Natasha Binder comes to New Orleans looking for her father, who has gone missing. In doing so, she meets a very hard man called Chance. He helps her find out that her father was killed by an organisation who sell the opportunity to hunt human prey. They are taking advantage of a police strike in New Orleans. Will the Muscles from Brussels win through? Written by

Plot Synopsis:
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The film opens with a man being chased by a gang of armed men near New Orleans. One armed man in particular, carrying a hi-tech crossbow, seems intent on killing the man himself. The man being chased reaches the river and runs across a wooden boat dock but is shot twice by the man with the crossbow. One of the bolts hits him in the chest, piercing his military dog tags and he falls between the slats and into the water. His body is pulled from the river and one of the gang chasing him, Pik Van Cleaf, cuts a money belt from around his waist. The gang's leader, Emile Fouchon, asks the man hunting the victim if the experience lived up to his expectations and the man says it has.

A young woman, Natascha "Nat" Binder, arrives in town from Detroit looking for her father, the man who was killed by the hunters. She searches for him at local missions and soup kitchens; her father was an unemployed manual laborer who was also a US Army veteran. Nat is unable to find out anything and goes to the French Quarter. At a seedy diner, she pays for her breakfast and is careless about concealing the money she has in her wallet, which is seen by several rough-looking goons. When she goes outside to her car, they attack her with the intention of robbing and raping her on the street. A man named Chance Boudreaux, who was also in the diner, beats them all severely, demonstrating high skill in hand-to-hand combat and martial arts. He tells Nat that she needs to be more careful in New Orleans. Nat asks him to be her escort while she searches for her father. Chance turns her down, saying he's a stevedore and will have to leave on a ship soon.

On the New Orleans docks, Chance is being told he can't work unless he pays his back union dues. Natascha arrives, looking for him and tells him she'll pay him to help her find her father. Chance accepts.

Chance suggests they talk to the police, however Nat is reluctant since she already reported her father's disappearance and the police seemed unwilling to do very much. Chance and Nat talk to a homicide detective, Marie Mitchell, who only has scattered evidence to work with, however, Nat's father's remains have been discovered in a burnt out warehouse. Because he was homeless, it is assumed that he'd been squatting and was the victim of an unfortunate accident when the place burned down. Chance goes there and finds one of her father's dog tags; curiously, there is a hole in it which could only have been made by a sharp weapon. Chance takes them back to Mitchell and Nat and tells them that Binder's death was not accidental and he was definitely shot by a sharp, edged weapon.

One of the men who knew Nat's father as a veteran and from the homeless missions, Elijah Roper, reveals that Binder had been passing out fliers for a sleazy local brothel owner, Randal Poe. Poe had also been working secretly with Fouchon and Pik, recruiting destitute men for their business: the two give rich men the chance to hunt human beings in various locations around the world for a price tag of $500,000. New Orleans has been their most recent base. Because the police have found Binder's body and are investigating his death as homicide, Emile and Pik go to Poe's office and torture him in order to find out how much Poe told the police. Pik uses a pair of scissors to cut off one of Poe's earlobes and threatens to kill him if he's forced to come back. Chance later drops in on Poe while he's getting a massage and works him over for information about Nat's father. Chance finds out that the city coroner, Morton, is covering up the murders committed by Fouchon and his men.

Fouchon and Pik drop in on Morton at his home, where he's burning medical records. He'd previously informed Fouchon that Mitchell had ordered Binder's body to be re-examined. The doctor looks through the spyhole in his front door and is immediately shot by Pik. Fouchon tells Pik that, due to the increased police attention, they'll conduct one last hunt in New Orleans and leave for Eastern Europe where they can work for years under a lower profile.

