Hard Target Reviews (original) (raw)

With Woo, violence is not just a means to an end. It's something pretty; it's fascinating. His talent is an original and peculiar one. Woo brings an esthetic sensibility to bear on the phenomenon of a good guy beating people up -- and to the spectacle of a violent shoot-out. Explosions aren't just impressive but beautiful. [20 Aug 1993, p.C1]

To be fair, this isn't The Killer. Woo's unique penchant for over-the-top male bonding is basically nowhere to be seen, but then this is, after all, a very American story, despite Woo's name at the top.

Great for from the start, john woo is a fantastic director and makes the action scenes something to be remembered

Hard Target is an action film more than anything but I guess adventure and thriller genres can also sum up the film but for me it's just pure action and mindless violence.... Made in 1993 by director John Woo (Broken Arrow, Face/Off) Hard Target's story is of a homeless man who goes missing, his daughter tries searching for him with the help **** named Chançe ( Jean Claude Van Damme) and Van Damme sticking his nose into business that doesn't concern him he becomes the attention and target of Lance Henriksen and his gang of hunters armed with machine guns and other weapons. Van Damme's Chance Boudreaux character becomes impossible for a group of men who outnumber him to kill and some of Hard Target is silly and unrealistic but it's good for laughs and only thing that saves it is the witty humour from Van Damme and the explosions, violence, shootouts and great action sequences. Not sure I got the plot/story accurate but to me it's close enough, the acting is pretty poor but the action sequences are great so all in all not the best film but a great action classic and good if you like loads of violence and bad language....Also stars Arnold Vosloo, Yancy Butler, Wilfred Brimley, Kasi Lemmons.

It's a spectacular ballet of death, lavishing upon us the highest body count of any action movie since "Total Recall," and its cynical panache marks a return to form for kickboxer Jean-Claude Van Damme, whose recent vehicles have sputtered. Not "Hard Target," though, which floors it from start to finish as it sends Van Damme after a vicious gang that rounds up homeless vets to serve as sacrificial victims for rich hunters in New Orleans. [20 Aug 1993, p.43]

The good news is there still are scenes to peel back the eyelids, beginning with a nighttime stalking and ending with some slambang mano a mano encounters in a warehouse for Mardi Gras floats - the kind of restricted setting of which Woo is a master. But the adrenaline lift, not to mention the deeper dimensions, of such films of his as "The Killer" are missing in action. [20 Aug 1993, p.46]

The movie's firepower would shame the devil. It's what Hollywood wanted Woo for: bigger, brighter explosions.

Though working on a Jean-Claude Van Damme vehicle can be seen as a comedown for Woo, he rises to the occasion to create an often rousing entertainment that is almost inarguably Van Damme's best film to date.

Hard Target is pretty much a bust from every conceivable aspect, except the visual -- it looks terrific, and one sequence, a shoot-out on the streets of New Orleans between Van Damme and a progressively larger number of bad guys, comes close to capturing the trademark frenzied, exhilarating feel of Woo's previous work. [20 Aug 1993, p.5]

Clásica película de cacería humana, como bien dice film tiene ciertos parecidos al malvado Zaroff. Comienzo lento y una protagonista que no tiene encanto. Lo único es Van Dame, por favor a quien no le gusta ver como lanza todos esos combos con las piernas. Saben que es lo peor de todo, que esta película refleja lo que viven cotidianamente los veteranos de EEUU. Por mucho que te quieran vender que Estados Unidos es un paraíso, no hay nada más lejano que eso. La trama es básica, al principio no hay tanta acción y de golpe, en los últimos 30 minutos, vas a tener toda la acción que estabas buscando. Cargadores de balas que son casi ilimitados, granadas que **** en explotar según lo necesite la trama, muchas explosiones sin sentido y armas de fuego que hacen más daño de lo que deberían. Todo eso y mucho más dan paso a esta película de acción, que de lejos gasto todo su presupuesto para la parte final. ¿La joyitas? Minuto 55:54, 58:30 y 0100.

Jean-Claude Van Damme and John Woo (in his North American debut) adapt The Most Dangerous Game into a slick, brainless gunplay / martial arts movie. In a technical sense, their partnership is a success, retaining crucial elements of each creator’s distinctive cinematic fingerprint. Woo’s characteristic blend of soft, lingering peace and loud, abrupt action is still evident, as is JCVD’s penchant for flexible high kicks (always in slow-motion), badass squints and excessive instant replays. We spend a lot of time admiring the many forms of weaponry, from handguns and crossbows to biceps and rocket launchers, relishing the play of light on their various contours and savoring each burst and explosion. That’s Woo gazing into his navel, no doubt about it, but at least his enthusiasm translates to something beautiful. Brutally violent and far over the top, sure, but beautiful. As far as the story goes, well, it’s confidently stupid. Aggressively, unapologetically, relentlessly stupid. Between the villains’ total lack of discretion and the hand-wavy “oh, he’s Cajun” excuse for Van Damme’s thick accent, we encounter something baffling or nonsensical, roughly, every three minutes. There’s barely enough plot to get us from one huge, stylish ammo dump to the next, which is really the only reason it’s there at all. Everyone takes pointless risks, whether it’s the secretive bad guys’ willingness to pump a homeless dude full of lead right in the middle of Bourbon Street or the hero’s bewildering decision to drag his innocent charge along for the climactic showdown in a burning warehouse. The famous rattlesnake-punching clip might be Hard Target’s lasting legacy (what a great meme) but that’s far from its worst offense. That it took so many cuts to avoid an NC-17 rating should say everything about this film’s intentions. It’s a bullet ballet, pure and simple; a direct continuation of Woo’s Hong Kong work with slightly better production values, a higher capacity for bloodshed and a significantly reduced plot. The director’s admiration for projectile sponges hasn’t changed - it takes a full clip to put anybody down - but now he has JCVD finish them off with a spinning head kick after the chamber’s empty. I can’t say it isn’t entertaining, but I refuse to say it’s any good.

Production Company Universal Pictures, Alphaville Films, Renaissance Pictures, S & R Productions

Release Date Aug 20, 1993

Duration 1 h 37 m

Rating TV-PG

Tagline Don't hunt what you can't kill.

Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA

• 1 Win & 4 Nominations