Review of Hardcore Henry (2015) by Zachary E — 07 Aug 2016

"You... little... pussy.".

Hardcore Henry is the best and most intense argument for the point of action films to be all bite and no bark.

This first person movie is directed by Ilya Naishuller and stars newcomer to the big screen, Andrei Dementiev, alongside Sharlto Copley as they try and stop 'baddies'.

The good? The action in this film, simply put, is fucking hardcore. Sharlto Copley, I want your babies, this man is comedy gold.When Henry isn't running on Bridges through Mother Russia, he is splitting hands open, tearing hearts out and grabbing tits. It seems almost as if he doesn't have a care in the world, right? I don't know. That's all I can say, there's no reason for this movie to exist. It doesn't accomplish anything. The ending is a combination of bravery, not-give-a-fuck-ness and laziness all in one. A rollercoaster of blood and gore, profanity, strippers and Russia, I couldn't help but be overwhelmingly entertained by this action flick. Mindless sure, but absolutely exhilarating. Contrary to most viewers, I did not find my head spinning after the watch. I think this helps being a big theme park fan. I found the first person gimmick worked, for the most part, it was inclusive.

But this brings me onto the bad. Hardcore Henry should be called Hardcore 'Who gives a fuck'. And they know this well. I can;t help but be frustrated, that team bringing this put all their creativity into bodies flying everywhere, that they didn't even attempt to create a coherent story. Sure, the film makes fun of its own cliches, but does that really excuse the glaring presence of them? You know there's a problem when your film's climax ends to serve as a comedy jolt and a large middle finger to everything that exists ever, but doesn't relate to the rest of the movie. It's not hard to subtlety hint at the pointlessness, don't turn the entire encapsulation of this movie on 'pointlessness' into daddy issues. Don't you dare fucking do that. Also, Camera can get a little bit shaky at times. That's more of a nit pick as they prevent it from happening often which is impressive.

Hardcore Henry is entertaining. Really fun, and bloody. I creamed my pants when Sharlto Copley turned into a poster boy for WWII propaganda. Amazingly Stupid and ridiculously creative all at once.

B-.

61/100.