Hardcore Henry (2015)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2015
	Director: Ilya Naishuller
	Actors: Sharlto Copley (District 9, The A-team), Tim Roth (The Hateful Eight), Haley Bennett, Danila Kozlovsky
	Country: USA, RUS
	Genre: SF, Action
	Conditions of visioning: 29.09.2016, VOD, 32" TV
Synopsis: Henry wakes up while his wife is fixing his eyes and attaching his a new arm and leg. Things turn sour before he can get his vocal cords attached.
Review: I choose to watch this movie because it was produced by visionary director Timur Bekmambetov (9, Night Watch trilogy, Apollo 18, The Darkest Hour, Wanted) that I could call the Russian Luc Besson because he offers to his audience what they want to see. I already liked Wanted and its Matrix style (always a big influence on his movies for the greatest pleasure of those of us who want to see more of it), and haven't seen Apollo 18 yet but Harcore Henry may be his best production to date. I raises the bar in terms of modern cinematography, i.e. provides new answers to the question of how can the Cinema medium evolve in our age of technology and ever-connection. In the past decade movies have already evolved to take that into account. See for example the large amount of Found-Footage movies that revolve around the protagonists filming with their phones or pocket cameras (JeruZalem), or a shooting style very close to the actors (example: It Follows). I am also thinking about the trend of showing Text messages directly on-screen, shortcutting the need for a shot of a phone screen (the most recent example is the American TV-series House of Cards). Other movies have explored the possibility to integrate a video-game point of view starting with one scene in Doom and much more in Gamer. Finally we have also seen themes of cloning recently tackled in Surrogates, and creation with 3D-printing from a First-person point of view in Frankenstein.  Hardcore Henry seems to be the culmination of all that, offering an immersive experience shot from the sole point of view of its main character. Appreciating myself FPS video games I was glued to my screen, like I have to do when playing so that my character doesn't die. The story itself is thought like an Action Shooter, the hero in a futuristic Universe constantly struggling to stay alive (brilliant idea to keep him silent) and unexpectedly confronted to hordes of faceless enemies driving all the same van. And several action scenes are some of the best I have ever seen, and kept me deep in my seat for 15 minutes non-stop. I also like very much the side-kick multiple character of Jimmy played by an excellent Sharlto Copley and that provides him the opportunity to display the large panel of characters he can play. My rating reflects more the roller-coaster sensations the movie provided me rather than its cinematographic qualities, but I would highly recommend it for those in search of new sensations in Cinema.
Rating: 8 /10