Hardcore Henry (2016)
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The formula for this website will be turned around, no more beating around the bush, it will be done, period. The critics will sugar coat movies, i wont, the Reeltime Movie Review is dedicated to all audiences around the globe. Will not be afraid of pointing out an issue that i believe is important to a film, and the story that was written. The main reason behind this is i learned that being a critic is not as simple as it seems, because in the end the reality is pure and simple, reviews are for the people, what you've learned, the experience of the film, and mostly you are the main critic.
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Review: Hardcore Henry is about a guy that is part of an experiment, he awakens and finds a female tech talking to him through the situations. A leg, and half of an arm, she fuses the cybernetic, implants, the works. Estelle (Haley Bennett) tells Henry she is his wife, and his memories are lost because of the extreme situations in his past, Estelle continues to fix Henry, explaining certain aspects of his condition, and leaving out others. Here the camera zooms, as if the audiences was the character. The film is shot in the first person, using a GoPro Hero 3 Black edition camera, and from the beginning of the film, as Estelle continues her part of the story, the camera is Henry. The objects, technology in the lab is viewed all in the first person.
As Henry is taken to another room, one that will enable his speech. There are two techs in this part of the lab, the names here are not really important since the characters are cannon fodder, i mean as their trying to connect, or trying to give Henry a voice, it all ends up pretty bad, because as they screw around with different vocal types, the main bad guy, called Akan (Danila Kozlovsky). This dude is pretty cool, and his entrance is almost epic in every way. The plug door that is pressurized is blown inward, by an explosive, killing one of the techs. Three heavily armed men walk in. The bad guy, Akan then walks behind them giving a speech about his specific plans; Typical bad guy right? nope because Akan has telekinetic abilities, everything in his way is thrown towards Henry. All hell breaks loose and Henry fights his way out, with Estelle, at this point of the film you realize the lab is in the sky, in a airplane or a flying airbase, up above. They both run to the escape pods, both Estelle and Henry get in, and the pod drops, and it drops them somewhere in Russia. The pod lands badly because of the parachute being pulled at the last minute, watching all this in the first person, again is a cool thing, because after all the film makers pulled it off, to me they had managed to intensify a very violent action flick.
The camera is definitely awesome, but right now lets address the story, it has a twist, which i will not reveal, the only thing i'll go into is the plot itself, don't really need to break it down, because this type of film is fast enough, the plot soars, it moves just as fast as Henry beating, shooting the bad guys. Remember the Chernobyl scene in Call of Duty 4
, well it is in this film, just the way it was played out reminded me of it. Akan is the main bad dude, he is establishes his position from the start, get Henry, for some reason this dude wants Henry, and he will kill anyone in his path. Great bad guy, and he comes with a package. The telekinesis deal is done well, he uses it, but at some cost, blood spews from his nose and mouth, gruesome scenes, but enough to make a very good point. Throughout the film you see Jimmy (Sharlto Copley), he is a friend, or foe, but this cat is cool, he really makes an impact in the film. There are different versions of him, but each one is unique and very cool. So now Henry runs, but his mission gets a bit complicated, but the film still moves fast, so the complication is very minor. Jimmy gives Henry a phone which he must follow the directions to get from one point to another, meanwhile Akan is not far behind. The blood and violence is intense, graphic, and almost as the director went back in time to the 80s. Either way the violence was part of the story, it was established from the credits to the opening sequence, to the very end. The plot, story is mixed in, with the flow of the film, it never slows down, and when you think it might, it picks up again. So the story is good, and that's half the battle when making a good action film, the story must keep you on the edge of your seat or the film will fail.The film was good, don't really care what other people thought of it, to me this film hit it's mark, it was powerful. Did it feel like a video game, yes, and it did it well, everything in the film to me was an action classic. The feeling of getting into danger was there, you were in danger just like the main character, Henry. So the plot, feel, and action sequences were good. Advice to all directors and producers who think they have a really good action flick, like the guys who made Taken 3. If you want speed, and action sequences done right, go to IIya Naishuller's school, the director of Hardcore Henry. Here you have a really good innovative film that is hard to some critics and some viewers, i say go see the film for yourself, and make your own decision, because if you don't it really is your fault, this film is groundbreaking. Love it, hate it, this film is good in every way, just watch it from start to finish. And don't be a bonehead about it, just give it a chance and watch it, it's good, and remember it is an action movie, with some cool moments that are truly memorable.
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