Hard Target is a 1993 American action film directed by Hong Kong film director John Woo in his American debut. The film stars Jean-Claude Van Damme as Chance Boudreaux, an out-of-work Cajun merchant seaman who saves a young woman, named Natasha Binder (Yancy Butler), from a gang of thugs in New Orleans. Hard Target was tentatively scheduled to open in July 1993. Hard Target was released August 20, 1993 in the United States making it the first film by an Asian director to be released by a Hollywood studio.
Hard Target did well in the box office, being the second highest-grossing film release of the week at the American box office on its initial release. Hard Target also became the 49th highest-grossing film in the United States in 1993. Hard Target made domestic ticket sales of $32,589,677 (worldwide sales were $74,189,677).
Plot:
In New Orleans, a homeless veteran named Douglas Binder (Chuck Pfarrer) is the target of a hunt. He is given a belt containing $10,000 and told that he must reach the other side of town where he would then win the money and his life. Hunting him is the hunt organizer Emil Fouchon (Lance Henriksen), his lieutenant Pik Van Cleef (Arnold Vosloo), a businessman named Mr. Lopaki who has paid $500,000 for the opportunity to hunt a human, and mercenaries including Stephan (Sven-Ole Thorsen) and Peterson (Jules Sylvester). Binder fails to reach his destination and is shot by three crossbow bolts. Van Cleef retrieves the money belt. While searching for her father, Binder’s long-estranged daughter Natasha
(Yancy Butler) is attacked by a group of thugs who saw that she had a lot of cash earlier. She is saved by a homeless man with exceptional martial-arts skills named Chance Boudreaux (Jean-Claude Van Damme), a former Marine Force Recon. Chance is initially hesitant to involve himself with her mission, but as his merchant seaman union dues are in arrears he reluctantly allows Natasha to hire him as her guide and bodyguard during her search. Meanwhile, Chance’s homeless friend Elijah Roper (Willie C. Carpenter) is the next to participate in Fouchon’s hunt, and is also killed.