All of the publicity for this movie has centred on it being shot entirely from the first person point of view, the titular Henry. Whilst unusual, it is not an entirely new concept. At least the director, Ilya Naishuller, realises that with a fleeting glimpse of the poster of 1947s Lady in the Lake on the wall of one character’s room, a far superior noir from Robert Montgomery.
I imagine that reference will be lost of the film’s target audience of first-person-shoot-em up games players, as the film is shot exactly like one of those games. The plot, such as it is, involves Henry being rescued from certain death, receiving some bodily adjustments that will make him a better fighter and sending him on a mission to… well, it doesn’t really matter or make much sense, as the story is just an excuse for relentless action scenes.
It is hard to know where to start in describing how bad this film is. The incoherent story is filled with uninteresting characters, the sight of Henry’s flailing arms as he dashes from scene to scene is both irritating and laughable, and there are exactly zero stakes and jeopardy. As this is set like a video game, a supposed dead character can reappear later. As that happens time and time again to Jimmy, played by the utterly atrocious (as usual) Sharlto Copley, who seems to come from the east end of London via Johannesburg, that is particularly dispiriting. Also, if I see one more action movie with a scene in a strip club, for no other reason than to give it the flimsy excuse to show lots of female flesh, then I might scream!
The cast isn’t entirely hopeless but the talented performers are completely wasted. Tim Roth, who proved with United Passions that he is prepared to demean himself for a pay cheque, appears briefly as Henry’s Dad and it is sad to see Haley Bennett, who was so good in her debut role in Music & Lyrics, but has done nothing of note since, reduced to the role of hottie doctor. Hopefully she will fare better in the upcoming Magnificent Seven remake.
Slapdash, loud, annoying, and cringe worthy.
Rating: 1.5 out of 10