Review of Hardcore Henry (2015) by Electronick — 10 Apr 2016

"Hardcore Henry" can be best described as an experimental film. I was intrigued with the concept of a whole action film shot entirely in first person view and the trailers showed some promise for this concept.

Unfortunately , the concept did not do any thing for me. The action is visually impressive with stunts that were actually performed by the cast. The par-cor was also pretty impressive and the camera work made the city of Moscow feel like a character itself.

However the camerawork actually gave me a few bits of motion sickness. I had gotten a few headaches from viewing the film after the first hour. The first person camera could have immersed the viewer into a gripping story but unfortunately the story itself is merely nothing more than a connection of the action sequences.

The action sequences are impressive The characters themselves are merely there to play a specific role. The main love interest is only there to be a love interest and the main villain is only there to be a villain.

In fact one plot thread that didn't lead anywhere was how the main villain has magnetic like powers. I was hoping that it would be explained but instead it was frustratingly put in the film with no explanation.

Henry himself is really nothing more than a blank slate for the viewer to put themselves in order to immerse the audience into the experience. It is a commendable effort but it failed to do this for me personally.

In my opinion this kind of perspective works well in a video game since I am directly in control of the character but in a film though we are watching through the perspective of a character in a story that is non interactive.

The one character who does stand out was the scientist named Jimmy. His motivation was what got me enrolled into the plot and his eccentric personality got some laughs out of me as well. This film will have a massive fan base since the concept is unique but I am personally baffled by the critics saying that it is the best action film since" Mad Max Fury Road" .

What made "Fury Road" work was the fact the action was supported b a narrative with a simple surface with complex layers and it had characters who the audience could route for against an adversary who was intimidating.

At the end of the day though, your enjoyment of the film will sole-fully depend on how much you are willing to tolerate the shaky cam and first person view. It lacks any kind o nuance but to the films credit though, it knows what it wanted to be and didn't try to overstep its bounds.

It will please a lot of people but it just wasn't for me.