“Hardcore Henry? More like Hardcore Stuntmen!”

Before I even start this review I want to give you a little bit of background about me. I am a bit of a gamer and that is what really grabbed my attention about this film as it is all shot by Point of View (POV).  It is the first film to be filmed on GoPro cameras fitted to masks for the stuntmen to wear.

(Failes, 2016)

The entire concept has never been attempted before in is way. There have been films based on games like “Dead or Alive” (Metacritic, 2007) and “Resident Evil” (Williams, 2002)but none as immersive as Hardcore Henry.

Whenever I play a game I really get drawn into it. I grew up playing games like Resident Evil and Mario Kart and I am one of these people that move with the remote if my character needs to duck, I duck and lean right and left…it can be annoying if I am playing against someone but it works great for me!

The great thing about how this is filmed is that I can still do that, but by watching a film. For instance in one scene a table gets thrown at Henry aka you. I ducked down in my seat and so did the rest of the cinema. I can honestly say it is better than seeing a 3D film and should be done more often.

Lately a lot of films are being filmed in 3D for no reason. As you have already seen in my Batman V Superman blog there was no need to have that film in 3D because it did not add anything to the film at all. The POV shooting is almost like what I imagine Virtual Reality being in the future. I think this film is very aimed at gamers, but I wouldn’t recommend it to people who suffer with motion sickness!

From the very first scene it is very confusing and you are not sure what you are seeing. This is typically used as a starting point of a game, the character not knowing who they are or where they are.  For instance in Half-Life 2, having not played the first Half-Life I didn’t know anything about the character or anything. I was just told my name is Mr Freeman and I was on a train, and this is used in a lot of games. The same as using a silent main character. The interesting thing about Hardcore Henry is that the main character is not played by an actor but instead 10 stuntmen with the cameras on their heads doing these amazing stunts and surprisingly they only had 5 injuries: 5 stitches and 1 chipped tooth. (Puchko, 2016)

As well as being filmed in a great way even the little nuances intensifies the experience. One thing I really took notice of was grenades. I admit I am not great when playing games especially Call of Duty, I am always getting blown up by grenades (bane of my gaming life!). I like when a grenade goes off near you the sound gets muted and muffled giving you the sensation of being deafened. This is something they also do in the film which brings back those memories of my childhood which I loved. Even the vibrations from the machine guns in the film bring the whole experience together.

Another aspect of the film that is used in games is screens. In Half-Life 2 characters are interacting through computer screens giving directions to help move the story along. In the film Estelle keeps reaching out to Henry through films.

The film has some very funny moments which we can all relate to such as untangling wires, but also brutal ones. It is beautifully violent and brings some of your greatest fears to life. One scene that got to me was when Henry is being fixed. It reminded me of stories when people have woken up during an operation and cannot move. It makes your skin crawl!

The best choreography scene in this film is the fight scene choreographed to Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now. (Mercury, 1978) The upbeat music with the violent fight scene. Fantastic! My favourite fight scene ever!

Speaking of choreography the scene where Henry slides down an escalator and knocks a woman violently to the ground wasn’t planned. An extra missed her mark and was standing in the wrong area, resulting in her being knocked over. After the take she reportedly popped up and asked if they’d gotten the shot. (IMDB) I love stories likes these as it shows that sometimes spontaneous things are the best.

Now is the time for *SPOILER ALERT*

I must admit I love the character of Jimmy, all versions of him (Frank Sinatra, Punk, Camo, and Soldier). The dance routine is amazing and just adds a little bit of fun into such a ferocious film. Even some of his lines such as “stop dicking around you’re almost there mate”, reminded me so much of Call of Duty because I constantly get lost in games and have to be reminded what I am meant to be doing lol.  This is the *SPOILER ALERT* when Jimmy dies because it is so close in proximity because of the way it is shot it is so much more emotional and I may have shed a couple of tears….and I don’t cry in films!

As much as I loved the film there are a couple of things I have issues with in this film, there are a couple of continuity issues. In one scene during a fight there is blood spatter on the camera, which is a good effect but in the next shot it disappears. I am a sucker for continuity errors!

Another thing that I didn’t understand about the film was the character of Akan and his magical telekinetic powers. Where the hell did they come from? During my research I have discovered that there is a prequel comic called Hardcore Akan which is about his backstory, from his birth during the infamous Chernobyl disaster, to the discovery of his superpowers, to his ultimate rise as the head of Russia’s most sinister robotics company.  (Ilya Naishuller, 2009) Apparently some cinemas were handing out the comic at the cinema, unfortunately my cinema was not one of them. It makes it difficult to understand it when these aspects are not included in the film. Even if there was a flashback which gave some indication to his background to explain it would have solved this issue.

Overall I was a big fan of this film, it was violent, it was funny, used interesting new ideas and concept. Considering this was the directors first film, I can’t wait to see what else he has to offer.

4 stars!

Works Cited

Failes, I. (2016, April 20). How Hardcore Henry’s POV shots were made. Retrieved from FX Guide: https://www.fxguide.com/featured/how-hardcore-henrys-pov-shots-were-made/

Ilya Naishuller, B. P. (2009). HARDCORE AKAN #1. Bliss on Tap Publishing.

IMDB. (n.d.). Hardcore Henry (2015). Retrieved from IMDB: http://gb.imdb.com/title/tt3072482/trivia?ref_=tt_ql_2

Mercury, F. (1978). Don’t Stop Me Now [Recorded by Queen]. Berre-les-Alpes , Alpes-Maritimes, France.

Metacritic. (2007, June 15). DOA: Dead Of Alive . Retrieved from Metacritic: http://www.metacritic.com/movie/doa-dead-or-alive

Puchko, K. (2016, April 5). Spinoff Online. Retrieved from Sharlto Copley Reveals Shocking Secrets of ‘Hardcore Henry’s’ Insane Stunts: http://spinoff.comicbookresources.com/2016/04/05/sharlto-copley-reveals-shocking-secrets-of-hardcore-henrys-insane-stunts/

Williams, K. (2002, March 15). Resident Evil (2002). Retrieved from Rotten Tomatoes: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/resident_evil/

Director: Ilya Naishuller

Cast:  Sharlto Copley, Tim Roth, Haley Bennett

Crew:  Ilya Naishuller (screenwriter), Will Stewart (additional writing by)

Genre: Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Rating: 18