Outstanding music and sound effects. Cutting edge camera work for its time. Strong cast. Mostly busy script. This is clearly one of the better Van Damme movies.
It’s not as swashbuckling as The Quest, and is not as comforting as Bloodsport, and is not as motivational as Kickboxer, but is one of the next best movies in Van Damme’s filmography. Some would rate it even higher – it really depends on your taste. Personally I rate this one about equal to Universal Soldier which Van Damme made the year before. Because Universal Soldier also has some really cool scenes and catchy concepts, but drags on in places when you come to rewatch it – especially the long fight scene at the end – just like Hard Target. The action is still fairly constant, but the last 15 mins get boring for rewatching. The action is very well shot at the end, it’s just simplistic in plot – it’s just one big gun fight in one building, that lasts quarter an hour.
Some of the violence gets a bit sadistic – this may be partly due to John Woo chasing an R rating as a publicity stunt. Hard Target is rated 18 in the UK. The violence is not a massive problem, and it’s not all over the place, it’s just a bit explicit and unpleasant in places, with things like arrows shooting through bodies, and the bad guys making noises like they’re getting off on it.
Jean-Claude Van Damme does very well in his role as Chance Boudreaux, the main action hero in this movie. He’s his usual self but is clearly working with a stronger than usual behind-the-scenes crew here.
Yancy Butler is stunning as the lead female, Natasha Binder. Her acting is fine and her chemistry with Van Damme is very believable.
Arnold Vosloo puts in a strong performance as Pik Van Cleef, the main muscle of the bad boss.
Lance Henriksen does a decent job as Emil Fouchon, the boss of the bad guys.
Older people may appreciate Van Damme’s dad in this movie is played by Wilford Brimley.
This movie is a real classic, producing some of the most memorable scenes in Van Damme’s career. Director John Woo probably had a lot to do with that – he originally made his name in Hong Kong, and this was his US debut movie. The script was written by Chuck Pfarrer, a genuine former Navy Seal. The films distributor, Universal Pictures, originally wanted Van Damme to star in this movie, but John Woo originally wanted Kurt Russell for the lead role, to match Pfarrer’s script. Van Damme was eventually agreed on, because Kurt Russell was too busy with other projects. John Woo then raised the level of action in this movie, knowing Van Damme would be up for that.
Chuck Pfarrer, this movie’s writer, also played Douglas Binder, the father of Natasha Binder; the man who was killed at the start of the movie; the man who Natasha hired Chance to help search for.
This movie generally gets positive reviews online. The off bad review tends to get shot down by fans in the comments. Such comments include:
- “In my mind John Woo’s best American movie. Just 100 minutes of pure, beautifully shot action.”
- “This is peak 90s cheese and I love it.”
- “Hard Target is the best New Orleans movie of all time.”
- “JCVD punched a snake and then turned it into a booby trap. This movie was awesome.”
- “Wilford Brimley riding on horseback with a massive explosion happening behind him is one of cinema’s greatest moments.”
- “John Woo took a Chance on this one.”
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