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Hard Target

R 1993 1h 34m Action List
60% Tomatometer 40 Reviews 49% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
Chance Boudreaux (Jean-Claude Van Damme), a sailor skilled in martial arts, is employed to guard Natasha Binder (Yancy Butler) as she tracks down her father, an itinerant Vietnam veteran living in New Orleans named Douglas (Chuck Pfarrer). They soon uncover a sinister group of wealthy men who hunt the homeless for sport, paying them $10,000 if they can survive a crosstown journey. When Chance discovers that Natasha's father was one of their victims, he decides to destroy the evil hunters.
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Hard Target

Hard Target

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Critics Consensus

Hard Target gets a boost from John Woo's stylish direction, but at heart, it's still another silly, explosion-dependent action thriller in the Jean-Claude Van Damme oeuvre.

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Critics Reviews

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Duane Byrge Hollywood Reporter The combo is an incendiary mix: Woo unleashes all barrels in vintage Hong Kong action style while Van Damme delivers not only his martial-arts prowess but some well-developed acting skills as well. Sep 3, 2020 Full Review Kim Newman Empire Magazine Though it lacks the epic feel and melodramatic sincerity of Woo's Oriental movies, this is nevertheless first-rate action. Rated: 3/5 Nov 13, 2017 Full Review Owen Gleiberman Entertainment Weekly Rated: B+ Sep 7, 2011 Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews ...the movie improves considerably once it progresses into an increasingly enthralling second half... Rated: 3/4 Aug 20, 2022 Full Review Chris Knight Calgary Herald Don't expect too much from Hard Target, and you won't be disappointed. Shoot-em-up action films have a limited range, but John Woo and company take this one to the limit. Rated: 2.5/4 Aug 12, 2022 Full Review James Kendrick Q Network Film Desk the second half plays like an all-out action extravaganza, a symphony of bullet-strewn slow motion and hyper-real physicality Rated: 3/4 Jan 6, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Jonathan O Hard Target is the 90's of The Most Dangerous Games and echoes of 2012 The Hunger Games but boy I had a blast is really entertaining and thrilling and great dark humor and Jean- Claude Van Damme is really a action star in the 90's and John Woo really wow use with action and gun fu and really fantastic stunts work. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/18/24 Full Review To F Mucha acción. Es lo que define a esta buena película!! Rated 3 out of 5 stars 08/29/24 Full Review Audience Member Top-tier Van Damme! Maybe his best film, thanks to the stylish direction of John Woo and some fantastic villains. This is one of the best to feature JCVD alongside the likes of Bloodsport, Timecop and Sudden Death. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/15/24 Full Review Jordan W A mulleted Jean-Claude Van Damme punches a rattlesnake unconscious and then uses it as a trap for the baddies hunting him. Unironically awesome. Very much a product of it’s goofy action genre era, Hard Target would be pretty forgettable if not for the –frankly– insane stunt work and action sequences this film offers. This is peak John Woo, for best and worst. All the slow-mo, pigeons, flying kicks and endless shootouts you could possibly want. This film is very straightforward with what it is and at least a good portion of that is indeed very very cool. Features some of the coolest badguy deaths I’ve seen and Lance Hendrickson weirdly stole the show as the main antagonist. Jean-Claude Van Damme is cool but cannot deliver lines to save his life. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 05/27/24 Full Review Héctor daniel V La barrera entre cazador y presa se deshace cuando un marino decide combatir a un grupo de sádicos que caza humanos por deporte. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/22/23 Full Review DanTheMan 2 Having emigrated to America as a controversial figure in his home country, John Woo came out swinging with his US debut, Hard Target. Despite the rather hammy B-movie-esque story, Woo's technical prowess shines through, unleashing all barrels in vintage Hong Kong action style on the streets of New Orleans. Even with the numerous edits made to appease the MPAA, Hard Target still manages to deliver some truly epic action reminiscent of Woo's golden era, from a slow-motion moment here to a well-chosen freeze-frame there. He is probably the only director who could ever do Jean-Claude's ridiculous mullet any form of justice. Surprisingly, Van Damme delivers not only his martial arts prowess but some well-developed acting skills as well, however, the real star of this vehicle is obviously Lance Henriksen. The script often fills his mouth full of villainous pseudo-profundities while flanked by an equally fun role for Arnold Vosloo as Henriksen's right-hand man. Though it may lack the melodramatic sincerity of Woo's Hong Kong movies, Hard Target is a first-rate actioneer that delivers an incendiary mix of Wooisms, an epic score by Graeme Revell and very, very loud explosions. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 11/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Hard Target

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Cast & Crew

Hard Target

Hard Target: Official Clip - Gas Can to the Face Hard Target: Official Clip - Gas Can to the Face 2:12 Hard Target: Official Clip - Hunter Becomes the Hunted Hard Target: Official Clip - Hunter Becomes the Hunted 3:31 Hard Target: Official Clip - Fighting Crime in Style Hard Target: Official Clip - Fighting Crime in Style 2:53 Hard Target: Official Clip - Uncle Douvee Hard Target: Official Clip - Uncle Douvee 2:26 Hard Target: Official Clip - Missed the Party Hard Target: Official Clip - Missed the Party 2:21 Hard Target: Official Clip - Motorcycle Chase Hard Target: Official Clip - Motorcycle Chase 2:59 Hard Target: Official Clip - Warehouse Shootout Hard Target: Official Clip - Warehouse Shootout 2:26 Hard Target: Official Clip - Rattlesnake Trap Hard Target: Official Clip - Rattlesnake Trap 2:30 Hard Target: Official Clip - He's All Ears Hard Target: Official Clip - He's All Ears 2:22 Hard Target: Official Clip - Hunting Season is Over Hard Target: Official Clip - Hunting Season is Over 3:13 View more videos
Trespass 70% 48% Trespass Bulletproof 8% 44% Bulletproof The Getaway 33% 28% The Getaway The Hunted 8% 54% The Hunted Sudden Death 51% 40% Sudden Death Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis Chance Boudreaux (Jean-Claude Van Damme), a sailor skilled in martial arts, is employed to guard Natasha Binder (Yancy Butler) as she tracks down her father, an itinerant Vietnam veteran living in New Orleans named Douglas (Chuck Pfarrer). They soon uncover a sinister group of wealthy men who hunt the homeless for sport, paying them $10,000 if they can survive a crosstown journey. When Chance discovers that Natasha's father was one of their victims, he decides to destroy the evil hunters.
Director
John Woo
Producer
James Jacks, Sean Daniel
Screenwriter
Chuck Pfarrer
Production Co
Universal Pictures, Renaissance Pictures, Alphaville Films
Rating
R
Genre
Action
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 10, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA)
$31.5M
Runtime
1h 34m
Sound Mix
Surround
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