Jean Claude Van Damme is a seaman with no employment prowling around New Orleans,Louisian and stumbling onto mysterious and strange nasties. He spontaneously aiding a beautiful woman(Yancy Butler) when is attacked and taking on megalomaniac villains,(Lance Henriksen and Arnold Vosloo) who hunt human beings.He's only helped by a Bayou old man,(Wilford Brimley). This is a ¨Sui generis¨ version from ¨The most dangerous game¨,it's a vivid recounting of Richard Connell's famed novel ,adapted previously in the 1932 classic(Joel McCrea,Fay Wray) by Ernest B Schoedsack and by Robert Wise titled¨Game of death¨ and by Boulting titled ¨Run for the sun¨with Richard Widmark and Jane Greer.This theme has been filmed many times since and utilized as a plot for countless television and cinema argument.

The picture displays suspense,tension,thriller and non-stop action for 94 minutes .Breathtaking set pieces action well staged by John Woo with bound and leaps while are shooting.The film is set in New Orleans streets,marsh,bogs of Louisian and into abandoned factory, where is developed an overlong and incredible final duel.Special mention to pair sadist baddies,Henriksen and Vosloo,they're an excessive maniacal, exaggerated villains,they're the best of the film.John Woo direction is good ,he moves well the camera with spectacular scenes ,but doesn't match with his Hong Kong vehicles(Bullet in the head,The Killer,A better tomorrow I and II),John Woo followed with a successful American career(Broken arrow,Face off,Mission impossible II,Windtalkers).The motion picture will like to Jean Claude Van Damme fans and cinema John Woo-enthusiastic

"Hard Target" is a very enjoyable mindless film...but it's also one of the silliest Jean Claude Van Damme films you can find. This is because the stunts go beyond amazing to the point of simply being impossible...again and again and again. Add to that that the filmmakers apparently knew absolutely nothing about gun physics and you have a truly schlocky movie. You'll see things like folks being shot with a shotgun flying 10-20 feet, thousands of machine gun bullets flying at Jean Claude van Damme without hitting him and too many other ridiculous stunts to mention here. But, in an odd way it is entertainingly goofy.

The story begins with a woman looking for her missing father. When she can't get anywhere, she enlists the help of Chance Boudreaux (the Van Damme-meister). Soon he uncovers something weird (and stolen from the classic short story "The Most Dangerous Game")...a baddie (Lance Henriksen) offering rich folks the chance to hunt homeless vets! Can Chance manage to survive DOZENS of baddies armed with machine guns and other hi-tech weapons mostly on his own...with an assist from, of all people, Wilfred Brimley!!!! Yes, THAT Wilford Brimley!!

To say this film is ludicrous is an understatement. It's like saying the sky is blue...of course it is! But if you want a film with a zillion explosions (and stuff seem to explode with the least provocation) and bullets, then this film is for you.

By the way, Lance Henriksen is great as usual and I think the film could have benefitted from more of him. He's one of the mostly frighteningly cold character actors alive and I found him more enjoyable to watch than Van Damme.

To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from this thriller, especially after I'd read so much negative press about it over the Internet. But, despite it being much maligned, I thought this was a great action film. One of the best I've seen, in fact, ranking right up there with the DIE HARD and UNDER SIEGE series. I do agree that the story is basically just an excuse to string together the numerous set pieces and ripping off THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME. But thankfully, most of the screen time is given to these set pieces, so there's nothing really to complain about that much. Much of the acting is also pretty bad, but done in a strange tongue in cheek way, so I was enjoying this and laughing along at the things happening.

Many people have said this was one of Van Damme's best films. I agree, although at the moment there are only two early films of his that I've seen which I class as average. I don't know why, I can understand all the negative comments about his films, but I enjoy them anyway. Maybe I'll get around to explaining it one day. HARD TARGET gives us a different Van Damme - one who has long hair, and is basically a homeless guy, but Woo still concentrates on those characteristics which make Van Damme a star, namely, his high kicks. Therefore, our hero gets to use these in much abundance in this film, all rendered in loving slow motion.

As the heroine, Yancy Butler is pretty, yet a totally awful actress who is painful to watch at some moments (witness the snake scene, talk about over the top). Most of the time she doesn't have to say much, though, which is something, as she's infinitely more likable when she keeps her mouth closed. Wilford Brimley, a solid character actor, enjoys his role as a dusty old uncle who brews moonshine in his shed, and he's fun too. The rest of the cast are all okay, and it's good to see another cameo from Ted Raimi (after all, Sam was an executive producer here),but the main actors who stick in the mind are the two villains: Vosloo and Henriksen.

Arnold Vosloo relishes his role as a foreigner who enjoys torturing and slaying those who oppose him, and you can tell that Vosloo is having a great time. He also looks pretty young and slim too, in the wake of THE MUMMY anyway. Lance Henriksen, meanwhile, also has a ball in his way over-the-top role as the chief villain. While some people might not like the intensity of his performance, I loved it, especially when he started gasping and shouting at the end. Who can forget the bit where his coat sets on fire - apparently an on-set accident during which he stayed in character?

However, it's the action that people will watch this for, and it's trademark Woo in every respect. Slow motion is used in abundance, to great achievement, and such scenes as Van Damme leaping over a car firing two pistols at once, or Van Damme kicking the sunglasses (and cigar) out of an enemy's mouth, are sheer brilliance. The opening chase scene is a good one, and there are lots of explosions to enjoy too, and stunts (the motorcycle bit is great). However the finest achievement is the final shootout in the Mardi Gras graveyard, which lasts twenty minutes and has Van Damme running around and shooting and kicking people over and over again. It's great, and there is a really high death count. I loved it. Forget the critics, throw aside your hatred of poor acting, and if you like action then watch this film.