No Holds Barred, Hardcore Henry Delivers Exactly What It Promises.
When you go into a 1st-person action movie, you know exactly what you’ll be getting…utter insanity. That’s what ‘Hardcore Henry‘ brings to the screen; the film throws all logic to the wind & thrust you into their strange world. The audience is treated to an abrasive movie that’s basically an homage to video games. I’m still surprised a film like this made it into American cinemas. The experimental film has polarized critics & pissed off some movie-goers.
STX Entertainment hopes that the viewers will be curious enough to see the movie. ‘Hardcore Henry‘ is the newest film from the studio that has released recent sleeper hits like ‘The Gift‘ & ‘The Boy‘. Unlike the more tradition horror elements of their other films, ‘Hardcore‘ is unlike out right now; this is a total niche film that somehow caught the eye of Hollywood. Seemingly made for freaks, I can appreciate for how unapologetically nuts it is.
There isn’t all praise. The story & paper-thin character weighs down the film. With a gimmick this extreme, it can wear thin very quickly. That seems to be the problem here. If you backed up all your style with a bit more substance, I believe this could have been the exact “action re-invention” it claimed to be. I’m glad the experience was unique but we needed a solid film to shake up the norm.
‘Hardcore Henry‘ won’t go down as cinema history but it will be remembered in the underground cult film community. The inventive style is notable but I’m interested to see if someone else will take it and make a strong film with it. Will you be seeing the film this weekend or is this too much gimmick?
‘Hardcore Henry‘ comes out April 4th; the film is directed by Ilya Naishuller and stars Sharlto Copley.
