Hardcore Henry (2015)

Holy freakin' hell! HARDCORE HENRY is insane! What a rock 'em sock 'em experience for us action fans! A full on first person shooter movie where you get to look trough the eyes of the hero. There's firepower, there's parkour, there's sex, blood, drugs, and rock n' roll, HARDCORE HENRY is brutal through and through and you can't get enough.

It's a Russian film featuring familiar faces like Sharlto Copley, Tim Roth, and the beautiful rising star, Haley Bennett. During the movie, so much is going on, you may have some difficulties collecting the pieces together but those of us sci-fi fans will soon realize that the concept is quite familiar. Henry is part man, part robot, resurrected from death with no memory, he eventually learns that he's part of bio-engineering soldiers led by a vicious warlord. And the only person who can help him is this group of avatars designed by a master scientist/engineer. Clearly, writer/director Ilya Naishuller and co-writer Will Stewart are very specific as to which audience they're targeting with this film: gamers and those of us who are fascinated with that world.

Obviously the true stars of this film are the camera work and VFX, it gets you badly wanting to purchase the Blu-Ray/DVD whenever it comes out just so you can see the featurette on how the production was done. Ilya did give us that Biting Elbows' viral POV music video, and so take that and turn up the amp to 11, and you get HARDCORE HENRY.

I had my doubts at first, I mean the trailer looked awesome, an entire movie done POV-stye, who wouldn't want to watch that out of plain curiosity! But my concern was that the film would feel like you're just watching a GoPro video instead of something that's cinematic, another concern was that if a few minutes of the first "Cloverfield" already had my head go dizzy, what would 96 minutes of "Hardcore Henry" do to me?! But turns out, I had a blast. HARDCORE HENRY lives up to its title, it's hardcore, it's fun, and it's more than just a roller coast ride, it's like drag-racing. I think whether or not this method is as immersive as a 3D or a IMAX experience, can always be argued, but you can definitely file this under the category unique. I read a critic somewhere said that HARDCORE HENRY reminds him much of "The Raid," and ya know what, he's on point there, our protagonist in this film constantly battling so many villains, all at once, scene after scene, halfway through you start to wonder how and from where on earth do these villains keep on coming, they constantly pop out of nowhere, but then again, that goes towards the fact that most first person shooter video games out there are done in this exact manner where you keep finding yourself having to fight and shoot your way out, non-stop.

Is this the future of cinema, is this as virtual reality as it gets for us without our having to wear those big oculus rift gears? Who knows, but it sure works for HARDCORE HENRY.

Fmovies: Just saw an early preview of Hardcore Henry and title pretty much sums it up. This movie is hardcore action and gore, so if you are not into that sort of thing than bye bye. I gotta say, I wonder if the director was inspired by Holocaust Hannibal because he sure brought the genre justice, unlike "The Green Inferno" which was a let down. The movie is shot in a first person perspective, and the technique really makes you feel as if you are in the movie. Keeping in mind this, Hardcore Henry will be the Godfather of this first person genre if a trend develops. Do not confuse this with shaky cam movies like Paranormal Activities or Blair Witch, this is beyond to another level. So in conclusion, if you don't mind fictional gore, love action and shooter video games, than you are in for a treat. 10/10

this has been another review by Dusty Webb. Peace.

'Hardcore Henry (2016)' is an interesting experiment, an action film told entirely from the first-person perspective. At times, it provides a unique kind of entertainment you won't find pretty much anywhere else. It's admirable what the team behind the picture were able to achieve with their limited budget and camera restrictions. Some of the already elaborate stunt work is made even more impressive when you realise that the performer(s) for the eponymous 'Henry' couldn't wear a safety wire due to the 360 degree view required for the camera to seamlessly navigate through the sequences. The video-game feel - which is bolstered by several clichés, such as a silent protagonist and 'tutorial' moments -can lead to some frustration as it just seems like you're watching someone else play when you'd rather take the controls yourself. The outlandish plot and mile-a-minute pacing, along with the constrained camera-view, do get tiresome quickly, too. As such, this as an interesting movie worth a watch once for its surface value, but not much more. Plus, it is likely to cause some motion-sickness if that's something you suffer from, and maybe even if its something you don't. 6/10

Hardcore Henry fmovies. I must say "Look out Quentin Tarantino!" What a crazy ride! Director/Writer Ilya Naishuller is hardcore and takes shootouts to a different level.

I loved the camera movement but it does take some getting used to. Overall, it was entertaining in a gory way and the splattering of humor made the gore a little more tolerable.

One scene with the subtitles overlapping (not sure if on purpose) was interesting and funny because it was a 3-person conversation - whiny and catty - all talking at the same time.

If you like Jason Statham and Quentin Tarantino action and shock value, you will love it!

Why you should definitely go to Hardcore Henry: 1. This is the best action movie of the year, and probably in general. Remember the wonderful impressions of the scene in the church in the movie "Kingsmen"? So here are the impressions almost the entire movie. 2. The director obviously loves Tarantino, fine jokes, blood abundance and diversity of murder. sometimes people in the cinema was just hysterical. 3. Great soundtrack, which brought even a song by Queen. 4. The plot, though not perfect, but it was much better than expected. 5. Sharlto Copley rocks. 6. Lots of interesting cameo, even Tim Roth. 7. The film was made for just $ 2 000 000, and it Exceeds "Adrenaline" and "Raid". 8. The film was shot in Moscow. Very cool to watch the action taking place. 9. The film contains a lot of dirty jokes, plenty of jokes is based on the obscene vocabulary. 10. A number of references to (and not only) the gaming industry.

Not worth 18 certificate on the grounds of violence, I've seen more violent movies in my life for almost 58 years(I'm born in 1958 and I'm watching movies from when I was 3 years old). And I have seen thousands of films, almost all from 1961 onward and thousands of movies made before I was born. In terms of action, Hardcore Henry has the highest level of adrenaline, pure adrenaline, the highest quality. Now I believe that people, not all of them, only some people, can levitate. I'm kidding, of course. But everything is so well done in this film, that it almost seems truthful. The stunts are downright breathless. But not only. All actors, music, editing, everything. It makes you want to see it again and again, to understand it and feel better. An exceptional film, excellent. Ilya Naishuller, I want to work with you! And, to answer to a guy here on IMDb, concerning the problem he has with the stupid "dance routine" in the middle, I don't know Ilya Naishuller but, I'm almost sure that he wanted to pay homage to Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange (1971), a film in exactly the same kind, a masterpiece of the genre, a film about violence and how violence can be cured. Remember the dance scene of Alex DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell) to the tune Singin 'in the Rain? Maybe Ilya Naishuller will tell us... 10 out of 10.