Anna Bowman is a senior English and telecommunications major and writes 'Film Annalysis' for the Daily News. Her views do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper. Write to Anna at aabowman@bsu.edu.
1/5 stars
Stand back, Michael Bay, there’s a new sexist action movie director in town, and his name is… what’s his name? Well, it doesn’t really matter because he probably won’t be making films for much longer. Though “Hardcore Henry” is revolutionary with its first-person film style, the only thing it’s going to be remembered for is its terrible writing, sub-par plot and offensive nature. Don’t get me wrong, I never thought it was going to be good, but it has truly reached a new low for movies everywhere.
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The story – if you can call it that, follows half human, half robot, Henry (it pains me to even type that) as he tries to save his wife from the evil grips of Akan, a warlord who wants to destroy the planet with bio-engineered soldiers. Doesn’t that just make you want to die a little inside? It’s no surprise that director, Ilya Naishuller, is to blame for the writing as well. Why hire someone competent to write your film when you can do it yourself for free? He’s a regular renaissance man. The best line from the movie for me was probably, “You’re half machine, half p***y.” Not quite, “You had me at hello,” but it’s pretty close, right?
Technically speaking, there’s nothing wrong with the film. From the coloring to the sound effects, it all stuck to the video game aesthetic, and if that’s your thing, great. If you’re sick of all the beautiful visual effects and shot composition we’ve grown accustomed to with movies like “Birdman” and “Avatar,” go see it. You’ll be amazed. And I will admit the slow motion graphics in the opening credits were pretty cool. But if you’re going to “Hardcore Henry” expecting to watch, I don’t know… a movie, you’ll probably be hardcore disappointed.
The biggest beef I have with this movie is its portrayal of women. It’s like Naishuller made a bet with Donald Trump to see who was more sexist. He had me going for a second, too. The opening scene showed Henry’s wife as the scientist who developed the robotics and I thought, “Yes, one small step for a male director, one giant leap for female equality.” But then, SPOILER ALERT, that turned out to be a lie told to Henry in order to manipulate him. Well played, Naishuller. Well played. And really, I should have known, based on the fact that she was wearing a short dress and heels under her lab coat. I won’t even talk about the literal whorehouse featured for a solid ten minutes halfway through. Modesty is not one of “Hardcore Henry’s” strong suits, to be sure.
If you want to watch a video game for two hours, I suggest just staying home and play one yourself. At least then someone might come out a winner.
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