Hardcore Henry - FIRST PERSON EXTREME

[Olinser]

OK, I just got back from this movie.

For those of you that don't know, this movie's gimmick is that it is shot 100% in first person. The basic premise of the movie is that a dude wakes up a cyborg in the lab, and he spends the movie running from guys trying to kill him, then killing guys trying to kill him.

The creators completely embrace their theme. The plot is, at best, an excuse plot of 'saving his wife', which simply serves as the backdrop as he goes around killing dudes in 100 creative ways and 'Jimmy' keeps showing up, dying, then showing up 5 minutes later with a different costume acting like nothing happened.

And it is ****ING AMAZING.

Only because of the existence of Deadpool is this not the #1 movie of the year for me.

[Snark Knight]

Did you feel any motion sickness at all? I was a bit worried about that.

[Olinser]

Did you feel any motion sickness at all? I was a bit worried about that.

Nope, not all. But I don't really get motion sickness in general, so take that as you will.

[Grif]

You reminded me I should go watch this soon. Maybe this week end.

[Razade]

Did you feel any motion sickness at all? I was a bit worried about that.

I got a little bit of it during some of the more wild moments and I honestly never get motion sick.


So how was the movie....that I just got back from seeing...honestly I've already forgotten about half of it and I'm typing this after a five minute ride home. There's not much to spoil honestly because there's not a whole lot to the movie. The First Person perspective was...a gimmick and nothing more. I know. Shocker. People were saying this was going to be the next "Cloverfield" and do what that movie did to the Found Footage genre but I don't think that's going to happen.

The action was, at the very best, hard to follow with just how much screen shake there is. But Razade! It's supposed to be realistic. Yeah well poo on that I don't go to the movies to see Realistic. In a film where you're supposed to see through the eyes of the character so you become the main character you should probably take some pains to make me understand what's going on and this film failed at that at every stage. If it wasn't shaky the combat was taking place in dark, red lit rooms with people wearing all black so they were just smudges. If you thought the early to mid 2000's Action movies like Bourne Identity had a problem with Screen Shake this movie is, without a doubt, not for you. Avoid it, skip it, wait until it's on Blu-Ray if you're really really curious. Otherwise just read a plot synposis and you'll have got the whole movie.

That said, was the movie at least entertaining? Well...no on that front as well quiet honestly. The plot is nonexistent which I suppose is fine if the action holds the rest of the movie up and for the most part it just doesn't. There's one or two areas where it's honestly fun, you can tell what's going on and that is when the movie really shines. The movie wants to be an "FPS Video Game! But a movie!!" and it fails on that. You know why FPS's don't have shaky screens outside explosions and cinematics? Because it's REALLY ANNOYING to try and parse the action. I know I'm harping on this but it's a huge issue with a movie that's billed as pure action. How's the acting then? Very very limited and ranging from scenery chewing to hamming to the camera. Sharlto Copley is who you see the most and by that I mean he might as well have been the main character for all the depth they give him over every other character and for what it's worth, he's always a fun time in this film even at the end.

The rest of the "characters" and I really do use that term loosely are a rotation of faceless people to get mowed down, Henry's wife who...

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SURPRISE! Isn't his wife but the main villains wife and it's all been a ruse! GOTCHA except it was so easy to see so...it was just sorta there

doesn't get a lot of screen time and the main villain who is certifiably the worst actor I've ever seen on film. He also has psychic powers because they never really say but he's got weird freaky eyes so that's probably it. His plot is, of course, to make a whole bunch of Henry's! You know what's better than cyborg super soldiers? Cyborg super soliders who can snap people in half with their brains, levitate and break crap with their minds. Why does he want the cyborg soldiers? They don't tell you! Except for the vauge "TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD *Evil Laugh*. Oh and there's a couple motorcycle riding Russian whores who shoot guns and swing swords in the movie but they have even less character and depth than Henry and Henry doesn't have a single line of dialogue.

The plot is -especially- bad actually, on par with the latest Hitman movie when you take into consideration

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The entire plan hinges on Henry wanting to chase down Akan because he has his "wife" except in the first five or so minutes the base is attacked by Akan and his men which forces them to flee. They have an escape pod in this...never explained airship...but she forgets to deploy the parachute within the escape pod until it's too late and they crash into a highway. The entire movie could have ended right there with her having her brains dashed out against some non-descriptive tract or Russian motorway. Then what? What a stupid risk for your global cyborg army really.

It only gets worse when you consider their plot was, from the very start, to lure Henry to the main Akan (yes that's also the name of the company) building so they can use him to upload more of himself into other cyborgs but they stop at nothing to murder him. Which if they destroy him, they're back to square one. The entire plot has the very strong feeling that they only put what they needed to give an excuse to beat some baddies and kill them in, if I'm fair, some pretty cool ways when you can see what they're doing. Shame that's rare.

I'm not hard to please with my (soon to be) Summer Action flicks. I thought Thor 2 was an enjoyable and exciting experience despite it's flaws. But Hardcore Henry doesn't have a lot going for it to be honest. The action, to beat a dead horse, is hard to follow and about 80% of the film is more shaky than this all in First Person with really little else to support it. A few gems that might get remembered down the lines as memorable fight scenes but otherwise it's an utterly forgettable film.

