Hard Target (1993)

Really Surprised!

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Just perfect...

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Jean-Claude Van Damme is "Hard Target" one of my personal number 1 action favorite films of all time. Rambo movies and the original 87 RoboCop are my favorite action movies while Hard Target is at top of them and it is my favorite personal action film off all time. This is John Woo's best film in my opinion he made it in the USA. My favorite number 1 Jean-Claude Van Damme film his best one. I love the action scenes, the gory kills, Van Damme with two guns love his line: Give it a rest, pal and bang bang he shoots the bad guy in the motorcycle suite. "Hunting season... is over" and he launches grenade in to the bad guy. John Woo directed this film and he directed great. I love John Woo's movies: Broken Arrow, Hard Boiled, Paycheck, The Killer those are my favorite action films. Hard Target is really my favorite of the 90's action films and they don't make em these days those kind of action movies today. This is my number 1 John Woo action personal favorite film don't get me wrong I love Hard Boiled but I love Hard Target to death! I watched this movie on VHS, I used to had the film on a blank VHS tape and on Blank CD but the CD didn't work properly anymore. I have this film on Blu-ray disc. I watch it constantly and in 2015 it was my number 1 action film whenever someone asked me which was my favorite film it was Hard Target.Hard Target stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Lance Henriksen, Arnold Vosloo, Yancy Butler, Kasi Lemmons and Wilford Brimley.Jean-Claude Van Damme is Chance Boudreaux "Hard Target" an ex US Marine Force Reconnaissance and an out-of-work Cajun. He is a bad-ass this is my comic book hero. My favorite action hero of all time, he ass kicking everywhere, shooting bad guys. Chance launches hundred of bullets and slugs in to thirty bad guys. The stuntman's are absolutely crazy insane ( Van Damme stands on a motorcycle while he races back towards in to one of the pursuing SUVs firing his gun at the bad guys, than crashes his bike in to SUV vehicle jumping off the bike, over the roof of the truck and landing safely behind it crazy bad-ass stunt the stuntman was absolutely insane crazy. He shoots behind with the gun igniting the gas tank and the truck explodes - bad ass scene in to the film.) Van Damme jumps with his leg and hit the motorcycle bad guy in to his helmet with his foot, the bad guy crashes off his bike, awesome. Bad-ass action film with balls if you ask me. You see a heavy automatic machine guns, hand guns Beretta 92FS, great explosive weapons. One mercenary uses SWD/Cobray Street Sweeper a grenade launcher and when he fires on Uncle Douvee (Wilford Brimley) he hits and blows up an entire shed. Shotguns and automatic weapons are used well. Van Damme in his 90's never used two hand guns so well except in Double Impact but not like in this movie. You have motorcycle gunmen with their MP5s automatic guns chasing Chance all over the town. You have an Arrow Stealth with arrow that is been used in the film. A thug uses Arrow Stealth on his prey awesome. You have Uncle Douvee - with a bow and arrow which he kills one of the thugs when he fired an automatic weapon on him. These days action movies don't use bow and arrow in the movies anymore. You have incredible explosions in the movie, real fire power guns, real practical effects. Real shotguns, real weapons are used no CGI they are real stunts used in this film. I absolutely love the filming locations in the film. The plot is about a mercenary Emil Fouchon (Lance Henriksen) who is recruiting a homeless combat veterans for the sports game to stalk and hunt people for the amusement of the rush and adrenalin on the streets of New Orleans. His clients are multi millionaire bored tycoons who pay a half of million dollars to stalk and kill the most challenging prey of them all. When Chance (Van Damme) is hired from Natasha Binder (Yancy Butler) to finding her missing father, he finds the game that Binder was killed and now Boudreaux becomes the next target. Boudreaux is an ex US Marine Force Reconnaissance expert in combats and martial artist and he is a "Hard Target" difficult to kill. I love Emil Fouchon (Lance Henriksen) in this movie, Lance is the best in this movie and he is excellent in his role, his best acting ever, he is a professional. I love Arnold Vosloo as Pik Van Cleef his best character ever. "I know you didn't mean to... hurt... my feelings.", "Boudreaux, Boudreaux, Boudreaux. I've been looking all over for you. ", "I don't get angry, I'm a professional. " his best lines ever, he is a bad-ass bad guy. Emil Fouchon is a great bad guy, but I enjoy Pik Van Cleef more. I love also Wilford Brimley as Uncle Douvee in the film he is great us Chance's uncle. 10/10 my personal number 1 favorite action film of all time, I think it is at top of Rambo and RoboCop my films, this is my film from the 90's and I love it so so so much. I love this film to death, I amazingly love it. Also Hard Target 2 doesn't exist for me. I never liked the sequel to the film skip the sequel and watch this one. Highly recommend to the fans.

