FPS

February 12, 2016 4:15 AM

Hardcore Henry trailer (NSFW)
posted by fearfulsymmetry (51 comments total)

The video game as cinema.
posted by GallonOfAlan at 4:33 AM on February 12, 2016 [2 favorites]

What I find most interesting about this is that Tim Roth is clearly in that trailer, yet It's not on his IMDB listings, nor is his involvement shown on the Film's own IMDB listings ...

This will either be a delight for it's specific selected movie-going demographic, or an utter failure on all fronts.
posted by Faintdreams at 4:33 AM on February 12, 2016

I feel like Sharlto Copley is doing his David Tennant impression in this.

Also is this like the feature version of those Russian FPS videos from a couple years ago? I realize that may be a dumb question.
posted by Mister Moofoo at 4:34 AM on February 12, 2016

This is from Ilya Naishuller, the director of the music video Bad motherfucker (NSFW), based on the same gimmick.
posted by elgilito at 4:36 AM on February 12, 2016

Well, there's my answer.
posted by Mister Moofoo at 4:37 AM on February 12, 2016

And the watch-your-friends-play-a-video-game has come to full fruition. It's a FPS movie. Looks to be pretty impressive, technically, especially considering it looks fairly low budget. Hard to say if that first person view would be annoying after a while or something you'd just get used to. It made me think of those Crank movies, which are kind of fun for about 30 minutes and then just get monotonous.
posted by zardoz at 4:39 AM on February 12, 2016

As with the recent Batman vs Superman trailer I suggest to give the trailer a second viewing with the speed of the video decreased by half. You can change this in the video settings (see cog-wheel in the lower right). There is no actual reason to do so, besides the fact that it doubles the playing time and one can actually see what's going on.

Background for Hardcore Henry in yesterday's AMA with the director.
posted by KMB at 4:42 AM on February 12, 2016

Nope.
posted by oheso at 4:42 AM on February 12, 2016 [1 favorite]

I would rather watch this than any movie with even a minute of seriously shaky cam. Now to go find a copy of Lady in the Lake
posted by mattamatic at 4:44 AM on February 12, 2016

Beaten to the Lady in the Lake comment by a minute.
posted by octothorpe at 4:46 AM on February 12, 2016 [1 favorite]

Not having any inkling of this film before seeing this post, I actually and genuinely watched it expecting it to be a very clever or at the least very filthy joke based around this Henry.

And it made a surprising amount of sense for a surprisingly long time, especially with the noises during the airborne bit.

It must happen, mustn't it?
posted by Devonian at 4:47 AM on February 12, 2016

I've found most modern FPS to be basically unplayable for me due to motion sickness... So far I've been fine with movies with the exception of Frankenstien's Army that I had to bail from (sadly, because what I saw of it was totally nuts) and, oddly, bits of the flying/combat sequences in Jupiter Ascending.

Judging from the trailer this is going to be right on the borderline.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 4:49 AM on February 12, 2016

This appears unwatchable. I'm nauseated just from the trailer: if you put me in a first-person shooter, I NEED CONTROL.
posted by anotherpanacea at 4:50 AM on February 12, 2016 [3 favorites]

Not having any inkling of this film before seeing this post, I actually and genuinely watched it expecting it to be a very clever or at the least very filthy joke based around this Henry yt .

And it made a surprising amount of sense for a surprisingly long time, especially with the noises during the airborne bit.

It must happen, mustn't it?

Biopic
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 4:51 AM on February 12, 2016

I'm not sure I could take 90 minutes of FPS let alone a movie based on the conceit.

This article shows the camera rig they used.
posted by chavenet at 4:56 AM on February 12, 2016 [1 favorite]

The lead is Ewan McGregor, right? (Around 2:15 mark)
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 5:03 AM on February 12, 2016

This is the visual equivalent of writing in the second person. For me, there is nothing more distancing than reading in the stye of "You are feeling sad, so you say to him..." It's meant to bring you into the story, but it immediately takes me out of it, and this style of camera work does as well. It's supposed to be my perspective, but all it does is emphasize that it is not me. I can't make the camera look left or right, I can't control what is happening, and I get frustrated rather than immersed.

So neat gimmick and it looks well-done, but I hope it never catches on.

(The absolute worst are the GoPro videos where someone is bicycling or whatever, but has the camera aimed just a bit too close in front, so you can't see what is coming.)
posted by Dip Flash at 5:24 AM on February 12, 2016 [4 favorites]

FINALLY, I can pay to feel as if I'm shooting a bunch of guys to save a sexy lady. I can't believe the market hadn't capitalized on this demand sooner!
posted by davejh at 5:42 AM on February 12, 2016 [6 favorites]

I play winner.
posted by doctornecessiter at 5:52 AM on February 12, 2016

There's a similar movie, but with Kira from Continuum and Zombies... but I lack the brains to recall what the terrible looking film is called, or even what the actress is called. (But Continuum is awesome).

