Hard Target was John Woo’s first foray into Hollywood and while not a rousing success as this one doesn’t quite have his visual flair, there are some incredibly hilarious scenes that would make this good for roasting amongst friends.
Hard Target
(1993)
Genre(s): Action, Thriller
Kino Lorber| Unrated – 100 min. – $29.95 | December 7, 2021
Date Published: 12/09/2021 | Author: The Movieman
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Kino Lorber provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 3/5 |
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Plot 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. They soon uncover a sinister group, headed by mercenary Emil Fouchon (LANCE HENRISKEN), of wealthy men who hunt the homeless for sport, paying them $10,000 if they can survive a cross-town journey. When Chance discovers that Natasha’s father was one of their victims, he decides to destroy the evil hunters.
Quick Hit Review: Hard Target is an action-thriller that had escaped my attention, probably because when it came out I was only 12/13 and amongst the resumes for both Jean-Claude Van Damme and director John Woo, it’s one of their lesser projects. Still, after my first viewing while not good and lacks Woo’s style (though we do get his white doves) and the story is fairly thin, admittedly there were some laughably great scenes like JCVD and a snake or JCVD standing up on a motorbike while firing upon the bad guys. Not a whole lot else going for the movie, however. The acting is pretty standard though Lance Hendricksen serves well as the villain (alongside Arnold Vosloo and daggered eyes) and Jean-Claude Van Damme for his part was fine showcasing his martial arts skills; puts anything Steven Seagal did, even during that era, to shame. And he does have charisma to boot (his Cajun accent with a Belgium twist, wasn’t convincing on the other hand…). |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3½/5 |
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This special edition released by Kino Lorber comes with a good selection of bonus material. As a note, while the 4K Ultra HD release comes with a slip cover, this one does not. Audio Commentary by Action Film Historians Brandon Bentley and Mike Leeder. The track flows pretty well with the pair providing some information on the project including the work from John Woo and Jean-Claude Van Damme. Interviews:
There’s a good array of interviewees here and while it’d been nice if they could’ve gotten Van Damme to sit down, these give some background on the movie from Woo and his introduction to Hollywood and the actors, their work with Woo and their careers. Theatrical Trailer (2:05) |
VIDEO – 4¼/5 |
| Hard Target comes to Blu-ray by Kino Lorber where it received a new 1080p high-definition transfer which was taken from a 4K restoration and scan of the original camera negative of the Unrated International Cut. For the most part the picture here looks fairly good, detail is sharp enough but nothing outstanding while colors are well balanced and black levels are stark. The natural film grain is still present and outside of some minor specs, this is mostly a clean looking transfer. |
AUDIO – 3¾/5 |
| The movie includes a decent if not also underwhelming DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. This one was a tad light in places. While dialogue came across well enough, the action scenes, especially the finale, were bland, and light on depth, with the LFE kicking on but providing little bass. |
OVERALL – 3½/5 |
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Hard Target was John Woo’s first foray into Hollywood and while not a rousing success as this one doesn’t quite have his visual flair, there are some incredibly hilarious scenes that would make this good for roasting amongst friends. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.