Retro Review: Hard Target (15)

This one can certainly be filed under 'They don't make them like they used to'. Hard Target, John Woo's Hollywood directorial debut, is an action filled movie which pays homage to the Western genre, with the action displaced from the Wild West, into the deep south of Louisiana.

The film stars Jean-Claude Van Damme as Chance Boudreaux, an ex-military man (with a questionable hairstyle, but don't let that fool you), now drifting around New Orleans looking for work. It is here that he meets Natasha Binder (Yancy Butler) whom he has to rescue from some less than gentlemanly locals. She is looking for her father and needs a guide to help. During their search, they stumble across an evil organisation that hunt human prey.

If you're familiar with John Woo then you'll be happy to know that all his trademarks are here. Two guns, check. Flying doves, check. Plenty of slow motion, check. A back to back 'face off', check. Woo has an unmistakable style and Hard Target uses it to perfection, making a run of the mill action film all the more entertaining and visually stunning. It also helps that the star, Van Damme, was at the height of his athletic prowess (at least in movie terms) and all that slow motion makes the flying and roundhouse kicks look all the more impressive.

And then there are the bad guys. I said before that this is a modern western in all but name, where the good guys are good and the villains are evil. This is especially true of the main antagonist Emil Fouchon, played by the wonderfully wicked Lance Henriksen, and his right hand man, Pik van Cleef (Arnold Vosloo). Vosloo is the scariest he has ever been on screen. Forget that silly Mummy character, this is his defining role; a sociopath with a menacing smile and all the best lines.

The damsel in distress, Yancy Butler, doesn't have much to do except spend most of the movie looking concerned. However, by the end of the film she does manage to get involved in the action which nicely demonstrates her character's journey.

The film never pretends to be more than it is. Men aren't thrown against the glass, they're thrown through it. Explosions are three times bigger than they realistically should be. Personality traits are black and white, good or bad; there are no shades of grey. Everything is accompanied by a bluesy soundtrack (all sexy saxophone and guitars) that places the viewer deep into the streets of New Orleans.

The final shoot out of the movie, taking place in the Mardi Gras graveyard, is a fitting finale to an impressive action flick.

I thoroughly believe that there is a place for full on action pictures. I love cinema, but I don't want to see Citizen Kane every time I watch a film. Hard Target is a great example of an entertaining movie that doesn't need Oscar level performances to keep the audience's attention. It also demonstrates that John Woo's style translates well from Hong Kong to Hollywood (check out some of his earlier work such as Hard Boiled and A Better Tomorrow).