Review of Hard Target (1993) by Rob C — 01 Mar 2011

Douglas Binder, a homeless veteran, is presented with ten thousand dollars and a chance to keep it, if he can reach the other side of town without getting killed by it's owners. The mob giving chase is lead by Emil Fouchon (Lance Henriksen), with a businessman who has paid five hundred thousand for the honor of killing Binder. Unfortuneately, Binder doesn't reach his destination and is killed by shots from a crossbow. It is here we find Binder's daughter Natasha (Yancy Butler), searching for him around the place where he calls home. She is soon attacked by a gang of men in the middle of her search and rescued by another homeless man in Chance Boudreaux (Jean-Claude Van Damme). He quickly dispatches the men and is offered to help Natasha for some money. Boudreaux refuses at first, but gives in after the job he has lined up turns him down.

Hard Target is maybe one of the better films to come out of Van Damme's career in cinema. Director John Woo takes up the reins of the film and offers us an adrenaline-pumped ride through the streets of New Orleans. Cinematography is amazing, while Woo captures Van Damme in all his martial arts glory. The plot, as with many of Van Damme's films, needs a little work, but Hard Target makes due with it's dark tone and great action sequences. Jean-Claude Van Damme still needs to work on his acting and dialogue, but when we tune into a film in which he stars, we're only looking for his ability to leave his enemies in a dead or dying state.