Timecop (1994)
June 15, 2021 1:14 PM - Subscribe
An officer for a security agency that regulates time travel must fend for his life against a shady politician who has a tie to his past.
Starring Jean-Claude van Damme, Ron Silver, Mia Sara, and Bruce McGill; directed by Peter Hyams (of "Capricorn One", "Outland", and "2010" fame); produced by (among others) Sam Raimi.
Roger Ebert: More than most movies about time travel, "Timecop" invites you to meditate on the logical contradictions of the genre.
Richard Harrington, Washington Post: "Timecop" is good dumb fun...
Rotten Tomatoes (45/26): It's no Terminator, but for those willing to suspend disbelief and rational thought, Timecop provides limited sci-fi action rewards.
Rewatching this now, some of the political machinations still feel relevant. McComb telling his assistant "Elections are won with television. You don't need the press, endorsements. You don't even need the truth. You need money" seems like an awful, prophetic blueprint for the 2016 election cycle.
The special effects hold up well; at least, better than the various henchmen's hair styles. There's a lovely romance story sort of buried under the action. The details of the changes in the timeline(s) are fun to watch for. The camaraderie between van Damme and McGill still plays well, even as some of the other scenes fall flat now (VR porn, I'm looking at you).
In the pantheon of time travel movies, Timecop sits behind luminaries like Terminator and Back to the Future, but still holds its own as good entertainment.
Starring Jean-Claude van Damme, Ron Silver, Mia Sara, and Bruce McGill; directed by Peter Hyams (of "Capricorn One", "Outland", and "2010" fame); produced by (among others) Sam Raimi.
Roger Ebert: More than most movies about time travel, "Timecop" invites you to meditate on the logical contradictions of the genre.
Richard Harrington, Washington Post: "Timecop" is good dumb fun...
Rotten Tomatoes (45/26): It's no Terminator, but for those willing to suspend disbelief and rational thought, Timecop provides limited sci-fi action rewards.
Rewatching this now, some of the political machinations still feel relevant. McComb telling his assistant "Elections are won with television. You don't need the press, endorsements. You don't even need the truth. You need money" seems like an awful, prophetic blueprint for the 2016 election cycle.
The special effects hold up well; at least, better than the various henchmen's hair styles. There's a lovely romance story sort of buried under the action. The details of the changes in the timeline(s) are fun to watch for. The camaraderie between van Damme and McGill still plays well, even as some of the other scenes fall flat now (VR porn, I'm looking at you).
In the pantheon of time travel movies, Timecop sits behind luminaries like Terminator and Back to the Future, but still holds its own as good entertainment.
he does the splits in mid-air?
Across two kitchen counters.
posted by hanov3r at 1:36 PM on June 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
Across two kitchen counters.
posted by hanov3r at 1:36 PM on June 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
Somehow I always convince myself that the guy robbing the civil war gold at the beginning is Steven Baldwin. Yet it never is.
posted by biffa at 3:46 PM on June 15, 2021
posted by biffa at 3:46 PM on June 15, 2021
Also listed as the best movie according to Filip.
posted by Nanukthedog at 6:30 AM on June 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Nanukthedog at 6:30 AM on June 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
This intrigues me, as I was just reading about the whole "Confederate gold" thing. Maybe I'll watch this instead of continuing a rewatch of Starship Troopers, as that will let me skip the brain-sucking scene.
posted by Halloween Jack at 1:16 PM on June 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Halloween Jack at 1:16 PM on June 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
It always annoys me in this when the villain changes time and JCVD goes back to timecop central and explains that "hey, time was changed" and they're all like, "No, that's not a thing. That doesn't even make sense" and at no pont does anyone think, "Oh, we're literally timecops, that's like our whole remit"
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 2:25 PM on June 16, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 2:25 PM on June 16, 2021 [4 favorites]
When they travel through time, where does the sled go? They depart on the sled then arrive on foot at the destination. When they go back to the future, they leave on foot and arrive back on the sled. What is going on here? It makes no sense!
posted by Servo5678 at 5:39 PM on June 16, 2021
posted by Servo5678 at 5:39 PM on June 16, 2021
This one and Hard Target are both actually surprisingly solid fun.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:31 AM on June 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:31 AM on June 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
posted by praemunire at 1:30 PM on June 15, 2021 [1 favorite]