Hard Target

The 4K ULTRA HD Blu Ray disc version of this film has greatly improved sound and picture quality over the standard Blu Ray disc version when played through a 4K ULTRA HD Blu Ray player and a 4K ULTRA HD TV with HDR (High Dynamic Range).

This is one of the first movies I remember seeing in theaters, and it's still just as ridiculous and fun to watch 26 years later. Lance Henriksen is such a great villain, Arnold Vosloo as his main henchman is just insane, and JCVD makes an oily mullet look cool. There's great action scenes (it's John Woo, so of course they're absurd and include doves), ridiculous one-liners, and JCVD punches a rattlesnake in the face. Also, Wilford Brimley with a bow and arrow. Why are you still reading this review? Just watch the movie and resist the urge to not do roundhouse kicks all throughout your house. Pros - Pretty good transfer. The video looked great on my 55" 4K TV, and the audio was pretty solid (some fluctuations in volume during big action scenes, and the dubbing/editing was already bad to begin with). Cons - Absolutely ZERO bonus features. The Blu-ray just started playing, like a VHS. There's barely a menu.

Despite Van Damme being so unlikable, this is one of the best action movies of the 90's! Arnold Vosloo (as Pick) is hired to make Van Damme look good by outdoing his poor english accent and even worse acting! Lance Henriksen is not able to steal the show like he usually does because of the lousy script. John Woo saves the day with his slow-mo and overkills. Little known fact-Billy Ray Cyrus was the first choice for the starring role-not really but Van Damme is made up to look just like him (3:00 shadow and mullet). The interesting story has homeless merchant marine Chance (Damme) getting hunted by a bunch of bored rich sportsmen/killers led by fouchon (Henriksen) after he exposes their cat and mouse game of killing the homeless for thrills. After making Van Damme look like Lawrence Olivier, Arnold Vosloo somehow went on to "darkman" and even as an A-lister in "the mummy"-WTF? The bluray from England is the uncut version never seen in the U.S.! The action is totally out of control with most people getting blown away over 10 times each in this NRA approved masterpiece! The other good news is the disc is region free and has no problems on region 1 players and T.V.s here. Woo's original cut is preferred but no release in sight. This bluray is actually JCVD's version as he locked Woo out of the editing room for final cut. 16X9 HD Video and audio blows away the "R" rated dvd version. UPDATE- the universal bluray is still not Woo's cut but the same version as above with much better picture quality than the release from England in fact the mullet looks shinier and JCVD's lump on his forehead is even more visible. No extras or even a trailer.

It's my belief that when John Woo came to America, Hollywood may have been excited but had no idea what to do with him - or, more aptly, whom to team him up with. Kurt Russell was uninterested, Seagal and Norris were busy doing their own things, and Schwarzenegger would have been a match made in hell, so Jean-Claude Van Damme seems to have been chosen by default. However, the combination made for not only a very strong entry into Van Damme's filmography during his run on top of the mainstream but also arguably the best American film Woo made...aside from Face/Off . The story: Natasha Binder (Yancy Butler, Witchblade ) comes to New Orleans to search for her missing father - a quest she will be joined on by a capable drifter called Chance (Van Damme, Bloodsport ). She will need all his help and martial expertise to escape a deadly crime syndicate run by a sadistic gangster making money off the deaths of the homeless (Lance Henriksen, Aliens ). The script is written by Chuck Pfarrer, who penned Darkman and would later write a couple graphic novels . By large, it's a swell fit for Woo: there's some definite corniness to it and I could've done without quite as much sadism from the villains, but it does a good job of building a balanced movie around a simple idea, like the director's best work. Chance isn't a terribly out-of-the-ordinary character for Van Damme to play, but sticking the French-sounding Muscles from Brussels with a Cajun identity is a nice alternative from the usual born-in-America-raised-in-Europe mug he usually gets stuck with. The standout characters are definitely the villains: enforcer Arnold Vosloo ( The Mummy ) doesn't know karate or look physically intimidating, but he's easily one of the most effectively monstrous henchmen ever seen in a Van Damme movie; and Lance Henriksen is simply brilliant as the cold-hearted merchant of death. Wilford Brimley ( The Thing ) appears in the second film half as Chance's moonshine-making uncle and does a good job of endearing himself as the comic relief. The only real questionable character is Yancy Butler's: the woman can act, but Natasha is simply a dummy in distress. John Woo reportedly turned down several martial arts-themed scripts before finding this one, so there isn't an abundance of hand-to-hand fisticuffs - a shame, considering that the bit there is looks pretty cool; a five-on-one encounter early in the film makes excellent use of sweeps and counter techniques. The rest of the action is made up of pretty decent chase scenes (where else will you see Van Damme fleeing attackers on both a motorcycle and then a horse in the same hour?) and gunplay derivatives from Woo's Hong Kong days. The latter is the one major disappointment the movie offers: the scene in the warehouse - inclusive of the badass bit where Vosloo and Van Damme shoot at eachother from opposite sides of a wall - is pretty darn cool, but on the whole, the shootouts are a step down from the perfection of the director's previous work. They're a bit too formulaic, incorporate way too much slow-motion, and the absence of any long, uninterrupted shots suggests that Van Damme had less endurance than Chow Yun-Fat or Tony Leung . The Louisiana setting is charming by default, but overall, it's the obvious fun that Woo had making this movie that seeps through and helps cement this one's agreeable blockbuster tone. Some "classic" aspects of ol' John's work are overutilized (e.g. how many shots of flying doves can you shove into a single scene?) and may make the film seem hokey to casual viewers, but hey - what were you doing watching this movie, anyway, if you weren't up for a bit of silliness? It's a strong, stylized vehicle for Van Damme and a colorful montage of many of John Woo's strengths; not perfect but definitely worth a watch, from general action fans to devotees.

Great movie! I love it. I've been watching it on and off since it was released

If you know you know. Van Damme at his best with plenty of spin kicks and aaahhhhhhaaas.

One of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s best action films hands down. Good story & action and good villains. Definitely up there with Bloodsport. Still not convinced? Wilford Brimley is a Hawkeye-wannabe who kicks butt & takes name as well. I rest my case.

Un pò diverso dai soliti film di Van Damme

Primero que nada mencionar que el servicio de Amazon como siempre muy bueno. Respecto al producto, la presentación física es sencilla pero de buena calidad. El Blu Ray en si es muy bueno, con buena claridad y buen contraste. El granulado en la imagen es bueno y nada para nada molesto. Los colores excelentes sin llegar a ser saturados. En definitiva una compra asegurada para los fans de JCVD y la cual es sin duda su mejor película!

Une de meilleur film de action de Van Damme. Scénario très original. Belle scènes de action. Van Damme est top!

Reall good film plenty of great action , very good picture and sound on the 4k version.