Poe, having employed Roper for some time, asks him if he wants to work for a $10,000 salary. Roper accepts. Meanwhile, Fouchon and Pik meet with another client, demanding payment for the game up front and arranging for a human quarry. Roper meets with Fouchon and Pik at an abandoned train yard, is given the $10,000 in cash in a money belt and is given a head start, just like Nat's father was. He is hunted through a cemetery, bullied in every direction by Fouchon, his crew and the client. Roper is able to hide briefly and attacks his would-be killer, seizing the man's automatic rifle and shooting him. He shoots briefly at Fouchon's crew and runs when the rifle is empty. Fouchon approaches his client, and kills him, knowing he already has the man's fee in the bank. His goons continue the chase, finally cornering Roper on a busy street in the city. Roper tries to get someone to help him but most people avoid him because he's homeless. Roper is finally gunned down by Fouchon's crew. Pik retrieves the belt containing the money.

Chance and Nat meet again with Det. Mitchell. They are informed of Roper's disappearance and go to the French Quarter to talk to Poe. Poe, while packing to leave town, is met by Pik who kills him with a shotgun. While on the street, they are attacked by Pik and several of Fouchon's thugs. Mitchell is hit and killed by gunfire. Chance commandeers a motorcycle from one of the thugs he incapacitates and he and Nat take off with Pik in pursuit. They make it to a highway overpass where Chance unloads Nat. He races back towards one of the pursuing SUVs, jumping off the bike, over the roof of the truck and landing safely behind it. He opens fire with a pistol, igniting the gas tank and the truck explodes. Still being chased by Fouchon's crew, Chance and Nat leap over the side of the overpass and land in a cargo car of a moving train. Fouchon tells Pik they'll hunt Chance through the bayou and that he should get more men to join them.

Chance and Nat make their way through the bayou. At one point, Chance catches a rattlesnake that was going to bite Nat. He bites the rattles off the snake's tail and plants it in a tree, creating a booby trap. Not long after, one of Fouchon's henchmen triggers the trap and the snake bites him on the face. Fouchon and Pik realize that Boudreaux will be a formidable quarry.

Chance and Nat evade Fouchon's crew and retreat to Chance's Uncle Douvee's farm in the bayou. Chance gets the shotgun he'd been keeping at Douvee's and tells his uncle about his plan to lead them to the Mardi Gras Graveyard, an abandoned factory where the floats used in the Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans are stored. Chance rides out on horseback while Nat stays with Douvee. When Fouchon and his men arrive at Douvee's, they trigger another booby trap that blows up Douvee's cabin and kills several of them. Douvee sends Nat to contact the sheriff, while he rides after Chance.

Chance leads Pik to the Mardi Gras Graveyard. Chance uses the factory to hide and attack Fouchon's men. In the large warehouse used to store the floats, Chance takes out several more of Fouchon's men. Chance and Pik find themselves in a standoff that Chance wins when he shoots Pik dead. Nat and Douvee catch up and help Chance take out several more of Fouchon's party. Douvee is wounded, non-fatally, and Fouchon finds Nat and holds her hostage, forcing Chance to drop his shotgun. The two fight hand-to-hand for several minutes until Chance, using a grenade, beats Fouchon down. He drops the live grenade in Fouchon's pants and headbutts him back. Fouchon fumbles for the grenade, even managing to remove the fuse, however it goes off before he can render it completely inert and he's killed. Chance reunites with Nat and Douvee and the three leave.

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uds3 from Longmont, Colorado
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Typical of the absurd criticism comes the way of most any Van Damme film is a reviewer I noticed below, who protractedly raves on paragraph after paragraph about nothing more incidental than the credibility-challenging motor cycle sequence. Jesus wept, what the hell does it matter whether such is possible or not? Is the freeway chase in THE MATRIX or TERMINATOR 3 likely? We go to the movies primarily to be entertained....to take a step into a world where reality takes a rain-check half the time! HARD TARGET is right up there with Van Damme's best work, and yes he DOES work. Personally I consider it his best film. Being Woo's first American outing, he creatively put a lot into this. Although scaled down, I found it equally as entertaining as FACE OFF, which like BROKEN ARROW, offered insane, impossible but FUN action sequences.

