History Film / HardcoreHenry

* GetAHoldOfYourselfMan: As Jimmy is flipping out over Henry seemingly [[spoiler:being TheMole for Akan after discovering that everything Henry sees is being broadcast to Akan]] and [[GetItOverWith hands him a gun, Henry slaps him, puts down the gun, and grabs him by the shoulders to nonverbally communicate to Jimmy that [[UnwittingPawn he was duped as well]].

** Henry attempts to ride a horse with triumphant music playing in the background... only for the horse to knock him on his ass.

[[caption-width-right:300:[[{{Tagline}} First they made him dangerous.\\
Then they made him mad.]]]]

Henry is not [[Music/QueenBand having a good time.]]

Did we mention that the audience sees [[UnbrokenFirstPersonPerspective all of this through Henry's eyes?]]

* BadassBystander: One of the brothel dominatrixes hacks a mook's hand off with a katana.

-->[[spoiler: '''Henry's father:''' You gonna lay there and choke on your own blood? Or are you gonna stand up, spit it out, and go spill their's?]]

-->'''[[Creator/TimRoth Henry's father]] (in flashback)''': You gonna lay there and choke on your own blood? Or are you gonna stand up, spit it out, and go spill their's?

Henry is not [[{{Music/Queen}} having a good time.]]

* ThemeMusicPowerUp: [[spoiler:In the FinalBattle, as Henry injects adrenaline into himself, he then fights off Akan's army of cyborgs to the tune of Music/{{Queen}}'s "Don't Stop Me Now."]]

* HotScientist: Estelle, played by a former model.

* ILoveNuclearPower: Akan's powers are apparently the result of the Chernobyl disaster, though they might actually be caused by [[GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke experimental gene therapy]] to cure the cancer and other radiation related ailments he contracted.

* DeconstructorFleet: Nearly every convention of a first-person shooter video game is given a reason for working in this film:

** They ''keep'' showing up even after that problem is dealt with? [[spoiler:The BigBad is viewing everything Henry does and knows exactly where he is]].
** The love interest is continually a DamselInDistress, being kidnapped and forcing the protagonist to chase after her? [[spoiler:She's in on the project, using his conditioned affection for her to motivate his actions.]]

** The rooftop battle has BenevolentArchitecture? [[spoiler:Akan actively ''wants'' Henry to fight his clones, not only so Henry dies at the superior models, but also to test his own clones out too]].

* OneManArmy: Henry is the trope in ''spades'' as he takes down wave after wave of Akan's goons. Then this gets cranked UpToEleven in the climax where he [[spoiler:literally takes on Akan and Estelle's army of cyborgs]] and kicks all of their asses (save for the last two, which were disposed of in anger by Akan.)

* DeconstructorFleet: Nearly every convention of a first-person shooter video game is given a reason for working in this film.
** The protagonist can perform inhuman feats of strength and skill while never stopping to catch his breath? He's a cyborg, with emphasis being given that he's "more machine than man" at this point.
** He's a HeroicMime? His voice protocol wasn't activated before everything went to hell, leaving him mute for the duration of the story (and probably beyond.)

** The MissionControl NPC (in this case, Jimmy) keeps coming back to provide guidance and assistance from near-fatal circumstances? [[spoiler:He's actually a collective group of {{Expendable Clone}}s all being controlled by the same man. Each clone also has a different personality and demeanor, possibly even symbolising how players would role-play characters with different personalities throughout each run through of their games.]]

** They ''keep'' showing up even after that problem is dealt with? [[spoiler:The BigBad is viewing everything Henry does and knows exactly where he is.]]

** Lastly, [[spoiler:the main character has been following Akan's script the whole time. Essentially, many of his decisions throughout the movie have been completely out of his hands and he is merely a pawn to be used by others to fulfill their desires. His killing of Akan and Estelle is Henry's act of truly taking control of his own life.]]

%%* EvilTowerOfOminousness: Akan H.Q., an enormous gleaming skyscraper.

* ArcWords: [[PunctuatedForEmphasis You. Little. Pussy.]] Said to a young Henry by his father after Henry refused to chase after some bullies who'd broken his toy. [[spoiler:At the end, [[OnceMoreWithClarity the full flashback]] reveals that this is actually his father quoting what his own father said to him (he even said he ''deserved'' to have been called a pussy for following his mafioso father's orders to shed innocent blood instead of defying him and not committing evil), promising to love him unconditionally and never speak to him like that even if he acts like a coward, and asking him whether he wants to keep being a coward or start retaliating. Henry uses this as motivation to get up and [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge brutally kill Akan and Estelle]]]].

* MoralMyopia: [[spoiler:Estelle]] is visibly horrified at the death of [[spoiler:her boyfriend]] but [[spoiler:she]] certainly didn't bat an eye to all of the brutal experiments and atrocities committed to create a super soldier army to take over the world.

* AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] for BlackComedy at the climax. When Estelle is hit by a bullet that ricochets off Henry's hand, the music turns sombre as she stumbles in shock, asking what happened in a daze. Then she falls out of the open helicopter door and is left dangling out over the city far below, tearfully pleading with Henry for her life. Cue [[FinGore door]] [[DisneyVillainDeath slam]] and EndCredits with upbeat music.]]

* LogicalWeakness: [[spoiler: On top of being a LongRangeFighter, Akan's telekinesis appears to rely to some degree on his physical gestures, evidenced by how often he makes them while displaying his powers. Henry is able to negate his enemy's greatest power by rapidly closing the distance and immobilizing Akan's arms (and inflicting some ''graphic'' FinGore on one of them to boot).]]

* SquishyWizard: Akan's telekinesis makes him formidable, but it's made clear that it's taxing for him, and physically he's a man of fairly average build. [[spoiler: When Henry closes the distance in the climax, [[FinGore it gets]] [[OffWithHisHead messy.]]]]

Heavily influenced by FirstPersonShooter games, ''Hardcore Henry'' made a splash at various film festivals with its revolutionary concept, gonzo nature and fast-paced, fun approach to the action genre. It won't surprise anyone then, that it did actually get some early cross-promotion with ''VideoGame/Payday2'' as a tie-in, which takes place before the film does, and has you collecting and stealing data on superhuman experiments before Akan can get his hands on it.

* NotDistractedByTheSexy: At the very end of the movie, [[spoiler:Estelle tries to invoke the feelings Henry had for her to get him to spare her life. This is ''after'' TheReveal that she was Akan's wife all along, was in on his plans, and played Henry like a fiddle using those very feelings. Also after she has already tried shooting Henry. You can guess how that turns out for her. She tells Henry to listen to his heart... Henry's heart tells him to [[{{Fingore}} sever her fingers with a helicopter door.]] [[DisneyVillainDeath letting her fall to her death]].]]

* BadassBeard: The homeless version of Jimmy and the biker/hippie version sport these.

* BadassMustache: [=WW2=] Colonel Jimmy has a finely structured one.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Toward the end, the nerdy, awkward Jimmy in a vest attempts to "buy time," [[spoiler:and is ''immediately'' gunned down,]] while the [=WW2=] Jimmy and the original Jimmy are [[spoiler:mortally wounded by shrapnel from some of the explosions on the way.]]

* BatterUp: Akan ''loves'' baseball bats, though he only uses them once - to knock Henry clear out of the armored van he's in, but not before giving him some data on baseball in Russia - in his words, annually there are 100,000 bats sold sold in the country... but only about 50 baseballs.