Time Cop (1994)

Directed by: Peter Hyams | 99 minutes | action, crime | Actors: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Mia Sara, Ron Silver, Bruce McGill, Gloria Reuben, Scott Bellis, Jason Schombing, Scott Lawrence, Kenneth Welsh, Brent Woolsey, Brad Loree, Shane Kelly, Richard Faraci, Steven Lambert, Kevin McNulty

If only time travel were so simple: a racing rocket that transports you at a rapid pace to a far or less distant past. In ‘Timecop’ (1994) that is in any case the way of time travel. In this genre mix of crime, sci-fi, action and romance, security agent Max Walker is sent into the past to stop a politician with wicked plans for the future. At the same time, Max wants to correct past mistakes in his private life. Unfortunately, he forgets the most important time traveler lesson: messing around with the past is asking for trouble in the future.

The entertaining ‘Timecop’ is first and foremost a vehicle for the martial arts antics of Jean Claude van Damme. The Muscles from Brussels pulls out all the stops here, sometimes resembling slapstick than fighting. But sometimes it is spectacular.

You can’t do it with martial arts alone, so luckily ‘Timecop’ has more to offer. The story is entertaining and exciting, with you never quite sure who is on the right side and who isn’t. The dialogues are sometimes clever, sometimes funny. But the nicest part is the view you get at the future expectations in 1994. ‘Timecop’ is set for a large part in 2004 (10 years after the film’s release) and the curious look at the future is striking. With bizarre high-tech cars and a distant predecessor of the TomTom.

Less strong (but not unexpectedly) is Van Damme’s wooden acting. Not a problem in an ordinary fight film, but ‘Timecop’ has a dramatic dimension and it doesn’t come out as well. All the more painful when you see the strong acting of co-star Mia Sara. Also less successful is the far too long final. While in the first hour, narrative scenes smoothly alternate with fight scenes, the last half hour is a stretched mat.

It is striking that this film about time travel becomes more amusing as the decades go by. The story keeps its timeless suspense, but the future expectations from 1994 become more and more touching. It reminds the viewer of his own life in 1994. When this reviewer still thought that you shouldn’t take Hollywood films seriously and therefore skipped ‘Timecop’. Talk about adorable.