Hardcore Henry **** (2015, Sharlto Copley, Danila Kozlovsky, Haley Bennett, Tim Roth) – Movie Review

Breathtaking, breathless, bizarre guilty pleasure Hardcore Henry will gross out many people and needs to come with a health warning. And here it is. It is an extremely violent movie with non-stop bloody brutal violence and mayhem, strong language throughout, sexual content/nudity and drug use. It all comes at you like a punch in the gut.

An action movie told from a first person perspective, writer-director Ilya Naishuller‘s astonishing eye-opener is presented in a way over the top fashion that could likely make mature audiences who aren’t easily disturbed enthralled and entertained.

Henry has just been brought back from the dead by his wife Estelle (Haley Bennett) and he’s now a cyborg. But five minutes later he’s being shot at, his wife has been kidnapped, and he sets out to get her back. The bloke who’s got her is Akan (Danila Kozlovsky), a powerful warlord with an army of mercenaries, and, naturally, a plan for world domination.

Henry finds himself in Moscow, where everyone wants to kill him again, except for a mysterious British army guy called Jimmy (Sharlto Copley). Tim Roth has a cameo as Henry’s Father.

Playing like a 90-minute cinema video game, Hardcore Henry is as bonkers as it is vigorous and unique, with the non-stop action staged incredibly imaginatively and quite brilliantly. Enormous skill and enthusiasm have gone into this. Copley goes to it with a gleeful will, verging on amateurish pantomime, but keeping it fun. Kozlovsky is brilliantly evil and Bennett brilliantly alluring.

It doesn’t make much sense, and it is a shocking assault on the senses, but it is an outstanding one-off for those with strong stomachs and no sensibilities. At least I hope it’s a one-off, one of these is just great, thank you.

The film’s composer, Darya Charusha, plays a dominatrix biker. Naishuller better have a good explanation of why 31 of his 45 female characters are prostitutes!

© Derek Winnert 2016 Movie Review

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