Matrixiole
Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.
Tobias Burrows
It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.
bowmanblue
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.
Samuel-Shovel
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!
Leofwine_draca
And here we have yet another Van Damme film from his height of Hollywood fame. After the global success of UNIVERSAL SOLDIER in 1992 (not a bad little flick, but avoid the sequel like the plague), the Muscles from Brussels decided to make another science fiction film. And, like his previous experiment in futuristic themes, TIMECOP is flawed. After all, it's a film dealing with time travel, and, as the writers of any time travel film or programme soon find out, its a head scratching theme from the start, and paradoxes soon turn up by the dozen. To help take our mind off the flimsy, and sometimes contrived, plot, there are a number of fight sequences (as to be expected from every Van Damme film ever made) which keep the attention as always, and one gob-smacking bit of CGI work.The most impressive computer effect here is where a man's arm is frozen and then kicked off by Van Damme, shattering into a million pieces. Other than that there are the usual assorted bruisings, beatings, whippings, and beltings with Van Damme kicking people in the face as his preferred tactic (whereas Seagal likes to break people's arms, and Schwarzenegger just shoots them). Mia Sara has the thankless role of Van Damme's murdered wife and finds yet more reasons to take her top off as often as possible, while the ever-reliable Ron Silver puts in a thoroughly slimy and totally villainous performance as a corrupt senator, who meets his end when his two selves (present and future) touch, turning him literally into a glob of goo - sadly, it has to be said, this effect isn't what it could have been.What I disliked about TIMECOP is how cheesy it is. While cheesiness is sometimes an easing factor when watching bad '80s horror films, here it just seems embarrassing. In order to travel back to the past, Van Damme and co. must climb inside a BACK TO THE FUTURE-inspired pod car which then races off down a chute. Unfortunately, this "pod" as it appears to be, looks like it's made of cheap plastic and has a tiny little gas flame popping out of the back to simulate the powerful drive of the vehicle - except it looks just like a silly little gas flame. On top of this, the various baddies all have ridiculous '80s costumes on, seemingly left from a previous Van Damme flick entitled CYBORG.To add to the mainstream appeal, there's a heck of a lot of nudity and explicit sexual content too, much more than the brief instances in most Van Damme films. And what's up with Van Damme's permed hairdo, which makes him look like a sissy? Along with this and the fact that he has to do the splits as much as humanly possible, it just makes him look like a poseur. On the lighting side the ending is far too dark and we don't get much of a chance to see Van Damme taking out the bad chaps. There are the expected bad wisecracks, good characters who turn bad, an inventive death or two (two soldiers are suddenly ignited in the flames of a pod car) and plenty more reasons to keep watching. And If you can get over the silly contraptions, contrived set-ups and ridiculous appearances of the villains, then you might just find yourself enjoying this slick piece of nonsense. After all, time travel is invariably interesting in whatever form it takes.
SnoopyStyle
Time travel is invented. Going forward is impossible but going back can be catastrophic. The government creates the Time Enforcement Commission to police time travel. Someone has already got back to steal gold from the Confederacy in 1863. Senator McComb (Ron Silver) volunteers to be the oversight. Policeman Max Walker (Jean-Claude Van Damme) is attacked at home and his wife Melissa (Mia Sara) is caught when their house explodes. Ten years later, he travels back to 1929 to apprehend his ex-partner Lyle Atwood trying to cash in on the market. Atwood tells him that McComb is the organizer trying to get money for his run for the Presidency. Matuzak (Bruce McGill) is his supervisor. Sarah Fielding (Gloria Reuben) from internal affairs is assigned his new partner.There is something wrong with the plot but my head hurts trying to figure it out. It is more ambitious writing than Van Damme's other movies. It is not quite sharp enough. The things that we love Van Damme for is the fights. There are plenty of his splits and his kicks. At times, I would rather have a simpler movie and concentrate on Van Damme's strengths.I think the problem starts with Matuzak saying that Max's word isn't enough and yet somehow with Sarah, that's enough to put McComb in prison. And why would Sarah flip on McComb? Wouldn't it be easier to kill Max when he was born? I'm sure McComb could find Max's birth certificate. It's not the logic of time travel that bugs me but the logic of characters' actions that are more problematic.