"Hard Target" is one of many Jean-Claude Van Damme films Hollywood calls action-thrillers. One can think of three reasons to watch this film. None have anything to do with great plots or even very good screenplays. Nor do they relate to good acting, or interesting subject matter. The three reasons are the special effects from all the action and carnage, the far out story, and the horrendous characters whom the hero has to fight. This film has all three of those. The five stars I give the film are based mostly on the pyrotechnic special effects and the varied sets. As with most "Vandasy" films, this one starts very slowly and tries to build a case for the hero to have a cause to go after the bad guys. That's usually a drag, because everyone knows the reason for watching the film is all the wild action that will fill that last quarter or third or more of the film. And the usual obvious implausibilities are present in "Hard Target" as well. An army of bad guys guns down Elijah in the middle of a busy New Orleans street. And all the people who ducked for cover when the shooting starts all of a sudden are gone. A whole street in a commercial area is deserted in broad daylight when Randall Poe tries to leave town and Pik blasts him off. All of the bad guys are terrible shots and can't hit the side of a barn. Of course, Van Damme gets lots of exercise in as Chance Boudreaux. He especially hones his gymnastic skills in this one with his running and leaping somersaults, jumps and rings. This film has a usual dose of gruesomeness in some of the killings. But, this is the type of film that one wouldn't label as a possible influence for violent behavior of teens. That's because the fighting and battling scenes are so outlandish and unreal. As with other Van Damme films, this one has lots of fire and fireworks. And really ugly, nasty, bad guys who, one is pleased to know even before it happens, will be rubbed out by Van Damme.

John Woo's action direction helped lift this above the typical a B-martial arts film. Jean Claude Van Damme plays Chance Boudreaux, ex-Force Recon Marine and out of work sailor, is looking for a way to make the money he needs to pay his union dues. Natasha Binder (Yancy Butler) is an out of towner who comes to the Big Easy looking for father. Natasha makes the mistake of showing the cash she is carrying while looking for directions, leading to a local gang to try to violently rob her. Chance rescues her and she employs him as a bodyguard and guide for the search. It's not long before they run afoul of a crooked man-hunting game targeting homeless combat vets like Natasha's father operated by Emil Fuchon (Lance Henriksen) and Pik Van Cleef (Arnold Vosloo). Probably the best movie in Van Damme's filmography aside from Double Impact and Kickboxer.

Natasha Binder (Yancy Butler) comes to New Orleans in search for her missing father Douglas. He was a homeless vet killed in a secret game to hunt humans. Natasha is rescued from a group of thugs by drifter Cajun vet Chance Boudreaux (Jean-Claude Van Damme). She hires him to help. Emil Fouchon (Lance Henriksen) organizes the hunts and is angry at his recruiter Randal for supplying Douglas who has family that comes looking for him. The overstretched police is reluctant to investigate Douglas' death except for detective Mitchell. They are pursued into the Bayou by Fouchon and his men. Boudreaux uses his local knowledge, super-kicks and his uncle Douvee (Wilford Brimley) to fight off Fouchon.Director John Woo brings his HK action style to America. I love his real stunt action but I've always been ambivalent to his slow motion film style. To me, it slows the pacing and reduces the tension. If done too much, it gives an artificial feel to the action. I often admire the stunt work without admiring the film work. Van Damme is playing a Cajun which excuses his accent somewhat. There is nothing great about the story or the acting. I love some of the stunts but even they start to wear thin.