Lightning Review: Hardcore Henry

Synopsis
Henry wakes up with no memory and much of his body replaced with cybernetic parts. Before he can understand what happened to him, his wife, Estelle (Haley Bannett), gets kidnapped by Akan (Danila Kozlovsky), a man the telekinetic powers. On his quest, he receives help from the mysterious Jimmy (Sharlto Copley).

Review
Normally I don’t go for movies with a first-person perspective, such as found footage films, but Hardcore Henry looked too interesting to pass by. The thing about Hardcore Henry is that although it is told from a first-person perspective, there is no time to focus on how disorienting it can be. It never gives you the chance to get your bearings. As soon as the action starts, which is about five minutes into the film, it literally never stops for more than a couple minutes. The entire time I kept thinking “what the hell is going on?” but I was too hooked to care. The only way I can describe my experience watching this movie is it was like watching someone else play a video game for an hour and a half. The acting, the story, the perspective, the action, everything felt like a video game. There was even a surprising amount of humor, mostly from Sharlto Copley’s character, but also from the music. When the fights kick into gear, the music kicks up too. It doesn’t sound like your traditional action movie music. I found myself smirking at how out of place it felt but at the same time it felt perfect.

I thought Hardcore Henry was GOOD :-). This style of film isn’t my usual cup of tea but there is so much going on, I couldn’t even focus on the fact I couldn’t focus on anything. I know that sounds weird but it made for a very interesting and entertaining experience.

Trivia
Henry was played by 10 different stuntmen and cameramen, including the director Ilya Naishuller. (via IMDB)

Trailer

Cast & Crew
Ilya Naishuller – Director / Writer
Darya Charusha – Composer

Sharlto Copley – Jimmy
Danila Kozlovsky – Akan
Haley Bennett – Estelle
Tim Roth – Henry’s Father
Andrei Dementiev – Slick Dmitry
Oleg Poddubnyy – Yuri
Will Stewart – Robbie
Iilya Naishuller – Timothy / Higher-Self Mercenary