NEW YORK, April 7 — First-person action film Hardcore Henry prepares to jolt the action movie genre with a movie’s worth of kinetic set pieces shot from the viewer’s perspective.

Get up to speed with our quick three-minute preview.

What’s it about?

Narratively, the film’s about a man who wakes from death as a cyborg — a human brought back to life as a mechanically-enhanced organism — and sets about rescuing his scientist wife from a rather nasty fellow who’s keen on creating an unstoppable army of robotically augmented soldiers.

But Hardcore Henry also represents a step-change in acceptable cinematic filming techniques, shot entirely with an adapted GoPro setup for a continuous first-person perspective throughout.

Who’s in it?

Sharlto Copely, he of sci-fi movies District 9, Elysium, and Chappie, is here as Jimmy, Henry’s only friend in a brave new world.

Haley Bennett arrives from Denzel Washington action flick The Equalizer, while Moscow-born star Danila Kozlovsky of Soulless (ru. Духless) and Vampire Academy becomes antagonist Akan.

But thanks to the film’s unusual presentation, its three cinematographers—Pasha Kapinos, Vsevolod Kaptur and Fedor Lyass—are fulfilling actors’ roles as well, enabling the Hardcore Henry audience to become the lead character himself.

Who’s behind it?

Russian director Ilya Naishuller helped pioneer the concept with a pair of action-oriented, stunt-laded, first-person music videos for his band Biting Elbows.

Those caught the attention of millions, including producer and filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov (Night Watch, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) who persuaded Naishuller to extend the concept to a full-length feature.

It depends on expectations.

There’s not much more to Hardcore Henry than its searing technique and breakneck action, say reviews posted to Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic, but in and of itself the approach is revelatory; hence RT’s 89 per cent approval rating, with a review score average of 6.1/10.

That average lands in the same ballpark as Crank an adrenaline-fueled rush from ten years previous.

By the same metric, Hardcore Henry could well become a must-see for fans of the genre, with wider ramifications for the industry given the availability of affordable, self-mounted film-making equipment.

When’s it out?

Hardcore Henry is braced for international launch the week of April 8, with Russia, Canada, USA, and the UK caught up within its first round.

Territorial availability expands with France, Germany and Singapore among those included the week of April 13, and Hong Kong cinemas showing the movie from April 21. — AFP-Relaxnews