Hardcore Henry is a gimmick movie that displays some impressive camera work, visual effects, stunts and a well rounded performance by Sharlto Copley, yet is thin on story and frankly, I don’t ever see myself revisiting in spite of what the movie has going for it.
Hardcore Henry
(2016)
Genre(s): Action, Science Fiction
Universal | R – 97 min. – $19.99 | July 26, 2016
Date Published: 08/16/2016 | Author: The Movieman
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THE MOVIE — 3.0/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: You remember nothing. Mainly because you’ve just been brought back from the dead by your wife (HALEY BENNETT) who tells you your name is Henry. Five minutes later, you are being shot at, your wife has been kidnapped, and you should probably go get her back. You’re also in the unfamiliar city of Moscow, and everyone wants you dead. Your only help comes from a man named Jimmy (SHARLTO COPLEY). If you can survive the insanity and solve the mystery, you might just discover your purpose and the truth behind your identity.
Quick Hit Review: Hardcore Henry is most definitely a gimmick movie. It’s an impressive gimmick given the stunts and even camera work (though anyone who hates shaky-cam might as well just skip the movie altogether), yet it’s still a gimmick and a movie I honestly don’t know if I ever want to revisit given the lack of character development, which is understandable since it’s a first-person shooter where we don’t even see the character’s face until towards the end and the actual plot is rather thin. Still, when you get Sharlto Copley playing a variety of fun characters, it does make the film at least entertaining even if the style does lose its impact thus this probably would’ve served better as a short film. Danila Kozlovsky plays a serviceable, and weird, villain but ultimately ineffective and Haley Bennett’s few scenes weren’t bad but she’s not given a whole lot to do until the end. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.25/5 |
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This release comes with a semi-glossy, title-embossed slip cover. Inside is a redemption code for the Digital HD copy. The features are surprisingly limited but we do get two Audio Commentaries, one with Writer/Producer/Director Ilya Naishuller and a second with Naishuller and Actor/Executive Producer Sharlto Copley; a Fan Chat (12:25; HD) featurette where Naishuller and Copley answer questions from fans; and some Deleted Scenes (7:57; HD). |
VIDEO – 4.0/5 |
| Hardcore Henry shoots on up to Blu-ray shown in its original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio presentation and has a decent if not standard 1080p high-definition transfer. For the most part it is a fine looking video, colors are generally bright and detail is sharp though given the handheld style (i.e. shaky-cam), it’s hard to tell in some scenes. That said, it’s clean, free of artifacts and aliasing. |
AUDIO – 4.5/5 |
| The movie is given a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which is very effective with the numerous gunfire, explosions and the other first-person sounds like ambient noises coming off-screen to an efficient soundtrack/score which blares through every channel. It’s a well done lossless track that is almost reference quality work. |
OVERALL – 3.0/5 |
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Overall, Hardcore Henry is a gimmick movie that displays some impressive camera work, visual effects, stunts and a well rounded performance by Sharlto Copley, yet is thin on story and frankly, I don’t ever see myself revisiting in spite of what the movie has going for it. The Blu-ray at least offers up a good video, great audio and so-so selection of visual effects. |
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.