Hardcore trailer puts viewer in first-person perspective
The ambitious first-person feature film Hardcore finally got a full-length trailer to turn heads and blow people’s minds. The movie plays like a video game, completely in first-person perspective, which is a mixed bag. On one hand, in an era where gaming has skyrocketed in popularity, and celebrities are being made from streamable viewing, Hardcore may have a built-in audience ready to eat up the madness. On the other hand, shaky cam can be tough to handle in excess, and I imagine sitting through an entire movie of first-person jumping, running, shooting, tumbling, and falling might be a bit taxing on the viewer. Imagine watching Hardcore on a VR headset like the Oculus Rift? Pretty wild, right? The movie stars Sharlto Copley in various roles, and the trailer is a good glimpse of what we’re going to get.
Watch the first full-length trailer for Hardcore after the jump.
I’ve been following Hardcore since it was a wee IndieGoGo project, and this first trailer comes out of TIFF where the movie was recently shown. Talk about crazy. I’m still not sure how it’ll play on the big screen, given audiences’ tendency to get a bit woozy when the camera starts moving around too much, but I’m curious enough to give it a watch. Plus, Sharlto Copley has always been pretty solid and entertaining, so it’ll be fun to see him ham it up a bit more than usual.
If you weren’t sold on the first-person aspect, here’s a plot synopsis for Hardcore:
You remember nothing. Mainly because you’ve just been brought back from the dead by your wife. She tells you that your name is Henry and congratulations, you’re now a cyborg. 5 minutes later, your wife has been kidnapped and you should probably go get her back. Who’s got her? His name’s Akan, he’s just a psychotic megalomaniac with telekinetic powers, and a never-ending army of mercenaries. You’re also in an unfamiliar city of Moscow, Russia and everyone wants you dead. Everyone, except for a mysterious British fellow called Jimmy. He might be on your side. Good luck Henry. You’re very much likely to need it…
Which is more elaborate than the first snippet attached to the project:
HARDCORE is a modern, action sci-si story about Henry, a newly resurrected cyborg who must save his wife/creator Estelle from the clutches of a psychotic tyrant with telekinetic powers, Akan, and his army of mercenaries. Fighting alongside Henry is Jimmy, who is Henry’s only hope to make it through the day.
Hardcore stars Sharlto Copley, Haley Bennett, and Danila Kozlovsky. There’s no official theatrical release date yet, but I’ll be keeping my eyes on this one.
And, just to be thorough, here’s an awesome music video titled “Bad Motherfucker” that’s technically the prequel to Hardcore: