As Steven Segal was hammering out the template for the 90s action blockbuster with Under Siege, John Woo was breaking his own ground with Hard Boiled. Woo's extremely violent but anaesthetisingly romanticised Chow Yun Fat vehicle is from the same stable. But with an entirely new international market - sorry, audience - in tow the Hollywood call was inevitable.<br /><br />Hard Target came first... but this is the film designed for the big audience, fronted by Travolta. The whole thing takes place in the Utah desert with the exception of studio sequences for a mine and military control rooms. That's because Woo needs space in which to BLOW THINGS UP. Inbetween explosions there's an increasingly manic, wisecracking Travolta and earnest-but-dull Christian Slater. With the possible exception of Hans Zimmer's Woo-tailored score it's difficult to see if any money was spent anywhere else. 4/10