[Ranxerox]

I saw this movie and enjoyed it. I thought it was great fun and liked how they found clever in universe reasons to explain all video game tropes that were present in the movie.

Still, despite enjoying the movie, I was kinda of disturbed to discover that it has a 100% rating on Russia's equivalent of Rotten Tomatoes. I feel that at least some of there critics should be responding to the movie like Razade did. I got off on the gonzo quality of the Hardcore Henry, but there should have been some critics saying that gonzo stupid is still stupid (and lets be honest, despite some clever bits poking through here and there this is a stupid movie).

So, I'm afraid that the Russians may have us beat in the testosterone fueled stupidity department, and that is one of the areas that we (speaking as a US citizen) excel at. May the powers that be save the planet.

[Razade]

I saw this movie and enjoyed it. I thought it was great fun and liked how they found clever in universe reasons to explain all video game tropes that were present in the movie.

Still, despite enjoying the movie, I was kinda of disturbed to discover that it has a 100% rating on Russia's equivalent of Rotten Tomatoes. I feel that at least some of there critics should be responding to the movie like Razade did. I got off on the gonzo quality of the Hardcore Henry, but there should have been some critics saying that gonzo stupid is still stupid (and lets be honest, despite some clever bits poking through here and there this is a stupid movie).

So, I'm afraid that the Russians may have us beat in the testosterone fueled stupidity department, and that is one of the areas that we (speaking as a US citizen) excel at. May the powers that be save the planet.

Well the entire movie takes place in Russia so there's got to be some of that old Russian Pride going on. And my criticism isn't that Gonzo is stupid, it's that an Action Movie that makes it a pain to follow the Action and then has nothing else going on for it makes for a not fun movie.

[Olinser]

Well the entire movie takes place in Russia so there's got to be some of that old Russian Pride going on. And my criticism isn't that Gonzo is stupid, it's that an Action Movie that makes it a pain to follow the Action and then has nothing else going on for it makes for a not fun movie.

Well everybody has an opinion.

I found the action actually quite easy to follow, personally, so it worked out great for me.

I've always enjoyed movies that go all-in on their concept. This movie makes no bones about the fact that the plot is basically an excuse plot. I've never particularly liked movies that have an excuse plot and yet spend excessive time trying to justify it.

[Morph Bark]

Being a fan of narrative first-person games, I've looked forward to this film's release. It may not turn out to be very good, even for my tastes, but then a groundbreaker is only sometimes that. I don't think we'll see a lot of first-person films, but it will be experimented with more and some very good ones will happen in the near future.

So, I'm afraid that the Russians may have us beat in the testosterone fueled stupidity department, and that is one of the areas that we (speaking as a US citizen) excel at. May the powers that be save the planet.

Just wait for Zaschitniki.

[Razade]

Well everybody has an opinion.

I found the action actually quite easy to follow, personally, so it worked out great for me.

I've always enjoyed movies that go all-in on their concept. This movie makes no bones about the fact that the plot is basically an excuse plot. I've never particularly liked movies that have an excuse plot and yet spend excessive time trying to justify it.

Yeah...that's really more a condescending way to say "you're wrong". I didn't go to Hardcore Henry for War and Peace. I went to watch a bunch of people die in cool ways and for the most part the movie made it boring.

[Ranxerox]

Just wait for Zaschitniki.

Checked out the trailer. That looks fun. Thanks.

[Olinser]

Being a fan of narrative first-person games, I've looked forward to this film's release. It may not turn out to be very good, even for my tastes, but then a groundbreaker is only sometimes that. I don't think we'll see a lot of first-person films, but it will be experimented with more and some very good ones will happen in the near future.



Just wait for Zaschitniki.

It does what it intends to do very well. The action is totally absurd at points, but that makes it better. They completely embrace the absurdity of their premise of Cyborg killing people, so some of the stunts are hilarious in their absurdity.

I treat this movie like Pacific Rim. I didn't go to Pacific Rim to be enthralled by the Shakespearean dialogue and acting. I went to see giant robots fight giant monsters.

Same here. I did not go for the Oscar worthy plot. I went to see a dude kill 100 other dudes in creative ways in first person. And it did it in spectacular fashion.

[Starwulf]

Given that the movie looks like it's a live-action Call of Duty movie, I think I'll be giving this a complete pass. Hate first-person shooters, honestly I hate first-person everything EXCEPT for TES series. I don't even like other first-person RPG's, so I just really don't see myself enjoying this movie in any sort of way.

[Razade]

Given that the movie looks like it's a live-action Call of Duty movie, I think I'll be giving this a complete pass. Hate first-person shooters, honestly I hate first-person everything EXCEPT for TES series. I don't even like other first-person RPG's, so I just really don't see myself enjoying this movie in any sort of way.

More like a FPS Assassin's Creed if you slapped a shakeweight on your face but close enough.

[Olinser]

Given that the movie looks like it's a live-action Call of Duty movie, I think I'll be giving this a complete pass. Hate first-person shooters, honestly I hate first-person everything EXCEPT for TES series. I don't even like other first-person RPG's, so I just really don't see myself enjoying this movie in any sort of way.