HARD TARGET is a stylistic film that although admittedly ripped off from THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME (but so too was THE RUNNING MAN and DOGBOYS) delivers some superb sequencies. Van Damme is NOT wooden, he's not one half-bad Cajun with a real bad attitude. Matter of fact, HARD TARGET succeeds because it has that one vital spark necessary to any worthwhile flick - interesting characters! Vosloo (Before THE MUMMY) is absolutely great as Henriksen's right hand man. A professional killer with no shred of decency. Er, thats what a killer is SUPPOSED to be! When he utters that line "Randall, Randall, Randall!" you just know that Randall is about to have a real bad day! Henriksen chews up the film as the soul-less Fouchon....he even goes out with class... "Oops!"

Yancy Butler is not one to ignore either. Spunky little thing who took her charisma to another level in DROP ZONE! And dear old Wilf Brimley as Chance's reliable and feisty Uncle. He almost steals the film.

If you don't like this one you're really hard to please and if you wanna complain about Van Damme's acting again? for God's sake go watch THE ENGLISH PATIENT.



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ccthemovieman-1 from United States
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Many people see "Jean-Claude Van Damme" in the lead and think this another stupid, no-brainer action flick and guess what? It is! BUT, it is also a very entertaining film, kind of ripoff of the old "Most Dangerous Game" storyline....and, if you can suspend belief for 90-100 minutes, you'll be vastly entertained....and that's the name of the game, folks.

Some of the action scenes are outrageous and big-time "Rambo" mentality, meaning an entire arsenal that could wipe out a small country is used against our hero and never seems to kill him! People are being shot in the streets but no is ever around in the middle of the day but the killers and victims? Usually that stuff annoys me, but I didn't seem to mind in this movie. In fact, it fits.

Despite the lack of credibility, Van Dame standing on top of a speeding motorcycle as it heads towards an onrushing car, and later dodging all kinds of pretty neat weapons as he tries to help Yancy Butler, is just fun. John Wood-directed films tend to be ridiculously exaggerated and loud, so that's what you get. I am not a fan of many of his films, but I am of this one. It's pure macho madness with a Lance Henriksen doing what he does best: be an incredibly-nasty and brutal villain. An added bonus in here - a real hoot - is old man Wilfred Brimley as Van Damme's French uncle who comes to his nephew's aid.

Add a great blues soundtrack and you have a great film to feed your male hormones with when needing to be fed some gratuitous violence.

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richalexh from cardiff, wales
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John Woo's first u.s film is a hugely underrated hugely enjoyable action thriller beautiflly shot and bursting with style this is certainly Van Damme's best film and in my books is at the top of the action genre. It's a sort of updating of 1930's thriller The Most Dangerous Game. It centres around a women searching for her father in New Orleans who enlists the help of tough cajun chance boudreux i don't wanna say any more about the plot cos i don't wanna give to much away.this is the part of Van Damme's career when his acting wasn't too bad, the rest of the cast are mostly a solid bunch of unknowns who prove they've got what it takes to make this a tight well made thriller. Lance Henriksen is great as Fouchon and Arnold Vosloo equally as good as accomplice Van cleef. Even though in my opinion this is Woo's best u.s film it took him 2 more attempts to breakthrough into the Hollywood mainstream in which he finally struck gold with Face/Off. Hard Target comes out a dark action thriller packed with a superb blend of martial arts shootouts and explosions. I recommend this to any 1 weather your an action junkie, die hard van damme fan or just a general film buff. Up there with Die Hard this is a true action classic

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crewcut6 from Alletown, PA
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This is basically raw John Woo: bullets flying, fire blazing, good guys, bad guys, this movie has the whole ball of wax! In Woo's 1st American flick, Jean Claude Van Damme high-kicks and shoots as many baddies as he can trying to find the killers of the father of Yancer Butler's character right in the heart of the deep South.

Van Damme is as physically fit as ever. He sports a Kurt Russel-style hairdo in this movie, but his voice is as incoherent as always! His Belgium accent was really "hard" to understand, and it got to my nerves throughout the whole film!!

