for just a couple of years now , a certain film director has been doing for action films what marisa tomei did earlier this year for the " love interest " character in film--breathing life into it . if you've not guessed by now , the man i'm talking about is none other than john woo . the only problem is that mr . woo has been doing his thing over in japan , and not in the u . s . of a . woo's the killer had so much word of mouth in japan , that once the film arrived in the states in 1990 it was welcomed with a massive dose of critical praise . well , the wait is finally over . john woo is here , and his american debut goes the distance to prove that he is here to stay . the story is particularly simple : a vietnam vet is murdered by a group of trigger-happy hunters--partial to that race of human beings--and the man's daughter goes looking for him . it seems he was homeless , and to get the proper tour of her father's homeland , the daughter enlists the help of a down-and-out sailor named chance beaudreaux ( played by van damme ) . chance needs two-hundred bucks to ship out of new orleans , and figures that by taking this young and innocent woman up on her offer , he can get what he needs . to convince her that he's the man for the job , chance fights away some homeless thugs looking to rip natalie ( the daughter , played by yancy butler ) off of a few hundred dollars , using his fists and feet to crush bones like nothing you've ever seen in a van damme movie before . natalie is definitely convinced . she and chance soon discover that her father was murdered , and this leads them to cross paths with the leader of the afore-mentioned group ( played by lance henriksen ) . * and * we get another murder-of-a-homeless scene . the vet who's killed this time is someone chance knew as a friend , and--well , you can probably figure out the rest . the story * is * simple at heart , but it isn't really the story that's important here--it's the story * telling * . this is a dynamite action film . director john woo uses techniques--like slow-mo , quick-cut , and freeze frame--that other directors have either taken for granted or have been too afraid to use , and creates an entirely new kind of action movie that most american audiences have never seen before . it's exciting stuff , and it has a truly explosive impact to it ( especially in the climax , at an empty warehouse in the bayous ) . the characterizations * do * leave much to be desired--van damme has one grimacing expression plastered on his mug at all times ( does this guy * ever * smile . . . ? ) , and yancy butler doesn't have much to do here--but , again , these things are nothing more than serviceable to john woo's unique directorial style . he's a master at this kind of movie making . if you see hard target , but still want more woo , check out some of his earlier japanese work ( like the killer and hard boiled ) . these movies all have one thing in common : a superior artist at work . i can compare woo with quentin tarantino in that the two are fresh forces in hollywood who do not need or want to concede with any hollywood standards . target's ear-slicing scene had to be trimmed in order for the film to attain an r-rating . and perhaps that's saying something , too . woo has a little to learn about the united states as far as movies are concerned , and the mpaa and censorship . but it's far from too late , and if woo keeps up the good work he might even be able to break down the mpaa's standards on violence in the movies . 
