Timecop (1994)

Cop Max is attacked and his house blown up with his wife in it, all for no apparent reason. 10 years later, he is working in a specialist department tasked with policing people using time travel for criminal purposes.Jean-Claude Van Damme leads a film which combines martial arts, action, and science fiction quite pleasingly. The plot is nicely convoluted and nakes sense while you're watching it, akthough close examination reveals some cracks whichneeded plastering over.Production values are decent, Ron Silver is a satisfactorily oily politician, and Van Damme does well.This is enjoyabke nonsense.

The rumourmill has it that Jean Claude Van-Damme was looking for 'that film' - the one like 'Terminator' was for Schwarzenegger and 'Rambo' was for Stallone. JCVD saw 'Timecop' as the 'vehicle' that would propel him out of 'B-movie-action-star' to legitimate A-list action megastar. I think it's not really a 'spoiler' to say that it didn't really work out that way for him.However, just because 'Timecop' never really set the Box Office alight and made the 'Muscles From Brussels' the household name he was hoping for, doesn't mean it was that bad. In fact, it's probably his best work up until that time! Previously, he'd really been utilised as a leading man who could just about speak English, but was damn filmable when it came to kicking bad-guys. Here, he wanted to add a bit of 'depth' to his range and try to 'act' as well as just kick people in the face. And, like I said, it sort of worked.He plays the titular 'Timecop' - part of an elite division who patrols time to prevent criminals from exploiting time travel for financial gain. Of course, there's corruption, double-crossing and murders that can now be averted thanks to a trip to yesteryear (and it still leaves time for him to do the splits!). The special effects are good (for their time), but apart from the action sequences (which are nothing that out of the ordinary) are limited to just the screen stretching whenever someone goes through time. And, despite the premise desperately trying to be A-list, the scrip probably could have been done with a little extra work and most dialogue is a little stilted and predictable. Therefore, it does still feel like just another Van-Damme B-movie, only with a few nice special effects and a sci-fi spin.But, if you're a fan of Van-Damme and his punchy-kicky B-movies of the eighties and nineties (and, seeing as he did become quite famous doing this, there's plenty of us out there who appreciate his 'art') then 'Timecop' should tick all the boxes you're looking for. It's not 'high art;' it's not even an A-list film, but it is a fun enough little romp if you're in the mood for some mindless action and a few cheesy puns whenever a bad-guy is despatched.

Timecop is a really, really fun time. I haven't dealved too deep into the Van Damme filmography but I'm not sure if you'll find many better than these (although I do love Bloodsport). This one's chalk full of good action scenes with memorable deaths (I'm looking at you electrocution guy!). The acting by Van Damme leaves a lot to be desired as usual but that's not why we're here. We're here for spinning kicks and fantastic hair and we get all of that that we can handle! I love the house explosion scene, very well done. It is too bad though we don't get more of Mia Sara. She's one of the better actors in this one, alongside Bruce McGill and Ron Silver. Very good performance by Silver who plays the weaselly, corrupt politician perfectly. My one complaint though for this one is that we don't jump around in time more. We go back to the 90's a few times but it would have been nice to see the Depression era again or the Civil War or really anything older. Everything else felt too close together. Besides thus, a very enjoyable, harmless action movie that has some good fight scenes and bad one liners. I still don't get the time traveling car's function and why they don't need it to get back or the whole time travel paradox thing but hey, nothing's perfect!

This film is well written , has an interesting plot, of course as with any time-travel film- you can find plot holes if you really try! But this film is very good. Great acting by Ron Silver, nothing cheesy...The action is superb A+ and the special FX are great for its time (1994 release. I believe this is one of JCVDs highest grossing films!It looks good, is well paced, had great characters, and keeps you interested. It is far from mindless junk...a smart/dramatic action/ sci-fi thriller!I have seen it thousands of times and am never bored. I am a big Van Damme fan but must admit that not all of his films a fun to watch...This one is a gem!!! Van Damm at the top of his acting and action game!