Film Review - Hardcore Henry
7 years ago
Hardcore Henry is one of the best action films I've seen in years. I've wanted to see it ever since I heard of it, but for whatever reason I never saw it at the pictures.
But before I get into it, I think I should say there are 2 kinds of people who are not going to like this film. If you're the kind of person that thinks every film has to be about mans inhumanity to man, or a meditation of the existential philosophy, then this film is not for you. It's an adrenaline pumping action thrill ride. It's pure entertainment, but it's does entertainment well.
Second, if your the kind of person who gets upset at films like Ronin, or games like Metal Gear Solid, that don't explain things not directly related to the plot, then Hardcore Henry will piss you off. To give an example, the villain is quickly established to have some kind of telekinetic super power, but it's never explained and no-one even mentions it.
So, with that out of the way, let's get to the film itself. The film bares a lot of resemblance to a game. Partly because it's all filmed in first person, never really breaking from Henry's perspective. He's also a silent protagonist with amnesia. The plot is Henry wakes up in some science lab being peiced back together, but before his voice and his memories can be restored, a villain breaks into the lab and attempts to kill Henry and kidnap his wife. They innitially escape, but eventually the villain grabs the wife. From there the rest of the film is Henry trying to rescue her in action scene after action scene. There are moments of non-combat and character diolog, but this is mostly to move the plot forward, and to act as a break between action scenes.
It's a good thing that the action is fantastic. Occasionally it be a little chaotic, but it works well whether it's a gunfight, a fist fight, or a chase. There's some great stunt work here, with the free running/building climbing scenes being the most impressive to me. The acting isn't going to winning any oscars, but it's competent enough and the important characters are played well enough.
There are 3 minor nitpicks. First is that I figured out the twist long before the film presented it to me. I think it's because I played so many FPS games and games with amnesia as a plot point. Second, there is a fight towards the end of film where Henry fights about 30 super soldiers on par or superior to Henry. This took me right out of the film, especially when you remember that early on a half dozen normal people with batons almost managed to kill him. And third, the film leans too heavily on "Henry is almost killed, but is fixed by Jimmy" scenes.
Overall, I liked Hardcore Henry a lot. It's a great film, well worth watching if you want a pure action film with an off the wall story.
One final thing I want to mention. There was a confusing part during one fight where it cut to a scene for about 5-6 seconds where the sound didn't match the picture, and then replayed that same 5-6 second clip with the correct sound. It was likely a glitch on Netflix's end, but I thought I should mention it.
But before I get into it, I think I should say there are 2 kinds of people who are not going to like this film. If you're the kind of person that thinks every film has to be about mans inhumanity to man, or a meditation of the existential philosophy, then this film is not for you. It's an adrenaline pumping action thrill ride. It's pure entertainment, but it's does entertainment well.
Second, if your the kind of person who gets upset at films like Ronin, or games like Metal Gear Solid, that don't explain things not directly related to the plot, then Hardcore Henry will piss you off. To give an example, the villain is quickly established to have some kind of telekinetic super power, but it's never explained and no-one even mentions it.
So, with that out of the way, let's get to the film itself. The film bares a lot of resemblance to a game. Partly because it's all filmed in first person, never really breaking from Henry's perspective. He's also a silent protagonist with amnesia. The plot is Henry wakes up in some science lab being peiced back together, but before his voice and his memories can be restored, a villain breaks into the lab and attempts to kill Henry and kidnap his wife. They innitially escape, but eventually the villain grabs the wife. From there the rest of the film is Henry trying to rescue her in action scene after action scene. There are moments of non-combat and character diolog, but this is mostly to move the plot forward, and to act as a break between action scenes.
It's a good thing that the action is fantastic. Occasionally it be a little chaotic, but it works well whether it's a gunfight, a fist fight, or a chase. There's some great stunt work here, with the free running/building climbing scenes being the most impressive to me. The acting isn't going to winning any oscars, but it's competent enough and the important characters are played well enough.
There are 3 minor nitpicks. First is that I figured out the twist long before the film presented it to me. I think it's because I played so many FPS games and games with amnesia as a plot point. Second, there is a fight towards the end of film where Henry fights about 30 super soldiers on par or superior to Henry. This took me right out of the film, especially when you remember that early on a half dozen normal people with batons almost managed to kill him. And third, the film leans too heavily on "Henry is almost killed, but is fixed by Jimmy" scenes.
Overall, I liked Hardcore Henry a lot. It's a great film, well worth watching if you want a pure action film with an off the wall story.
One final thing I want to mention. There was a confusing part during one fight where it cut to a scene for about 5-6 seconds where the sound didn't match the picture, and then replayed that same 5-6 second clip with the correct sound. It was likely a glitch on Netflix's end, but I thought I should mention it.