Hard Target (1993)
Average Rating: 5.3/10
Reviews Counted: 30
Fresh: 15 | Rotten: 15
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 6.1/10
Critic Reviews: 9
Fresh: 6 | Rotten: 3
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 2.8/5
User Ratings: 35,116
My Rating
Movie Info
John Woo's first Hollywood feature stars Jean-Claude Van Damme as Chance Boudreaux, a down-and-out Cajun merchant seaman, who, after saving a young woman, Natasha Binder (Yancy Butler), from a gang of thugs on the streets of New Orleans, agrees to help her search for her father (Chuck Pfarrer), a homeless Vietnam vet. They locate local businessman Randall Poe (Elliott Keener), for whom the vet had been working, and learn that her father has become a victim of wealthy sportsman Emil Fouchon
Jan 1, 1993 Wide
Jun 30, 1998
MCA Universal Home Video
Watch It Now
Cast
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Jean-Claude Van Damme
Chance Boudreaux -
Lance Henriksen
Emil Fouchon -
Arnold Vosloo
Pick Van Cleaf -
Yancy Butler
Natasha "Nat" Binder -
Kasi Lemmons
Carmine Mitchell -
Wilford Brimley
Uncle Douvee -
Bob Apisa
Mr. Lopacki -
Chuck Pfarrer
Douglas Binder -
Michael D. Leinert
Frack -
Willie C. Carpenter
Elijah Roper -
Lenore Banks
Marie -
Dave Efron
Billy Bob -
Eliott Keener
Randal Poe -
Jeanette Kontomitras
Madam -
Sven Ole Thorsen
Stephan -
Theodore Raimi
Man on the Street -
Marco St. John
Dr. Morton -
Joe Warfield
Ismal Zenan -
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Robert Pavlovich
Police Detective -
Jules Sylvester
Peterson -
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All Critics (30) | Top Critics (9) | Fresh (15) | Rotten (15) | DVD (2)
A disappointing American debut of the Hong Kong cult director John Woo is a decent action vehicle by standards of its star Jean-Claude Van Damme but, hampered by a B script and flat characters, it doesn't bear Woo's auteurist signature and unique vision
Top CriticIt's what Hollywood wanted Woo for: bigger, brighter explosions.
Presenting Mr. Van Damme as reverentially as Sergio Leone did the young Clint Eastwood, Mr. Woo displays a real aptitude for malignant mischief, which is this story's stock in trade.
Even when the acting is hammy, notably Wilford Brimley's turn as Chance's Cajun uncle, Woo stages every fight with hypnotic grace.
Woo, a master of stylized violence and explosive action, has had to buy into America's fascination with explosive effects and reaction. Something gets lost in the transition.
Its characters are poorly-developed, the plot is the pinnacle of absurdity, and the acting, at best, is well over-the-top. Nevertheless, on the most basic, visceral level, the film succeeds.
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.
One of my greatest guilty pleasures.
Hysterically inept attempt at action filmmaking
A combo of American Honk Kong actioners that fails to show John Woo's distinctive talent
Should have been so much better.
Click to read review
It may once have been a second-rate "B" picture, but John Woo turns it into something better.
Van Damme's kicks and flips never looked so cool.
Audience Reviews for Hard Target
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