'Hardcore Henry'
(Sharlto Copley, Haley Bennett, Tim Roth, et al / R / 95 mins)
Overview: A man wakes up in a Moscow laboratory to learn that he's been brought back from the dead as a half-human, half-robotic hybrid. With no memory of his former life, a woman who claims to be his wife tells him that his name is Henry.
Verdict: Half human and half machine, Henry wakes only to witness the kidnapping of his wife Estelle, by a group of mercenaries. From this moment onward Henry searches and fights for Estelle with every ounce of energy he possesses. He kills and risks being killed himself, by every weapon imaginable. The viewer, through the use of a special camera attached to someone's head, is about as face to face with the violence as anyone can get.
Each move that is made by Henry is followed by the viewer. Every throat that is cut seems as if it is done by our own hands. We figure out what is happening only in so much as Henry does, for both viewer and character are in the same shoes.
The film is kinetic, bloody and non-stop action. While worn down by the shaky camera work and bad acting, I also appreciated all the zany twists, gore, rawness and laughs to the story. Ann of Green Gables and Little House on the Prairie the film is not, and this is usually a good thing. Seen at the Toronto International Film Festival 2015.