Film Preview: Hardcore Henry (2016)

Page Revisions:

(February 21, 2016) Original
(March 3, 2016) New Trailer (#2)

Release Date:

April 8, 2016

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “A first-person action film from the eyes of Henry, who’s resurrected from death with no memory. He must discover his identity and save his wife from a warlord with a plan to bio-engineer soldiers.”

Poster Rating: B- / C

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Review: (#1) This design does a solid job expressing the film’s first person nature, but the background isn’t nearly as exciting as I think the creators thought it would be. (#2) Then you have something that doesn’t fit the film’s premise or themes at all, making this seem more like a film about a man melded with a machine rather than a first person shooter.

Trailer Rating: D / B-

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Review: (#1) In a gimmick that’s sure to wear itself thin fast, this film is done entirely from the first person point of view, as if the audience is watching a First Person Shooter (FPS). The key joy of playing FPS games is partaking in the action and while this suggests the audience will get to participate more richly than most action films, it looks like such a horrendously generic action film that the gimmick looks idiotic after awhile.

(#2) I’m not sure what it is about this new trailer, but the concept suddenly feels quite interesting. It might be some of the compelling responses from a handful of “critics,” but ultimately the inventiveness of some of the stunts in this trailer just seems more fascinating than what was on display in the first trailer even if several of them are the same.