Ilya Naishuller

  • Nobody (2021)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, January 2022) There’s much to be said about a genre piece cleverly playing to its core audience. Action comedy Nobody is clearly designed for fans, whether it’s about the premise, the details of its story or the way the action sequences are put together. The film never misses an opportunity to play with the power chords of action filmmaking, delivers just enough of a twist on a familiar premise to be interesting, and manages to provide strong entertainment value on a limited budget. The multi-talented Bob Odenkirk, who has hovered on the edge of stardom for a long time, gets a plum role here as an ex-operative (an “auditor” for a shadowy government agency) who is accidentally brought back from suburban retirement to bone-crushing action against villains of various stripes. The psychological twist here is that he’s not constrained to get back to violence—he simply re-embraces the attraction of that lifestyle that he only suppressed for so long. As a random home burglary revives his bloodthirstiness, director Ilya Naishuller apes the John Wick series (which shares the same screenwriter and producer) for inspiration on how to build action sequences: Clean crisp direction finding a good balance between strong editing and credibly letting the actors sell the choreography of the fights. To that able execution, Nobody adds quirks designed to get the fans whooping it up: One-liners carefully delivered and an inordinate fondness for using slow songs as counterpoint to the action sequences are two of the most obvious elements of how this is an action movie for action movie fans—a good way to wait for the next John Wick volume while presenting a new protagonist. It’s an enjoyable watch throughout—from a repetitively frustrating opening to a conclusion that promises sequels to come. It may not be particularly profound, but Nobody is one of the best action films of 2021 and it knows exactly what it is.

  • Hardcore Henry (2015)

    Hardcore Henry (2015)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Blu-ray, November 2016) I can certainly see why a lot of people would not like Hardcore Henry. It is, after all, a quasi-literal film transcription of a first-person shooter videogame, with much of the nonsense usually associated with that kind of entertainment: Similar plots, excessive violence, deemphasized characters, and blatant appeals to teenagers. The first-person perspective sustained over more than 90 minutes is dizzying, the image quality of the Go-Pro cameras isn’t always that great and the thin story intentionally feels like a string of cut-scenes run in-between action set pieces. In other words, while there may not have been a lot of first-person action movies lately, Hardcore Henry still does feel intensely familiar. This being said: I’m a sucker for novelty, and there’s a lot that I actually like in the movie, even while acknowledging its faults. It’s bringing a new (ish) grammar to movies, imposed by the limitations of its chosen format, and it’s interesting to see the film go through elaborate hoops (Cybernetic enhancements! Missing voice box! Clones!) to justify familiar videogame conventions. The action sequences are interesting to watch, even though the first-person perspective and low-grade cameras do limit their effectiveness. The Moscow setting strikes a nice balance between familiarity and estrangement. The film does brim with moment-to-moment invention from writer/director Ilya Naishuller, especially when the main character has to emote without the use of a face or a voice. The black humour isn’t always successful (and often feel juvenile), but it does help enliven what could have been a far more gruelling experience. It almost goes without saying that thanks to the first-person perspective, Hardcore Henry is probably best appreciated on a small screen as so not to trigger motion sickness. It won’t be for everyone … but few movies are.