There is a fierce bidding war on-going for Ilya Naishuller’s Hardcore, and for good reason. It is unlike anything we have ever really seen in a movie before. Think the video game series Call of Duty meets Crank (which itself was akin to a video game), but high on cocaine. The lead character is named Henry, but he is really you since the film takes place entirely through first person POV. He has just been brought back from the dead as a super soldier, and when his wife is taken from him, he intends to destroy his way through Russia until he finds her.
Hardcore is a bit weak storywise (and somehow moderately confusing with some character motivations), but it makes up for it all in its relentless and kinetic visuals. The camera is always moving and the action very rarely stops. And it only becomes more intense and ridiculously violent as it goes along. Thankfully the film never feels like a gimmick like that sequence we all remember from the Doom film adaptation in 2005. Naishuller uses the camera to feel like a genuine part of the action, allowing for the visuals to become truly creative and inventive. Sharlto Copley of District 9 and Elysium shines as a bizarre accomplice and guide named Jimmy, giving a performance that is beyond description. He is off-the-wall and practically delirious in nearly every instance. If you can think of the most ludicrous thing you can while reading this, chances are Copley does it during the film (including an absolutely insane musical number).
Hardcore will not be for everyone — a person fainted at my screening, and it is quite nauseating in some instances with the way the camera moves. But it is a lot of fun, and a product that feels genuinely unique. Prepare yourself and strap in for the ride.