Film

Hardcore Henry

Name: Hardcore Henry
Genre: Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
Released: 2015
Cast: Andrey Dementyev, Sharlto Copley, Danila Kozlovsky, Haley Bennett, Tim Roth

A action movie shot entirely from its hero's own eyes, like a video game strapped to your face for ninety-seven minutes. There's a wife, a villain, some cyborg nonsense, but none of that matters — this is pure kinetic assault, stunt work of genuine insanity, and Sharlto Copley cycling through a dozen personalities. Not for anyone who gets motion sick or wants a story.

TMDb rating

3.2

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you crave kinetic, point-of-view stunt choreography and don't mind a ride that trades character and plot for pure, grinning momentum, like a video game you can't pause.

Skip it if your head can't take a constantly lurching camera, since nearly every frame is shaky first-person motion and the gore runs unrelenting for ninety-seven minutes.

What it asks of you: Expect a brisk, unbroken sprint at 97 minutes, with very little rest between bouts of nervy, bloody chaos and your full attention on the screen the whole way.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Mad Max: Fury Road2015

The gold standard for relentless practical-stunt action, built almost entirely as one long chase. If Henry's chaos appealed, this is the same adrenaline with actual craft and a story that earns its violence.

But It's a proper film with themes and characters, which might feel slower if you wanted pure chaos with zero downtime.

The Raid2012

Indonesian pencak silat fight choreography so brutal and precise it makes most Western action look lazy. One building, one night, wall-to-wall violence with real stakes in every punch.

But Subtitled and stripped-down — no gimmick, no style flourish, just relentless fighting that some find punishing rather than fun.

Crank2006

Jason Statham has to keep his adrenaline up or he dies, so the whole movie never stops moving. Same breathless, ridiculous, one-day-only energy as Henry, minus the cyborgs.

But Deliberately trashy and mean-spirited in places — this isn't clever, it's a joyride with the brakes cut.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Hardcore Henry

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Lady in the Lake1946

Hardcore Henry didn't invent the first-person gimmick — this forgotten 1947 noir tried it first, on soundstages, with none of the tools that make it easy now.

A hardboiled noir shot almost entirely from the detective's own eyes, decades before anyone had a name for a first-person action movie. Clunky, strange, and genuinely the ancestor of what Henry is doing.

But Slow, talky, and technically primitive by modern standards — this is a curiosity, not a thrill ride.

John Wick2014

Gun-fu choreography treated like dance, a simple revenge engine, and a hero who barely speaks. If you liked Henry's forward momentum, this gives you the polished version.

But Third-person and much more controlled — the camera never disorients you, which some might miss after Henry's chaos.

The Raid 22014

Bigger, longer, more sprawling than the first, with a car chase and prison riot that rival anything in modern action cinema. More ambition, same bone-crunching intensity.

But Nearly two and a half hours with a genuinely complicated crime plot — a big commitment if you just wanted mayhem.

Kingsman: The Secret Service2015

Matthew Vaughn's spy send-up has one nightclub massacre shot with the same gleeful, over-the-top choreography that makes Hardcore Henry fun, but with jokes and a plot that actually tracks.

But Tonally goofier and more of a comedy than a straight action film — less brutal, more winking.

Dredd2012

A dystopian one-building siege with slow-motion drug-trip visuals and Karl Urban never removing his helmet. Similarly grim, similarly single-minded, and criminally underrated.

But Bleaker and more po-faced than Henry — there's barely any humour to leaven the violence.

Nobody2021

Bob Odenkirk as an unassuming dad who turns out to be a killing machine. Scrappy, brutal fights with real weight behind every hit, and a wicked sense of humour.

But Slower build than Henry — it spends real time on character before the violence properly kicks off.

Atomic Blonde2017

A stairwell fight sequence shot in punishing long takes that rivals anything for sheer physical exhaustion, wrapped in Cold War neon style and a killer soundtrack.

But More style and atmosphere than nonstop action — there are stretches of spy-plot quiet between the highlights.

Enter the Void2010

Both trap you inside one character's literal viewpoint, but where Henry uses it for adrenaline, Noé uses the same technique for grief, dissociation, and dread.

Gaspar Noé's hallucinatory drama uses drifting, disorienting POV camerawork to put you inside a dying man's consciousness through Tokyo's neon underworld. Same visual language, entirely different register.

But Slow, druggy, and emotionally punishing rather than fun — this is arthouse cinema, not entertainment in the usual sense.

19172019

Both weaponise unbroken, immersive camerawork to trap you in someone's forward momentum through danger — one for spectacle, one for solemn dread.

A WWI drama staged to look like one continuous, unbroken shot, following two soldiers across enemy territory in real time. The same immersive, no-cuts pressure as Henry, deployed with total seriousness.

But Somber and prestige-minded where Henry is gleeful trash — don't expect jokes or self-aware silliness here.