But those who don't recall Uwe Boll's House Of The Dead..... enjoy this and that.
posted by Mezentian at 6:04 AM on February 12, 2016

Why are my eyes all wiggly now?
posted by mittens at 6:20 AM on February 12, 2016

FINALLY, I can pay to feel as if I'm shooting a bunch of guys to save a sexy lady.

Pretty much. It's the same old story and the FPS twist doesn't make it better.
posted by cashman at 6:32 AM on February 12, 2016

I am intrigued. Not I could stand it for a whole movie, but am differently willing to give it a try.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:38 AM on February 12, 2016

It's an interesting concept, but I think it's especially difficult in that you're denied the emotional response of the main character. Like, Henry gets punched in the face. How should we feel about it? Did it hurt? Is he angry about it? Should we care? Without those cues it sort of seems like it will be an endless procession of detached 'well, that happened' moments.

I'm not sure how to fix that. I imagine a running internal monologue would work in a comedy.
posted by Kikujiro's Summer at 6:48 AM on February 12, 2016

It's an interesting concept, but I think it's especially difficult in that you're denied the emotional response of the main character.

I'm honestly not seeing anything that indicates that, especially if the idea is that YOU are the main character. This movie will be so odd, it's probably best to approach it not expecting everything to go like other movies. Yes, that could turn out good or bad.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:51 AM on February 12, 2016

Tim Roth is clearly in that trailer, yet It's not on his IMDB listings

After portraying Sepp Blatter in FIFA's cinematic hand job immediately before Blatter's arrest, I think Roth's IMDB profile has been put into a blind trust until he's dead.
posted by fatbird at 6:53 AM on February 12, 2016 [5 favorites]

Hm I've got no problem with this filming style. Might not the the best movie ever made, but hey, at least it's inventive! And I for one have no trouble watching this film style, and I'm sure many FPS players also do not. It's basically a long cut-scene.
posted by rebent at 7:03 AM on February 12, 2016 [2 favorites]

Where's the health and power bars? I can't make sense of what's going on without them.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 7:03 AM on February 12, 2016 [6 favorites]

Crank 3!
posted by grumpybear69 at 7:06 AM on February 12, 2016 [3 favorites]

This looks like it would be great fun to watch for about 10 minutes. But after that it seems like it would start to get tedious very quickly if our silent protagonist continues to remain devoid of any character or meaningful interaction as he appears in the trailer.
posted by cazoo at 7:10 AM on February 12, 2016 [1 favorite]

I kept expecting the field of view to change when I moved my phone around, like it's one of those videos formatted for Google Cardboard. It looks exactly like one of those. And I kinda like the idea of going through a whole movie looking at something other than the intended primary action.
posted by penduluum at 7:13 AM on February 12, 2016 [1 favorite]

I kept expecting the field of view to change when I moved my phone around, like it's one of those videos formatted for Google Cardboard

This is all on me, but I know what you are talking about, but I also baffled you are using the words.
Are VR headsets a thing, now? A real, people have them thing?
posted by Mezentian at 7:16 AM on February 12, 2016 [1 favorite]

Just consider how dumb he has to be holding some of those things to have them stay in the field of vision. Try it. walk around for just a little bit and hold things like a first person shooter would have you believe people hold things... its hilariously awkward.
posted by Nanukthedog at 7:30 AM on February 12, 2016 [3 favorites]

Will there be a Softcore Henry edit? You know, for the kids.
posted by lagomorphius at 7:48 AM on February 12, 2016

Are VR headsets a thing, now?

Yep.

Most popular gimmick gift in our household this Christmas.
posted by bonehead at 7:49 AM on February 12, 2016 [1 favorite]

"Are VR headsets a thing, now? A real, people have them thing?"

Yeah, totally. Shit, I should make an FPP about it, shouldn't I? There's the Oculus Rift (the consumer, non-developer's kit version, ships in June), there's the Google Cardboard VR headsets which are made by a ton of companies (including Mattel as the Viewmaster 2), there's OSVR, there's the HTC Vive, there's the Sony Playstation VR, the Samsung Gear VR, Microsoft Hololens, etc. It's been exploding in popularity the past couple of years.
posted by I-baLL at 7:50 AM on February 12, 2016

Oh, and Youtube now has 360 videos:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzuqhhs6NWbgTzMuM09WKDQ

You can use your mouse or your keyboard to look all around the video as it's playing.
posted by I-baLL at 7:51 AM on February 12, 2016

(including Mattel as the Viewmaster 2),

Only Viewmaster 2?

