"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.
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.