I revisited Timecop this year, making this the third time I've seen it in my life, with each viewing being about 10 years apart. I mention time, because that's the theme of the movie, and time changes things: like your perception of something being badass when you're a child, to kinda hokey in your 20s, to outrightly silly in your 30s.
Silly or not, Timecop stands as one of VanDamme's best quality movies that stands out a little more than some of his other 80s and 90s fare. Around this time he had about 3 different tournament movies and 2 movies where he was a mysterious outlaw type. So playing an agent for an organization that ensures time travel isn't being abused was definitely a departure for him. This movie was made at the peak of his physical skills and box office popularity. Around the early 90s he was a massive star.
Speaking of time, I won't go over the plot like other reviews have done, but just mention that the villain (RIP to Ron Silver, he's great in this) actually raises a great point: why spend taxpayer money to enforce time travel when you could keep it from happening to begin with? Sure, it's nota genuine statement when he says it, because he has a plan to buy the presidency using funds from the past, but it's a good point! How do criminals get access to time machines? Why is time travel allowed to exist if it causes so many problems? Does it have an official use of some sort? Because if not, the best solution would be to destroy all time travel devices. Having a whole agency built around enforcing it (with agents that are transported back in the past in life threatening ways often, wearing futuristic clothes and making zero attempts to blend in to their time period) does seem ridiculous.
If you can ignore the many questions like these the movie raises, it's really not bad. A lot of it is shot well, Ron Silver is fun as the villain, Van Damme has some impressive moves in the film, and again, if you take the story on its own merits without addressing the lack of even an attempt at fictional logic, it's interesting and compelling enough for a fun evening of viewing. I think Hard Target or Sudden Death are both superior Van Damme outings that make more sense than this.
The only last things I'll mention are:
-the concept to this isn't bad. If it was expanded on and reworked, it could be great. The concept is actually very ambitious, but in reality, most of the movie is set in 1994, at factories or the farm house of Van Damme's character. The scale doesn't serve the concept. An ending shootout throughout different time periods, or using focused time travel at the last second to get the drop on the villain are amazing potential ideas most likely tied up by budget and script.
-Other people have mentioned, but the ending scenes are *way* too dark. Lighting makes films, and whatever they were going for at the end, it didn't work.
-The fight scenes for the most part are pretty good, but often overedited. Van Damme has some great moves, but some of the exchanges in the movie are edited to a goofy degree, which isn't necessary with someone like Van Damme in the lead. I'm glad fight scene cinematography has moved past this (mostly).
I had fun picking apart the goofy lack of logic ( he comes back to the present and has a 10 year son he doesn't know!! And the movie treats this as fine and fun, without acknowledging this. Compare to Ant Man meeting his grown daughter in Endgame), but if you want a fun retrospective on a decent quality entry in Van Damme's high point, Timecop is still worth a look.
Oh, and Ron Silver's philosophy on what matters in American presidential elections is eerie considering what really happened 22 years after this was made.
Silly or not, Timecop stands as one of VanDamme's best quality movies that stands out a little more than some of his other 80s and 90s fare. Around this time he had about 3 different tournament movies and 2 movies where he was a mysterious outlaw type. So playing an agent for an organization that ensures time travel isn't being abused was definitely a departure for him. This movie was made at the peak of his physical skills and box office popularity. Around the early 90s he was a massive star.
Speaking of time, I won't go over the plot like other reviews have done, but just mention that the villain (RIP to Ron Silver, he's great in this) actually raises a great point: why spend taxpayer money to enforce time travel when you could keep it from happening to begin with? Sure, it's nota genuine statement when he says it, because he has a plan to buy the presidency using funds from the past, but it's a good point! How do criminals get access to time machines? Why is time travel allowed to exist if it causes so many problems? Does it have an official use of some sort? Because if not, the best solution would be to destroy all time travel devices. Having a whole agency built around enforcing it (with agents that are transported back in the past in life threatening ways often, wearing futuristic clothes and making zero attempts to blend in to their time period) does seem ridiculous.
If you can ignore the many questions like these the movie raises, it's really not bad. A lot of it is shot well, Ron Silver is fun as the villain, Van Damme has some impressive moves in the film, and again, if you take the story on its own merits without addressing the lack of even an attempt at fictional logic, it's interesting and compelling enough for a fun evening of viewing. I think Hard Target or Sudden Death are both superior Van Damme outings that make more sense than this.
The only last things I'll mention are:
-the concept to this isn't bad. If it was expanded on and reworked, it could be great. The concept is actually very ambitious, but in reality, most of the movie is set in 1994, at factories or the farm house of Van Damme's character. The scale doesn't serve the concept. An ending shootout throughout different time periods, or using focused time travel at the last second to get the drop on the villain are amazing potential ideas most likely tied up by budget and script.
-Other people have mentioned, but the ending scenes are *way* too dark. Lighting makes films, and whatever they were going for at the end, it didn't work.
-The fight scenes for the most part are pretty good, but often overedited. Van Damme has some great moves, but some of the exchanges in the movie are edited to a goofy degree, which isn't necessary with someone like Van Damme in the lead. I'm glad fight scene cinematography has moved past this (mostly).
I had fun picking apart the goofy lack of logic ( he comes back to the present and has a 10 year son he doesn't know!! And the movie treats this as fine and fun, without acknowledging this. Compare to Ant Man meeting his grown daughter in Endgame), but if you want a fun retrospective on a decent quality entry in Van Damme's high point, Timecop is still worth a look.
Oh, and Ron Silver's philosophy on what matters in American presidential elections is eerie considering what really happened 22 years after this was made.