I knew was a thing, I guess I just had no idea how far it had gone.
I thought it would be more Segway or "hoverboard" than a thing I might experience.
posted by Mezentian at 8:01 AM on February 12, 2016

When he dies, is there lots of floating and flashy lights like its a big DMT trip?
posted by fungible at 8:01 AM on February 12, 2016

I'm not sure whether this is crass, exploitative, unwatchable, derivative nonsense or a really interesting experiment in avant-garde cinematography combined with a trenchant comment on the nature of the evolution of cultural feedback and technology.

I'll go for both. But fifty Russian mobsters with guns couldn't get me into a cinema to watch it.

(actually, they probably could. In fact, just one would do the trick. But there'd have to be the gun.)
posted by Devonian at 8:11 AM on February 12, 2016

This looks like the worst.
posted by The River Ivel at 8:38 AM on February 12, 2016

If you don't think Crank and Crank Two are major landmarks in world cinema... then I just don't know.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 8:55 AM on February 12, 2016 [5 favorites]

This trailer actually helped me articulate the problem I have with FPS: it's that the perspective simply can't recreate the way you use your eyes to see things.

Right at the start she asks him a question and when he shakes his head "no", everything swings left to right. You don't do that! If you're shaking your head, you focus on a single point and your eyes move to counteract the motion of your head.

FPS is like your eyes are permanently fixed straight forward. It's so disconcerting. I don't think I'll go watch this movie.
posted by The Notorious SRD at 9:08 AM on February 12, 2016 [5 favorites]

Where's the health and power bars? I can't make sense of what's going on without them.

A lot of modern FPS use other clues to tell you about your health and ammo, like fading borders around the screen that gets more red and heavier breathing the more you get damaged, and actual ammo display on the gun. I appreciate it but I do agree that it's too realistic and it's hard to focus on what I'm shooting at.

- This is from Ilya Naishuller, the director of the music video Bad motherfucker (NSFW), based on the same gimmick.
- FINALLY, I can pay to feel as if I'm shooting a bunch of guys to save a sexy lady.
- Pretty much. It's the same old story and the FPS twist doesn't make it better.
There's two of them, they're both songs by the band Biting Elbow, the first is "The Stampede", that second one is "Bad Motherfucker" and they follow the same story. As you can see they both involve scantily-clad/nude women, the hero is probably male based on his clothes and the hands, and everyone else is mostly male, and I don't think I saw anyone of color. So yes, as neat of a concept and as well-done of an execution as this is, it's basically the cinematic version of your most basic FPS videogame made for white teenage boys.
posted by numaner at 9:14 AM on February 12, 2016

Are VR headsets a thing, now? A real, people have them thing?

I mean, I wasn't using one. I was just watching the video on my phone. But it kept reminding me of videos made for those VR headsets, like this one.
posted by penduluum at 9:52 AM on February 12, 2016

The only thing that would make this movie interesting to me if it was also filmed in one continuous take. I know that's not even remotely likely but I don't think the "you are the star" conceit really works if there are cuts like in the music videos.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 12:20 PM on February 12, 2016

Needs Lydia blocking the doorway.
posted by sidereal at 1:55 PM on February 12, 2016

Other than the use of "Don't Stop Me Now" and that it's in English, it's hard to imagine a movie that is less interested in having me watch it. Which is fine; not everything has to be for me. I'm amused by how very very not-me this one is.
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:43 PM on February 12, 2016

BTW I love this, the idea is brilliant, it will make people sick and it will never make any money, and I love it. YES IT'S A STUNT. Yes. The amount of work put into it is enough to make me respect it.

The only thing that would make this movie interesting to me if it was also filmed in one continuous take.

There's always DOOM, The Movie, there's a 5-minute FPS take, a tip o' the hat to FPS gamers.
posted by sidereal at 3:10 PM on February 12, 2016

So neat gimmick and it looks well-done, but I hope it never catches on.

Oh I totally hope it catches on!! As mentioned a few times upthread, with the massive VR boom that's coming we're going to see a lot of first-person movies, not only that, but immersive-designed for VR first person movies.

I cannot wait until it's viable to start releasing VR movies and all these firm student kids start doing their art movies in VR and start experimenting with the technology. There's so many possibilities from fixed perspective "3d" VR movies, to non-fixed perspective that leverage the actual VR so you can move your head around in the scene.

Development of new camera techniques, scene composition, directing, everything has to be taken and reimaged. Imagine what a kubrick or a spielberg would/could do with VR.

Is it all going to be good? No, probably most of it will be terrible, but it's going to be awesome, and I can't wait.

(As my opinion on this particular case: I understand it, but I do not like it.)
posted by mayonnaises at 12:03 PM on February 15, 2016 [1 favorite]

As I think I said when Bohemian Rhapsody turned up in a trailer recently, Brian and Roger (and John) should really take more care over who they let use their songs. But they're obviously not listening to me, so.
posted by Grangousier at 12:47 PM on February 15, 2016