Hard Target [Blu-ray]

Don't watch this movie for the plot, the score, or for the acting. They're all pretty subpar. Watch this movie for the sheer physical prowess that is displayed by Jean Claude Van Damme. JCVD (name coined by my husband) kicks everyone (and everything) and, at one point, is standing on a moving motorcycle while shooting at oncoming bad guys (also, leave your sense of science at the door because how one can stand on a moving motorcycle without touching any part of the handlebars is a mystery to me. Let it be a mystery!) There are some very satisfying death scenes, some that will kind of rip your heart out, and we all learn that Jean Claude is just a good dude who is trying to help a lady find her dad (and pay some union dues but that's beside the point.)The true star of the movie is actually JCVD's hair. Van Damme rocks a mullet so amazing, so quintessentially coifed that you'll be looking for your aqua net and booking an appointment at Super Cuts to try to get the same look yourself (you will not succeed. But you can try.) I looked in the credits to see if the mullet was mentioned, but it was not. I'm taking this as oversight by the editors as the mullet deserves its own IMDB page.This movie is really anything an action movie idiot wants - lots of fire, car chases, multiple modes of conveyance, and Wilford Brimley is just a Cajun delight.Watch this movie. You won't be disappointed. Jean Claude Van Damme literally kicks a dude off a motorcycle and it's truly epic.

One of Van Dammes best!

Good action movie

BOTTOM LINE: This film certainly won't win any awards for its script or acting, but for balls-to-the-wall action fans John Woo's HARD TARGET is a pretty solid choice, and remains one of the better bare-knuckled titles on Jean-Claude's rough & ready resume. 4 STARSTHE STORY: Former soldiers are hunted for sport in this thinly-veiled reworking of 1987's DEADLY PREY, 1992's DEATH RING, and of course the great-granddaddy of all "hunting people for sport" movies, 1932's THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME. Jean-Claude Van Damme stars in this John (The Killer) Woo-directed actioner as Chance Boudreaux, an out of work ex-Marine Force Recon soldier eeking out a living in New Orleans as a merchant sailor. He becomes involved in the barbaric human trafficking/trophy hunting plot when he crosses paths with a young girl who arrives in town trying to locate her ex-Vietnam vet father. Turns out dear old dad was just found dead, the most recent player in a deadly contest where homeless ex-combat veterans are tempted with the promise of $10,000 cash if they're willing to be live game for ultra-rich types yearning for something more sporting to hunt than the usual four-footed quarry.THOUGHTS: Jean-Claude must've wiped out an entire 55 gallon drum of Dippity-Doo to keep his lethal mullet in check for this motion picture; certainly one of the stronger movies of his career. HARD TARGET is an extremely thick-headed but also undoubtedly well concocted action-fest; an early-90's entree in the "blowed up real good" action-hero heyday of films cranked out in the early-1980's to mid-1990's. Remember those? You know, where every object hit with a bullet blows up with the explosive force of a stick of dynamite, the guns have bottomless clips and heroes are all but superhuman, capable of wiping out half the bad guys on Earth without breaking a sweat - unless it makes them look cool. Ahhh... those were the days! Anyhow, in this amazing film we are treated to prolific, craggy-faced character actor Lance (I can do this part in my sleep) Hendrickson playing villainous Emil Fouchon, a psychotic sleezebag who, for an outrageous fee, arranges the savage one-sided manhunts. He plays the role with gruff bellowing gusto but looks so bug-eyed and pinch-faced throughout the entire film that he comes across like a man who hasn't had a good bowel movement since Nixon was in office. Cuckoo-eyed Arnold Vasloo adds his hammy charm playing gleefully unhinged Pik van Cleef, the lethal but loony sidekick of Hendrickson's character. And finally, Wilford Brimley rounds out the lead cast as Chance's lovable moonshine-making uncle Douvee, channeling Justin "the Cajun cook" Wilson and assaulting our ears with what is perhaps THE worst Cajun accent in the history of ever. ("Hoo, I garowntee dat!")Hong Kong action-meister extraordinaire John (THE KILLER, HARD BOILED) Woo directs this wall-to-wall punch & kick hooplah. Strangely, Woo's attempts to replicate his hometown success here in the States were uneven and shaky, at best. This film, along with FACE-OFF and BROKEN ARROW remain his best American-made efforts. His absolutely unique, uber-violent, over-the-top directorial style (for better or worse) influenced a generation of up & coming young directors, all eager to clone Woo's operatic, wholly hyper-excessive cinematic bloodfests. He plays his entire hand of trademark cards in HARD TARGET, too: the 2-gun kid mode, leaping through mid-air firing a zillion rounds, lots of stylish slow motion scenes, and poetic flapping bird shots galore. HARD TARGET features a nice use of urban & rural locations in and around New Orleans, adding to the unique look of the film, while a zydeco-flavored bluesy soundtrack colors the movie with authentic bayou character. The brutal fight choreography & explosive pyrotechnics (and there are TONS of both) are all expertly done, helping kick this otherwise routine blood 'n' bullets entry up several notches. If you're looking for a stereotypically macho action film, (with a few silly asides), that also happens to sport truly artistic visual flare, then HARD TARGET is a rockin' good flick to pick.THE BLU-RAY: The hi-def Blu for HARD TARGET is a barebones effort, but at least it offers a clean picture & strong, level soundmix. Picture is crisp for the most part, with only minimal artifacting & pixelation. Compression isn't much of an issue nor is overuse of DNR, thankfully. Color palette is well-represented and filmgrain is evident. Sadly, the only bonus feature is the film's theatrical trailer. Bummer.

