Timecop (1994) JCVD The Human Split Machine Patrols The Future And The Past

Day 6 Timecop from 1994

Tagline – “Turn back the clock, and you’re history“

Who’s our hero today?
It’s that muscles from Brussels, Jean-Claude Van Damme starring as Max Walker

Had I seen this one on VHS back in the day?
Yeah this one was rented from Blockbusters as a new release. I do love sci-fi and time travel and what with the promise of action too? I would of hidden my excitement as I carried the cassette box up to the counter!!.

Quick plot run down.
With the incredible realisation that time travel has been achieved, it’s not long before certain individuals start abusing the technology. What could go wrong if you could jump back into the past to make a few cheeky investments on the stock market or maybe bet on high earning sporting events. To have the ability to change the past to control your future is too much of a temptation. So the government invest heavily in a future police force. A law enforcement agency called Time Enforcement Commission (TEC). Max Walker is assigned to become a time jumping cop.

Does the hero have a day job?
As of 1994 Max seems to be patrolling the streets as a honest hard working every day police officer.

What’s our heroes special skills?
Karate and kickboxing alongside freaking bad guys out by doing the splits! “Ooooo man that aint right!” you imagine them saying. Then smash! he karate chops them in the side of the neck!

Heroes weapon of choice?
His skull cracking feet, fast as lightning fists and a future blaster.

Heroes drink of choice?
Max drowns his sorrows with a whole bottle of Sauza Tequila. Never tried that! Off to investigate.

Does hero have a sidekick?
Max gets assigned a rookie young TEC partner called Sally Fielding (Gloria Reuben). She’s young, enthusiastic and rather beautiful too. You might recognise her from one of many TV shows she been in over the years. From hospital drama ER to the sci-fi series Falling Skies to the recent cyber tech drama, Mr Robot. You know what? damn she still looks mighty fine.

Hot girl? Damsel in distress or ass kicker?
Well where Max’s partner is hot, his wife Melissa Walker (Mia Sara) is a total smoke show. Just ask Ferris Bueller because he desperately needed a day off with her. She also drove a young Tom Cruise potty in Legend (1985).

Who’s the main baddie?
It’s no surprise if you see Ron Silver name in a films credits that it will more than likely mean he’s a bit on the naughty side. Here, in Timecop, he plays Senator Aaron McComb a young government official who has the access to maybe tweak a time line here and there. Well he does have an upcoming presidential campaign coming his way. But does he have the will and the means to make things go his way?

Baddies special skills?
He has the access and has calculated plans. He’s an extremely determined and strategic man. Plus he’s got a right dodgy twosome with mullets to do his work. They so look guilty.

Psycho baddies rating out of ten? 6.5/10
Well hard one to judge really. To be honest he has the power to become Biff “Trump” Tannen or accidentally wipe out the history of the world.

Heroes balls of steel and anger ratings out of ten? 7.5/10
As long as our Max has a stick of Japanese Black Black chewing gum, he’s gonna keep on fighting.

Surely it features a training montage scene?
Not this time but who knows what might appear in the future?

Does it feature an impossible mission?
Is time travel impossible? Only time will tell! Yeah it’s getting a bit annoying with the time puns.

Does the hero get a chance to show off their muscles?
Yeah he does and his tight buns too!!!!!

Will I be needing to pause the video player? AKA are there any boobies?
Rubs hands together and checks notes. Mia Sara delivers the goods at 11 mins 21 seconds FYI. And before you judge me, it’s all very nice. See next question.

Sex scene?
Straight out the gate. It’s actually a pretty passionate scene. Husband and wife Max and Melissa in soft focus and candle lights. It’s naughty but nice.

Any good totally random surprise scenes?
Out of the blue we get confronted by a, going for it, POV virtual reality sex scene. Which brings with it the great line “Looks like safe sex to me“. The other random thing in Timecop is the reference to Max’s partner looking like one of the Volmer twins? Is that an easter egg of some sorts? Let me know.

Films body count? Low/Medium/High? 
Job to tell to be honest, what with time travel and all that. One minute they dead then they back again. However if you killed someone in the past you rub out their entire family tree. If they didn’t then exist have they really been killed? No one would know them? Best to leave the brain disengaged for this one.

Innocent baddie death rate?
See above……

Explosion ratio? Low/Medium/High?
One incredible almighty mega explosion (did they really blow up a whole house?) followed with lots of smaller ones dotted about the film.

How many stuntmen probably really died making this film?
I would say moving into the mid 90s that the safety standards might of improved? And what with the CGI technology starting to become the go to effect I’m guessing the stuntman life expectancy may of lengthened? Sure a few had a JCVD sized foot print stuck on their faces if he missed his mark. A great bit of info I read is that during one of the fight scenes both Van Damme’s and Silver’s stunt body doubles were used to help create the illusion of younger and old versions of themselves fighting.

Any cool car chases?
“Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.” Oops wrong time travel film. No cool car chases to be found here.

Best lines
With a panic attack on Sally’s first time jump, Commissioner Eugene Matuzak says “If she farts she’ll get ahead of the pod!”

Any other familiar faces and actors pop up?
Bruce McGill plays Max’s superior and friend, Eugene Matuzak. He pops up all over the place. He was a regular face on the classic series MacGyver and can be seen in these great films My Cousin Vinny (1992) The Last Boy Scout (1991) Cliffhanger (1993)

Production Credits
Timecop is directed by Peter Hyams. A man who is no stranger to science fiction action films. He made the space western, I love, with Sean Connery Outland (1981). He had a go at doing a sequel to an absolute classic with 2010 (1984). He made another one of my favourite films in Capricorn One (1977). Yeah of course Timecop is down the list along with Arnie’s End Of Days (1999) but they are good fun films.

A few factoids I just learnt
Well I never knew Timecop was based on a 1992 Dark Horse Comic story called Time Cop: A Man Out of Time. There was also a direct to video sequel in 2003 called Timecop: The Berlin Decision starring Jason Scott Lee. Maybe one day it will cross my path and I’ll give it a go. Anyone seen it?

Cheese-O-Meter! Low/Medium/High?
It keeps a good level headed amount of cheese going throughout the film. I felt it doesn’t take itself too serious. Just having JCVD guarding the time line of historic crimes and doing the splits in just his pants is the prefect tongue in cheek to feed the cheese-o-meter.

IMDB score rating – 5.9/10

Wolfman ACTION & FUN rating – 8/10

Wolfman over all film rating – 7/10

Closing thoughts………………………………………….
I really enjoyed this when I first saw it and I loved revisiting it. It’s pretty nifty and fast paced. The CGI is pretty great for the era. OK! it’s logic is all over the place but at the same time you’ve seen enough time travel films to let it slide. Plus the ending does get a bit stupid if I’m honest. All of them crawling about on the house roof is just pure ridiculous.  If you can let that go and shut your brain off and enjoy the spectacle I’m sure you can have good fun with this film.

Feel free to let me know your thoughts on the films if you want but please don’t feel you need to as I know it’s pretty relentless this month. However, most important, have fun with the movies.

Keep it filmy…. Mikey Wolf.