But, he busts up the good guys with real finesse. Arnold Vosloo and Lance Henrikson also light up the screen with their sleazy yet very believeable villain performances. The fight and shootout scenes in this film are amazing. Watching "Hard Target" was really a great experience, and it was worth the $2.10 rental! Watch the gunfight behind the wall between Van Damme and Vosloo. It might remind you of a good "Face/Off"!!

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SPaS from Finland
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Now I'm a fan of all Woo films; even the worst of his works, such as "Broken Arrow", are at least 'standard fare' in Hollywood-terms; this, however, does not apply to the few sad TV-attempts he made (The "Once a thief"-cable flick is just dreadful...). "Face/Off" and even the 'funny' "M:I-2" are both action-packed showdowns which demonstrate well what Woo can do. But his first Hollywood-attempt still remains the best of them- at least, to date! "Hard target" was shoot with very little time and then re-edited 7 times (count'em- seven!) to finally pass the censorship (yes, I'd call it that!) and STILL, after assumably at least half (?) the flavour taken out, it's still one tough cookie! Maybe frustrated at the censorship, Woo has later on stayed on the safe R-rated waters in Hollywood, not even trying to top himself (And again, STILL remaining the best bet when it comes to directing some serious action!)

"Hard Target" puts Jean-Claude Van 'Damage' against one of the always trustworthy screen villains, Lance Henriksen, and his pack of urban-commando (all black outfits, combat vests and MP5's) goons, and that's all you need to know! IF you think the going gets a little boring on the way, wait for the final 20 minutes, which will give you an adrenaline rush worth your while!

BTW, if anyone knows where I could get my hands on the 116-minutes (any shorter will not do!) uncut "Director's cut", I'd be happy to buy a copy, preferably DVD (but also VHS will do; we're talking cult classic here!)

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JohnnyPHreak from United States
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Right here and now I'll say this is Van Damme best movie and he picked the right director for it. It an action adventure about a team of killers are who paid to hunt by rich people. The movie is not action filled as the video box may tell you. But it does have enough to make your mouth water. If you know John Woo than you know that his films spread out the action and put space of acting between them. The acting is not top notch but it is believable. But what makes this movie is the action sequences. They have remnants of Woo's other movies like Broken Arrow, Hard Boiled, The Killer and the final scene looks like it was plucked straight out of Face/Off. You have to see it to believe it. Van Damme does his normal tough guy not talking much thing but it is great to see him with two pistols in his hands. It's a 7 for total movie but gets a 10 for action. Action movie junkies will love Hard Target. John Woo and Van Damme makes for great action.

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Keith Meure from Australia / Tasmania
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Many people say that this film could be marked down as a cobweb in John Woo's closet. It is far from this, but only if you see the full uncencored version, which is available in the UK for people who own PAL video machines. I think that this is John Woo's best American made work. Better than Face / Off, which was well filmed but lacked the Woo stylised violence to keep your interest up. But Hard Target has plenty. Certain people believe that the end gunfight in the Mardi Gras graveyard is among Woo's best visually. The flurry of quick bloody violence is overwhelmingly adrenaline pumping, Van Damme pumps the bad guys with more bullets in 15 minutes than Desperado did in two hours! The American Version is quite mediocre compared to the UK version, the US version contains less violence and if you look in the goofs section most of the stuff ups are due to the violence being edited out. I do know where you can get your hands on a rough cut of the 116 minute version but it is a bit of a waste of time, due to the fact that there is no colour (except a greeny tone) and most of the 20 minutes extra are just talking.

If you think Van Damme is a bit of a let down, he isn't really. He may not be able to act, but Woo has made him look as cool as ever, seing Van Damme run around with two hand guns is cool, This movie runs on Van Dammes precence.

Give this film a chance, get the UK version for a better time.

I give this 5 outta 5.

John Woo rules the earth.

