Hard Target (1993)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

John Woo

Writer (WGA):

Chuck Pfarrer (written by)

Release Date:

20 August 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Thriller

Tagline:

Don't hunt what you can't kill.

Plot:

A woman hires a drifter as her guide through New Orleans in search of her father, who has gone missing. They discover a deadly game of cat and mouse behind his disappearance in the process.

Plot Keywords:

New Orleans | Money | Louisiana | New Orleans Louisiana | Missing Person

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Jean-Claude Van Damme	...	Chance Boudreaux
Chuck Pfarrer	...	Douglas Binder
Robert Apisa	...	Mr. Lopacki
Arnold Vosloo	...	Pik van Cleef
Lance Henriksen	...	Emil Fouchon
Douglas Forsythe Rye	...	Frick
Mike Leinert	...	Frack (as Michael D. Leinert)
Yancy Butler	...	Natasha Binder
Lenore Banks	...	Marie
Willie C. Carpenter	...	Elijah Roper (as Willie Carpenter)
Barbara Tasker	...	Waitress
Kasi Lemmons	...	Det. Marie Mitchell
Randy Cheramie	...	Shop Steward
Eliott Keener	...	Randal Poe
Robert Pavlovich	...	Detective

Runtime:

97 min | Germany:73 min (cut version) | 116 min (Director's Cut) | 128 min (Workprint Version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Director Trademark: [John Woo] [back to back banter]Chance vs. Van Cleef with a wall between them throwing around a few comments before the "showdown."

Goofs:

Continuity: When Chance blows the dust off his shotgun, the positions of the gun and his hands change between camera angles.

Quotes:

Emil Fouchon: Load me!

Movie Connections:

References Lat sau san taam (1992)

John Woo and Van Damme make a pretty good team

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.