Hardcore Henry, a Russian-made action film in the first person (aka we only see things from the perspective of Henry himself), was called just “Hardcore” in its initial debut in English-speaking countries. Thank God that they changed the name by the time of wide distribution, since searching “hardcore pov action” for information about the movie gave… different results.

It cribs from video games as much as is possible, with all the gunplay, escort quests, turret sections, and randomly strewn medkits that just happen to appear after a difficult fight you can imagine, and it’s not something that you should watch if you’re remotely squeamish. The MPAA rating says that it contains “non-stop bloody brutal violence and mayhem,” and it shows; there are decapitations, bare-handed heart removal, and stabbings galore. Additionally, there’s a scene taking place within a brothel with exposed breasts, so if you’re prudish don’t see it either.

The plot is relatively standard dreck (Henry’s an amnesiac mime whose wife is stolen by the bad guy within ten minutes of the movie starting), but there are still a few unexpected twists and some very creative kills.

Should you watch this? If you like Crank and Shoot ‘Em Up, and/or you want to see a whole movie based on the first-person part from the Doom movie, then watch this. If you haven’t seen those movies, rent them from Amazon Prime or something and see if you like them. Your opinion on Crank is something that defines you as a person.

Should you watch this in theaters? It really depends on how easily you get motion sick, and where you sit. To quote Sharlto Copley (whose character Jimmy is the best in the movie for comedy), “The most IMPORTANT THING TO KNOW if you [sic] worried about motion sickness is sit [sic] at the back of the cinema when watching this. each row you go back helps a lot.”

How would I describe it in a sentence? It’s Crank meets Call of Duty in Russia.