The human brain is a fascinating mystery. Science continues to decipher the brain’s inner workings, but completely mapping and duplicating its functionality feels like permanent science fiction. The ability to completely replicate or store a person’s consciousness feels as though it will always fall short of capturing individuality. For example, when I hear the name Jean-Claude Van Damme, aside from him having permanently wet hair, I think of the movie Hard Target. Simulate that, science.

Hard Target is quintessential 90’s action cinema. It has recognizable stars, including  a household action name in Van Damme, a simple yet against-the-odds plot, and hyperbolic hand-to-hand and firearm combat. There’s also Wilford “Quaker Oats” Brimley, which if you knew nothing else about the film, would make Hard Target an intriguing watch. Van Damme (legend) plays Chance Boudreaux who, naturally, has a badass military background with an everyman’s personality and a propensity for good deeds. He butts up against a fantastically unhinged Lance Henriksen in a rich versus poor game of cat and mouse, where the mouse is a mullet-adorned, bulletproof martial artist. It’s also worth calling out that, aside from Blood Diamond, this is the only movie where I’ve seen Arnold Vosloo as a character other than Imhotep, though he may be just as sinister.

While watching Hard Target, I noticed there were numerous sequences with slowed down actions or movements to create dramatic emphasis. There were also pigeons, lots of pigeons. I had not paid attention to who directed the movie though I recognized John Woo’s signature. If you are unfamiliar with Woo’s work, his name is synonymous with action cinema. He may not have done much work lately, but Woo’s filmography is full of bangers, literally; the bullets and pigeons fly freely. Van Damme is typically recognized for his martial artistry. In Hard Target, however, he does more damage with a gun in his hand than with his fits, kicks, or splits. Even if the hand-to-hand combat is subdued compared to other Van Damme fare, Woo is still able to craft cool-looking sequences that make the bad guys feel like an unstoppable force and the hero like a god amongst men. That leads to another general cinematic observation: as in any action movie, it’s mystifying how bullets, explosions, or fire seem to bend around or have no effect on the protagonist, while a shotgun blast from the hero’s gun creates an explosively destructive swathe to mow down targets with ease. It has to be that way, however, otherwise the purpose of every action movie disintegrates. They would not be much fun if the singular hero succumbed to the overwhelming enemy force at the first encounter. Oh, John Doe protagonist was gut shot and caught in the overlapping explosion of three grenades? Congratulations, villains, you may continue with your dastardly ways.

If you spontaneously think about the inhospitable New Orleans streets and how terrifying it would be to have a group that pays the homeless to be hunted, a la Hard Target, then our brains may be wired similarly, and I can guarantee you that does not fit any template. This is an entertaining, if not entirely polished or non-cheesy, movie. For whatever reason, it found residence in my head from the first viewing. Watching it again in 2022, I realize 90’s action movies focused on the pace and, well, the action. They didn’t have to be “good”, but they had to be loud and move fast. Filler action fare today really has not changed, but they lack the roster of legendary action stars to pull from and can saturate the screen with subpar digital special effects. Hard Target did not do digital; it was practical and visceral, and Van Damme was it entertaining.