Hardcore

'Hardcore' is the riveting story of a newly-made cyborg who must save his wife from evil tyrants and...wait a minute. Who cares?? The whole movie is a blast!!

Ilya Naishuller is a young director who had a very cool idea to shoot an action film from a first-person perspective using a GoPro Hero3 Black Edition camera. The proof of concept was released as "Biting Elbows: Bad Motherf***er". It was pitched publicly and helped to successfully crowd-fund the feature, 'Hardcore'.

It's better to keep this short and sweet: the film is extraordinarily violent; not for the squeamish. It has plenty of action, free-running, stunts, and plenty of room for comedic elements. Even the opening titles give you a taste of what's to come!

Sharlto Copley (District 9, and other Neill Blomkamp projects) plays the main POV's assistant throughout the film. Copley definitely gives a range of character performances and is quality. Wearing many hats, he guides you along as if you were needing assistance in a video game, which, by the way, this film makes several references to. In particular, the Chernobyl level in Call of Duty 4 with Capt. MacMillian. Even the opening scenes are reminiscent of Half-Life, and a lot of the free-running scenes are inspired by Mirror's Edge.

For those who are wondering, no. You likely won't get dizzy watching a 90-minute action film from an FP perspective. Well, maybe you shouldn't sit in the front row. Otherwise, you will have a blast.

'Hardcore' is an all-around fun time. Just be okay with the violence. It's only 90 minutes of your time that you'll likely want to experience over and over again. Or, you'll just want to plug in a play a few games.

Either way, it's bloody fun!

Crazy, action packed and also quite humorous... if you like video games you'll love this film...

I was definitely already a fan of the Biting Elbows music video that gave rise, but was unprepared for the roller coaster of awesome that doesn't let up for 90 minutes. I don't know if it was the 98 foot Frank's FDX screen or just a more attached rig, but some of the action was shaky and a little hard to follow, especially when Henry would get moved or tossed around. Without a sense of motion, you can lose your bearings. Being an avid FPS gamer will really help here. I'd recommend not filling your vision to the periphery with the screen (like the front 1/3rd point, where I sat) and choose a middle screen height position, which will make it more like a computer monitor experience. That said, I still found it easier to follow then the hand to hand combat in the early Bourne films, and more enjoyable. The audio is a blast with a good system, so don't wait until it gets to the crappy 30 seat theaters with the turned down speakers the megaplexes seem to tuck away in unused corners.

Sharlto Copley is extremely fun to watch in this film and did a great job not being the same character in District 9, and Elysium, proving far far from it (not a fan of Chappie, but he did well in that too).

There are so many oo, ahh, wow, and shock moments in this film. I really want to see a sequel and would definitely be happy to help fund it if they go that route again.

I think I will be seeing this again.

tldr: if you grew up with or are a fan of FPS games, this movie is amazingly fun.

Awesome innovative movie jam-packed with creative, intense and bad-ass action. a purely-fun action movie. lots of great scenes. for the most part this experiment was very successful to me. the villain was pretty goofy but for this type of movie that you can't take too seriously, it kind of makes sense (3 viewings)

When is a movie not a movie? How do you rate a movie like this anyway?

Hardcore Henry completely reinvents cinematic language. It's closer to a videogame in streamlined story and brutal, flinch-inducing violence. The sometimes low-res, often choppy POV is ballsy and cleverly conceived, gags and smart editing is commendable, the director's well-honed eye providing a true cinematic breath of fresh air.

It has superbly apt, moody music and good directional sound, it's not nearly as cheap as the marketing led me to believe even though it's clearly on a shoestring, its inventiveness and good blend of stunt performers and FX create a non-nauseous, toe-curling adrenaline rush.

There's admiration to be found in the lack of exposition in the 8-bit paper-thin plot and the gaudy, gonzo characters of a suitable Sharlto Copley. If you're in to videogames or appreciate something different, then Hardcore Henry is a revelatory, avant-garde, art-house action flick with its tongue in its cheek and its balls to the wall. It's also a sadistic, nihilistic over the top collection of video game levels. Insanely creative and in incredibly bad taste. It's a gory riot, blackly comic and tells you exactly what it is upfront and never lets up. Many parts of this film are stupid, ugly, dragging and plain insufferable and then there's equal parts hilarity and visual wit, true kineticism and sheer stuntman balls.

Very Russian. Not for everyone. And wears thin by the end, but very much a one of a kind and relentlessly intent on being it's own beast. And it helps that the ending is so absurdly laugh-out-loud OTT that it puts Crank to shame.