fun, entertaining thrill ride that was made with the theatre format in mind, but still holds its own on a home viewing system. Still, the bigger the screen, the better.
While it’s obviously not out to win an Oscar, Hardcore Henry does everything you could want from an action movie, and does it exceptionally well. My only suggestion is to invest in some Dramamine if you’re prone to motion sickness. It’s just that wild.