Yeah, if you don't like first person in general, movie most definitely not for you.

[sktarq]

I loved this movie.

The shaky cam works well and I actually found it easier to follow than most action movies. The shaky cam moves like a head not a hand. You can easily track the location of where the character is in relation to his surroundings. It is far easier than watching many third person point of view fights.

Also it is really really funny. I was never bored (and I fell asleep in Transformers and nearly in Godzilla) and I'm not a fan of FPS games.

[JoshL]

Being a fan of narrative first-person games, I've looked forward to this film's release. It may not turn out to be very good, even for my tastes, but then a groundbreaker is only sometimes that. I don't think we'll see a lot of first-person films, but it will be experimented with more and some very good ones will happen in the near future.

Or even in the not-too-distant past! Gaspar Noe's "Enter The Void" was done entirely first person in 2009 and was amazing, though that's more of an art film/drama than an action film. Or The Lady In The Lake, a classic noir done in 1947, shot first person. I'm sure there are more too; like anything else, it's just a technique, and this is certainly the first modern action film to do it entirely (we'll try to forget the Doom movie, right? That did it in segments).

I was looking forward to this, but most of my friends hated it. Glad to see there are some mixed opinions here in this thread. I'll see it at some point, but from what I've heard, not going to be rushing out to see it. Maybe wait until home release and watch it with a Google Cardboard setup which led to a great discussion the other day about VR and narrative films (there are a few out there now, but it's still crazy new tech) and me getting a brilliant idea that I will never ever be able to afford to do. Unless one of you guys has experience with VR and computer animation and wants to talk about art-horror-music videos

[Grif]

(we'll try to forget the Doom movie, right? That did it in segments).

Now, now. The DooM first-person segment was the best part of the movie. Which is partly why I'm enthused to see if that can translate to a full-length film.

[ChillerInstinct]

Usually I'll try to get one or two bombastic, mindless action movies in a year. This will probably be one of them, if only for the fact that I'm a sucker for a good gimmick.

I've heard it's bombing pretty hard at the box office, though. Apparently it made only half of the cost of the distribution rights on its opening weekend, and they went pretty heavy on advertising on top of it.

[Razade]

Usually I'll try to get one or two bombastic, mindless action movies in a year. This will probably be one of them, if only for the fact that I'm a sucker for a good gimmick.

I've heard it's bombing pretty hard at the box office, though. Apparently it made only half of the cost of the distribution rights on its opening weekend, and they went pretty heavy on advertising on top of it.

Yeah but it will probably make that up in overseas markets. It's killing it in Russia. The movie only cost 10mil to make which is fairly low for a major project these days. Most of the movie was shot on gopros.

[Olinser]

Usually I'll try to get one or two bombastic, mindless action movies in a year. This will probably be one of them, if only for the fact that I'm a sucker for a good gimmick.

I've heard it's bombing pretty hard at the box office, though. Apparently it made only half of the cost of the distribution rights on its opening weekend, and they went pretty heavy on advertising on top of it.

It only had a production budget of $10 million. Sure it's not a blockbuster, but its nearly made its budget in the first week, and it had very little advertising. We'll see if it maintains or picks up any steam as it goes.

[Killer Angel]

Yeah, if you don't like first person in general, movie most definitely not for you.

Yeah, that'spretty much me... I barely stand the trailer.
However, the idea itself could be interesting, if it would be executed well.

[Morph Bark]

Checked out the trailer. That looks fun. Thanks.

No problem! I found out about it only like a month ago, and it seems like something right up my alley. It's really cool-looking and will probably be a great popcorn flick.

Or even in the not-too-distant past! Gaspar Noe's "Enter The Void" was done entirely first person in 2009 and was amazing, though that's more of an art film/drama than an action film. Or The Lady In The Lake, a classic noir done in 1947, shot first person. I'm sure there are more too; like anything else, it's just a technique, and this is certainly the first modern action film to do it entirely (we'll try to forget the Doom movie, right? That did it in segments).

I imagine the older movies (at least the '47 one) didn't have the camera actually attached to the main actor though. Interesting to know that there was already one such film so far back. Might check it out.

I was looking forward to this, but most of my friends hated it. Glad to see there are some mixed opinions here in this thread. I'll see it at some point, but from what I've heard, not going to be rushing out to see it. Maybe wait until home release and watch it with a Google Cardboard setup which led to a great discussion the other day about VR and narrative films (there are a few out there now, but it's still crazy new tech) and me getting a brilliant idea that I will never ever be able to afford to do. Unless one of you guys has experience with VR and computer animation and wants to talk about art-horror-music videos

Oh, this is definitely not something you want to watch with VR, I don't think. Motion sickness will definitely hit you hard. I've had a lot of VR experiences in my education, and motion sickness is the primary issue you have to design around with VR games and suchlike. If you have something to focus on (such as with third-person games), it becomes much easier on you, even if there's some faster movement going on, but in first-person you want to limit to the player's own actual movements, teleportation, or really slow movement (such as the player being confined to a cart on rails they can move with a handcrank).