Hardcore Henry (2016)

★★★
Hardcore Henry plays like a relentless video game. It's Doom gone off the rails. The entire movie is shot from the first-person perspective, and the hero runs, punches, kicks and shoots his way to the end. This is not a found-footage movie, which is also shot from in the first person and features dizzying camera movement. Instead, director Ilya Naishuller gives us a movie seen through the eyes of the hero as he navigates numerous obstacles in and around Moscow. He gives us plenty of original visuals and a few hilarious set pieces. Playing this material straight would have been a mistake. Doing so would have just taken a standard sci-fi/action movie and added a gimmick in a transparent attempt to shake things up. Instead, Naishuller is smart enough to see the possibilities that this kind of perspective can offer. He has an interesting story to tell, but he enhances its presentation by taking full advantage of the camera positioning (it was strapped to the performer's head) to give us shots that are unique, exciting and imaginative.

Henry (played by several performers) awakens in a laboratory after losing his memory and losing an arm and a leg. His wife Estelle (Haley Bennett) is a scientist specializing in robotic limbs and memory, and she explains that his condition is temporary. As she and her team work to restore his voice, the villainous Akan (Danila Kozlovsky) invades the lab to try to kidnap Estelle for reasons revealed later in the movie. However, Henry and Estelle instead escape to the streets of Moscow, where Akan's soldiers abduct her and knock Henry off a bridge. He survives, and for the rest of the film, he remains in constant pursuit of Akan to rescue Estelle and find answers. He has help. The mysterious Jimmy (Sharlto Copley) shows up in various guises to give clues and offer assistance. He is seemingly killed multiple times only to return in a new body and with a different personality. His role in this whole affair will be revealed later too. On the way, director Naishuller treats us to a wild ride featuring chases, gunfights and fistfights, all leading to a climactic video game-style boss battle to save the world.

One key to this movie's success is Henry's inability to talk. All characters explain everything to him, who then reacts to it and, amusingly, gives a hand gesture expressing his mood. In a movie with so much clutter on the screen, his lack of dialogue lets us focus on the craftsmanship. The other characters do all the talking that is needed to advance the story, which isn't deep but has enough moving parts to keep us interested. Another benefit of his speechlessness is the distraction that would otherwise be present if we never see the speaker. A disembodied voice that is heavily involved in dialogue scenes would grow cumbersome after a while, even with the understanding that everything is viewed through Henry's eyes. I've certainly seen this technique work satisfactorily in small doses, but I wonder if an entire movie could be shot in this fashion. I hear that there are other first-person-only movies out there, but I haven't seen any of them, so I can't comment on their level of success. Naishuller opted for a silent hero, and it works.

The movie doesn't pretend to be shot in real time and with unbroken camera shots. This is not the action version of Birdman. There are cutaways, flashbacks and time skips that break up the forward progress, but other than a few examples of cleverly editing, the action moves forward quickly and uninterrupted. Hardcore Henry reminded me of Run, Lola, Run with its fast pace and emphasis on accomplishing a simple goal by running, but without that movie's do overs. Henry sprints through Moscow like a parkour athlete and avoids numerous obstacles and henchman along the way. It's hard to comment on the performers playing Henry aside from their athleticism. The real standout is Sharlto Copley as Jimmy, the rogue scientist with an axe to grind against Akan. He plays multiple characters and has a lot of fun in the process. He has the same good-natured personality that he displayed in District 9. Main bad guy Akan possesses telekinetic powers, which he uses effectively against Henry but prefers to let his minions do the dirty work. No explanation is given for his powers, although if the intent is to fashion him as a video game baddie, his lack of an origin story isn't too surprising. Still, I would have liked a reason for his abilities.

Hardcore Henry accomplishes exactly what it set out to do. Naishuller wanted to create a fun movie shot in the first person and run with it. There is a lot of action, a lot of humor and plenty of thrills. The camera is almost always in motion and incorporates plenty of rapid swings in all directions, although it never got too hectic to cause me any dizziness or motion sickness. Compared to Cloverfield, which hurt my neck, Hardcore Henry is tolerable, although your mileage may vary depending on your level of sensitivity. Video game movies don't have the best of reputations (perhaps deservedly, but I proudly declare my admiration for Super Mario Bros.), and while Naishuller's debut was not based on a game, it does inevitably draw comparisons to Doom (the Dwayne Johnson movie), and I suppose that was enough to keep potential audiences away, explaining its underwhelming box office take. Luckily, I've never viewed the box office as an indicator of quality.

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