Hard Target (1993)
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50% of critics liked it
(30 reviews) -
50% of users liked it
(35,116 ratings)
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),… More 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 (Lance Henriksen), who, along with his cronies, hunts homeless men as a form of recreation. After Fouchon finds out that the girl is investigating the murder of her father, he arranges for she and Chance to be ambushed, but they manage to escape into the backwoods of Louisiana -- his stomping grounds. Realizing he needs to regroup, Fouchon assembles a private army to invade the bayous. They track the pair to the rustic cabin of Chance's Uncle Douvee (Wilford Brimley), and the real fireworks begin. ~ Michael Costello, Rovi
- Directed By
- John Woo
- Genres
- Action & Adventure
- In Theaters
- Jan 1, 1993 Wide
- Studio
- MCA Universal Home Video
Critic Reviews
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Emanuel Levy, Variety
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
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Derek Adams, Time Out
It's what Hollywood wanted Woo for: bigger, brighter explosions.
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Janet Maslin, New York Times
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.
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Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Even when the acting is hammy, notably Wilford Brimley's turn as Chance's Cajun uncle, Woo stages every fight with hypnotic grace.
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Richard Harrington, Washington Post
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.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Jean-Claude Van Damme
as Chance Boudreaux
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Lance Henriksen
as Emil Fouchon
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Arnold Vosloo
as Pick Van Cleaf
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Yancy Butler
as Natasha "Nat" Binder
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Kasi Lemmons
as Carmine Mitchell
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Wilford Brimley
as Uncle Douvee
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Bob Apisa
as Mr. Lopacki
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Chuck Pfarrer
as Douglas Binder
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Michael D. Leinert
as Frack
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Willie C. Carpenter
as Elijah Roper
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Lenore Banks
as Marie
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Dave Efron
as Billy Bob
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Eliott Keener
as Randal Poe
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Jeanette Kontomitras
as Madam
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Sven Ole Thorsen
as Stephan
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Theodore Raimi
as Man on the Street
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Marco St. John
as Dr. Morton
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Joe Warfield
as Ismal Zenan
- Nancy Nayor
- Valerie McCaffrey
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Robert Pavlovich
as Police Detective
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Jules Sylvester
as Peterson
- Douglas Forsythe Rye
- Mike Leinert
- Robert Apisa