This is not so much a review as it is more of a mild comparison! This is for the "import version from the U.K." (has the red circle with the white number 18 rating, for those who are not familiar). From what I can tell the movie is almost identical to the U.S. version until the ending. The ending of the U.K. version is not nearly as cut up as the U.S. version, and though I haven't compared it to the bootleg director's cut on vhs, the ending of the U.K. version may be the same ending as the director's bootleg cut. There are actually scenes completely missing from the U.S. version that appear on this U.K. version, though not many. A scene involving a guy wearing a motorcycle helmet who gets elbowed and has his gun taken away from him and used on someone else, completely disappears in the U.S. version, but in the U.K. version, after Van Damme kills the man that he used the bikers gun on, the biker gets back up and is killed and another guy behind him is killed as well. The biggest difference between the two endings are the number of times you see someone get shot. For example In the U.K. cut you'll see someone get shot 5 times and then the scene may change. In the U.S. cut, you'll have the same scene where you see 1 or 2 gunshots, and then the scene will change and you'll only hear the rest of the gun shots. This is very evident in the scene where Yancy Butler kills the man chasing her and shooting at her, after he manages to get in front of her, (Woo has always been one to show the gun shooting and the person getting hit with bullets in the same scene, as opposed to most who show the gun shooting and cutting to another scene showing the person geting hit with bullets). The U.K. cut ending is much more distinctly John Woo's style of gun fighting. So in my opinion, the U.K. version is much better as it is more complete and actually makes more sense when you see the difference. The downfalls are three, one is that it has a different region code (2) and is in PAL format, so if you don't have a multi-region dvd player that can also read PAL format, the dvd will not work for you. The second is that it is not as good a quality as the U.S. dvd, though the U.K. version is not bad by any means, just not quite as sharp. The 3rd is that it is not anamorphic if that matters to you. Whenever I watch this fim it will be with the U.K. version simply for the ending that is distinctly John Woo. For those interested in this version and are not sure if you have the correct one on your page, click on the this Hard Target, and it should take you to the U.K. import DVD version I am talking about, it was correct when I pre-viewed my review!*****************PLEASE READ THIS UPDATE*************************There is now a region free blu-ray disc available on amazon, it is the better, more violent ending U.K. version and has completely made up for the 3 downfalls I mentioned above. Fantastic picture, anamorphic widescreen, and will play on any NTSC format blu-ray player. Also a decent price. Though it does not have any extras that I know of. Click here Hard Target [Blu-ray] (Region Free) to find this version.

Jean-Claude at his best in this one I like most in all of his movies, but this one in bloodsport are my favorite

Live this movie and so sharp and clear on blu-ray!

Ok B movie. Sat night special.