Stream action masterpiece in full with FSK 18: There have hardly been any more cool and cool action scenes in the past 30 years!

For the author of this article, the matter is clear: John Woo is the best action director of all time! Because even though the density of his excellent genre contributions has diminished considerably in recent years, in both Hong Kong and the US he created explosive, stirring and still impressive cult classics over the centuries – from “The Killer” and “Hard Boiled” to “ Face/Off”. And yes, I would even add “Dark Stone” with Michelle Yeoh – and recommend it without reservation to any martial arts fan. However, one very special Woo hit is often underestimated and swept under the carpet: “Difficult goals“.

For me, the manhunt thriller internationally known as “Hard Target” is not only the absolute highlight of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s career, but also one of the best action films of the 90s – and also one of my personal favorite films. Once indexed, the film is now available in full unabridged form DVD and Blu-ray*even as an import in (brilliant!) 4K* as well as an uncut stream. So if you’re new to the film, now’s the perfect time to finally catch up on it – it’s particularly cheap right now thanks to Black Friday:

Ultimately, what makes “Hard Targets” so special – and sets it apart from both Woo and Van Damme’s other films? The explanation is as obvious as it is understandable.

“Hard Targets”: Hong Kong meets Hollywood

The film, which is a loose adaptation of the classic novel ‘The Cruelest Game’ or ‘The Most Dangerous Game’ that has been adapted into films many times, cannot be set in Woo’s Hong Kong era, nor in his Hollywood era. – and is the link between ‘Hard Boiled (1992) and Operation: Broken Arrow (1996).

With ‘Hard Targets’ John Woo was able to film completely freely and combine the best of both worlds – Hollywood and Hong Kong – in an unbridled action excess that almost no other filmmaker could have achieved. For the first time, he was given the opportunity to make a film for a budget of what was then an impressive $20 million – and with it completely new opportunities to push his established Hong Kong style to the limit with fresh ideas.

Since the film still took only a fraction of the competition released in the same year – “Demolition Man”, “Last Action Hero” and Co. cost many times as much as “Hard Targets” – Woo was still given the necessary freedom to do so to unleash a riveting, brutal, R-rated, over-the-top spectacle. The result: in some places typical American hero cinema, which is always strongly reminiscent of classic westerns, in combination with clear Hong Kong influences produced some of the craziest, most spectacular, and best action scenes of all time – which continue to inspire over 30 years later.

More action is not possible

At 97 minutes, the film is relatively short and crisp (especially by today’s standards), but doesn’t let you sit still for a second. From the opening scene, Woo is firing on all cylinders, pulling off visual tricks on the grand Hollywood stage previously only known from Hong Kong, creating some incredibly varied action fireworks. the superlatives. And Van Damme? He’s just the perfect choice for the lead role.

As soon as he is first seen at a bar, he has already found himself in the role of a lifetime: the ultimate hero who helps where he can and reduces many bad guys to pieces. No matter how nice they are Here, in super slow motion, rows of gangsters beat and shoot, action rarely celebrated. Not to mention that the film is every fan’s wet dream of handcrafted, real explosions. No fakes, no CGIs – everything explodes so boldly here that you almost feel like you can feel the pressure waves firsthand (especially with the 4K Blu-ray).

But Woo was not only miles ahead of his competition in terms of staging, he also gave the so-called traditional action hit its own unique touch with many idiosyncratic ideas – and I’m not (just) talking about Van Damme’s permanent memory hairstyle, but about clever ideas like that a birthday cake stuffed into the drawer with a brightly lit candle and of course the fact that Van Damme’s superhero doesn’t have a driver’s license and is open about it – and the woman (Yancy Butler) drives.

And in the action scenes? In it, Woo provides countless snapshots that are barely visible to this day – from the iconic arrows that grace countless home theater releases of the film, piercing their target in close-up, to one of the most legendary slow-motion shots in action movie history (including a horse and a mega explosion) and from course one Finale, which offers climaxes at an almost incomparable pace and allows “Hard Goals” not to have to hide from even the most legendary classics of John Woo’s career.