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twolanebl from Michigan
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John Woo, after striking gold in action cinema in Hong Kong, came to Hollywood in the early 1990s in search of success here. His first film, Hard Target, came out in 1993, to minimal critical and popular success. Many criticized Woo, and it took him over 3 years to put out another movie, Broken Arrow (1996). It wasn't all Woo's fault. For one, during filming, Jean Claude Van Damme wouldn't listen to his directing. Yancy Butler once said: "John would tell him to use the guns, but Jean would just go back to kicking." Woo found interesting ways to counteract this, and invented a awesome combo of martial arts and gunplay. Woo finished principle photography, then the movie was edited and submitted to MPAA for rating. The movie was issued a NC-17. Woo wasn't happy, but agreed to trim down some of the violence, and that he did. The movie was reissued, but still not refused. Universal Studios then took the film, cut it themselves, not trying to fight the MPAA, and released it. Some violence was trimmed (more arrow hits in Binder's death and some people being shot more than shown), and a sex scene was removed as well. The movie is still Jean Claude's best and one of Woo's best. The martial arts scenes are excellent, as is the gunplay. Jean Claude has one of the greatest stunts in history involving a truck, a motorcycle, and a flip. As for the plot, nothing special, just a new version of "The Most Dangerous Game." Good acting from Van Damme (!), Butler, and Lance H. make it easier to swallow as well. All in all, it gets

Seven outta Ten.

P.S. Here's to hoping they release a director's cut DVD!

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Benjamin Wolfe from USA
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I believe at this point in time that John Woo, should either change his Asian-dance number in every movie he makes and every single fight sequence!! Today! Take on a new and different approach. If you don't know what that means, John studied Dance, the flowing Asian style dancing and has used it, (I guess like football players study Ballet) using it in the shoot-outs and fighting scenes to add an element of grace and flowing movement to the stories's scene.

Thank God, that he didn't do the camera-shot over kill thing with the story and the shoot-out confrontation scenes in this. But as for this action story, I was all for this one! I truly enjoyed all the characters right down to the 'crooked' medical examiner, with the stress related nervous cough. The sleaze-bag o peddler, getting homeless to distribute his business sleazoid 900 number pamphlets, door to door no less.

It won and award and was nominated 5 more times! I liked Chance Boudreaux (Jean-Claude) in this New Oleans feature, he really came through. Next to the movie that a late friend of mine wrote (TIMECOP 1994) this has got to be the most powerfully enjoyable bang-up Van Damme movie, that exists, I say.

The area is questionable and dirty, some of it's residents are seedy in operation, yet there is a certain beauty that surrounds them in Oleans.

Bravo for the cast of outstanding players, Henrikson as the primary villain, I loved that about this movie, he plays the piano in the movie beautifully, for real, on reel. Mr. Vasloo before 'Titanic' he is a great villain partner, who is agile and deadly. The chase is on and they are all scrambling to stay alive and out of destruction's pathway. The accent from Van Damme, which is always with him, was an irreplaceable addition, to the taste and the culture of the country there. The music, yeah, it was the right music for the job! Playin' C.C.R how ya not gonna love that, when you're all the way down there? Jean Claude had just come into his-'own'acting craft style but, did not seem to go on above it too far after 'Hard Target' was made. His career seemed to settle down not too many years after as well. Although he is still making movies, some aren't bad either. He is a decent action hero, that can do different roles, with a good but limited ability.

But for this Woo film, I am applauding his best efforts, he stayed on a strong course with it, fine, fine actors and a good and gritty dirt in your teeth type of story, that brought Wilford Brimley as the wilderness 'Uncle' . The uncle with the explosives! Where was he when I was growing up? I could have really used em'. I rated this one highly, and recommend it as a great kicker of a fast paced manic action movie! Four kicks!!!! (****)

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Sharkey360 from Philippines
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Jean Claude Van Damme has many, many and many action films all in all...but none of them comes close to the art, fast-pace, intensity and entertainment of Hard Target. And the factor behind these? John Woo! John Woo has proven himself the answer on providing greatness to Van Damme, and it's obvious that Van Damme's films that followed, simply lacked goodness.

With Woo on the helm, we get to see Van Damme doing those Woo signature-action like double-gun firing, action slow-mo, dangerous stunts, revealing views, and the back-to-back 2 side camera view...you name it. Van Damme himself said that this was the most creative action film he's ever done, and you'll see why.

Regarding the story, the plot seemed simple on paper but John Woo added twists and gimmicks to transform the simplicity into interest. The cast is highlighted by Lance Henriksen's role as the bad boss, and he adds quality acting and voice to this film. Yancy Butler however, does not make a good lead lady here, and I always thought of other actresses replacing her.

John Woo's action scenes are very defined here, and thanks to those slow-mo scenes, you get to see Van Damme REALLY HIT HIS ENEMIES...as opposed to seeing him move too fast in other films, which made you wonder if his kicks were real or not. In addition, he did some dangerous stunts on his own, which adds authencity to his action figurre.

Van Damme needs to team up again with Woo. The films that followed this were simply lacking of quality (The Quest) or lousy (Double Team). It's easy to realize that Hard Target is more of a John Woo-film than a Van Damme-film. Van Damme, in my opinion, is better-off with Woo as director simply because his best is brought out. Since this film is Woo's US debut, this film is like a preview of things to come...meaning Broken Arrow, Face/Off and the ongoing blockbuster Mission Impossible II! You'll really see how far Woo went from this debut.

Definitely worth watching! Hard Target is not John Woo's best, but it's Van Damme's best film ever! This is where you see Van Damme in his greatest action, and thank Woo for that!

mercenary|money|drifter|human prey|union|missing person|new orleans louisiana|louisiana|female cop|female gunfighter|long brown hair|brunette|stylized violence|police station|mullet|south african|assassin|diner|cigarette smoking|swamp|gunslinger|1990s|dynamite|killing an animal|policewoman shot|murder of a black woman|black policewoman|rocket launcher|ex soldier|motorcycle chase|machismo|sawed off shotgun|modern western|warrior|anti hero|goreshed|graphic death scene|brutality|exit wound|bloodbath|fight|death|gun duel|gun violence|bullet ballet|slow motion scene|bullet time|battle|kicked in the stomach|punched in the stomach|kicked in the face|punched in the face|standoff|one against many|one man army|knife|black comedy|gore|pistol|m 16|ak 47|machine gun|cigar smoking|beating|woman murders a man|silencer|roundhouse kick|semiautomatic pistol|shot to death|gunshot wound|sniper rifle|karate|car motorcycle chase|pump action shotgun|ambush|hit with a baseball bat|fistfight|brawl|hand to hand combat|karate chop|blood|switchblade|stick fight|showdown|disarming someone|gun battle|gunfight|action hero|hero|tough guy|dual wield|quick draw|opening action scene|french quarter new orleans|kickboxing|manhunt|hunting club|warehouse|uncle nephew relationship|sole black character dies cliche|playing piano|man punches a woman|loss of father|gumbo|exploding body|deep south|crossbow|coffee|bow and arrow|arrow|jeep|violence|viciousness|explosion|murder of a policewoman|dead policewoman|game of death|snake bite|sliced off ear|shot in the eye|sadist|revenge|psychopath|poverty|murder of a police officer|moonshine|medical examiner|homeless man|head blown off|gun fu|dog tag|debt|cult film|criminal investigation|booby trap|blood splatter|train|railroad|shotgun|shootout|horse|helicopter|grenade|explosive|exploding motorcycle|exploding car|kung fu|bayou|sniper|murder|motorcycle|cemetery|merchant marine|most dangerous game|rattlesnake|chase|catholic mission|lasersight|martial arts|

AKAs Titles:


Certifications:
Argentina:16 / Australia:R18+ / Australia:MA15+ (original rating) (theatrical release) (1993) / Denmark:15 / Finland:K-18 / France:12 / Germany:18 / Germany:BPjM Restricted / Iceland:16 / Ireland:18 / Malaysia:(Banned) / Malaysia:18SG (tv rating) / Netherlands:16 / New Zealand:R18 / Norway:18 (video premiere) / Norway:(Banned) (uncut european version) (1993-2003) (cinema release) / Philippines:R-18 / Portugal:M/16 / Singapore:NC-16 / South Korea:18 / Spain:18 / Sweden:15 / UK:18 / USA:R