Hardcore Henry

An interesting first-person combat film until about halfway through. Then it starts to get boring by repeating virtually the same plot over and over again. I kept wondering how many more enemies Henry would have to shoot, slash, beat or tear apart with his bare hands for the plot to move forward. I still don't know the answer. Even after the death of the last villain, I don't really know what it was all about, or why the main bad guy had telekinetic powers. The film just lacks a point. The plot goes from point A to who knows where or why. 3 stars are for the first 40 minutes and for all Sharlto Copley’s incarnations. (07/09/2016)

I applaud the idea, admire the technical realization, and criticize the rest. Hardcore Henry is an unimaginably slick and stylish action flick, where some of the opening scenes (especially the free fall in the escape pod) spike the level of the viewer's experience to unprecedented, and you can really say revolutionary, heights, while the optimally set runtime and a lot of black humour, brilliantly provided by the film's best character(s), the outrageously loud Sharlto Copley, are also a hit. But that's where the good stuff ends, as the frantic, B-movie sci-fi story makes no sense, we know absolutely nothing about most of the characters, including the confused Henry, and the vast majority of motives remain unexplained and unfinished. It's simply too much chaos, which can still be excused for the adrenaline-fuelled action scenes, but even pure cinematic entertainment should strive for a more meaningful or at least more atmospheric plot – we can't even worry about Henry, as he's clearly a blend of every invulnerable Hollywood hero in history. And the last criticism is directed to the final long battle, which, instead of a climactic ending, is in my eyes the weakest action set-piece of the film. I did have fun and if I weren't such an opponent of computer games I might not have objected. 65% (04/29/2016)

The ultimate bachelor party with a lot of thoughtful details, Hardcore Henry is violent, bloody, witty, furious and visually stunning. It is an important genre event (somebody finally got it right!) and I believe that someone in the future will put this concept on a more complex story and thus make a breathtaking point. Then I will be the happiest man alive. (04/27/2016)

Harcore Henry is definitely not a film for everyone, no question about it, but it impressed me as a viewer. You could say it's a kind of PC version of Kill Bill, riding a huge action wave of violence, blood, swearing, but also jokes and black humour (mostly provided by Sharlto Copley) from beginning to end. On top of that, everything is seen in first person, which makes the cinema experience all the more intense. As a result, this is a brisk flick that really has balls (unlike the one sleazy cop in the film), isn't afraid to go for it and knows how to sell it properly. (05/08/2016)

In terms of innovation of the action genre, it’s only an appetiser, because Hardcore Henry is far from a full-fledged cinematic experience. There’s no plot and the frantic sequence of action scenes can’t disguise the feeling that this farce is merely a consumer piece with a short shelf-life. Original, technically very accomplished, but also exhausting almost to the max. And this time there was no need for a second or third part, 90 minutes of the first one was enough. (07/13/2016)