An Entertaining and Influential Ride

Hardcore Henry
dir. Ilya Naishuller

   It's hard to stand out cinematically in an age where almost everything has been seen and done. "Hardcore Henry" is one of those rare films that not only stands out but also has the makings of an cult classic that could change the way we look and make movies. Now, "Henry" does have some faults. Due to the audience literally being the main character, We don't get a lot of lead back story or motives except for bits and pieces such as a memory with Tim Roth playing "our" father. The villains don't get much of a backstory or motive either but neither do most superhero movie villains these days. As Alfred from "The Dark Knight" perfectly said it: "Some men just want to watch the world burn." Neither of those flaws, however, affected the overall experience for me.
    Now, while, This isn't the first time this First Person POV style has been used to make a movie, films such as the 2012 remake of "Maniac" and the short but technically impressive FPS sequence in 2005's "DOOM", but the difference between those and this is gigantic. The filmmakers seemed to have developed a whole new way of making films instead of just using the gimmick to sell tickets and make a quick buck. There seems to be a great passion and drive to pull us, the audience, directly into the action and world that "Hardcore Henry" builds. Watching this in the theater, I felt nothing but a constant adrenaline rush and was excited to see what more over-the-top action and moments that this film was going to bring. When the movie was over, I felt like I had just spent an entire day in a amusement park on super speed. Some critics have managed to point out that this is just a boring video game movie that is on par with watching a play through of "Call Of Duty" on YouTube. To them I would argue this, if films like "Gravity" can be overproduced 3D roller-coaster rides that get critical acclaim, then why can't films like this take from that and instead of making Oscar-bait, creat something completely new and fresh. The filmmakers and the producers (one of whom is Timur Bekmambetov who directed "Wanted" and the upcoming "Ben-Hur" and has produced films like last year's "Unfriended") have succeeded in creating a thrilling cinematic experience that deserves to be cherished, studied and enjoyed for many years to come. This film isn't just "Hardcore", it's an influential action packed piece of cinema.

Rating: 5/5 Reels