TIMECOP
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1994 James Berardinelli
Rating (0 to 10): 5.7
Date Released: 9/16/94 Running Length: 1:38 Rated: R (Violence, sexual situations, nudity, language)
Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Ron Silver, Mia Sara, Bruce McGill,
Gloria Reuben
Director: Peter Hyams
Producers: Moshe Diamant, Sam Raimi, and Robert Tapert
Screenplay: Mark Verheiden
Cinematography: Peter Hyams
Music: Mark Isham
Released by Universal Pictures
It's rather interesting--and a little discouraging--that the bulk of theatrical science fiction is actually far better suited to the action genre than to anything else. TIMECOP is a perfect example. As a shoot- 'em-up, blast-'em-to-pieces film, it's not half bad. As a futuristic time travel movie, however, it has some very serious problems.
Nevertheless, as it stands, this is one of Jean-Claude Van Damme's better motion pictures. Considering how abysmal some of the entries on his resume have been, that's not saying much, but everyone has to start somewhere. Van Damme isn't much of an actor, but he has advanced beyond the stagnant stage in which Steven Seagal is mired. At least for the moment, he's Arnold Schwarzenegger (unAmerican accent and all) without the price tag.
Any film whose premise relies as heavily as TIMECOP's does on time travel is inherently treading on dangerous ground. Paradoxes abound in films like this, and how a script deals with them often determines the success of the movie. TIMECOP doesn't attempt to ignore these problems--in fact, it makes one of them a key ingredient in the resolution--but the explanations are less-than-thorough and the logic is porous.
The plot is actually a little more substantial than that of most Van Damme movies. In this case, our hero is TEC (Time Enforcement Committee) cop Max Walker, one of the select few who are entrusted with policing time travel technology. Set in the year 2004, TIMECOP depicts Walker's attempts to thwart the presidential campaign of Senator McComb (Ron Silver), a millionaire politician who is making his money by altering history--both that of the nation and of Walker himself.
Aside from the improbability of time travel existing in ten years (in fact, according to the film, it exists today), TIMECOP displays a view of the near future that is an odd mix of the possible and the unlikely. The film's scientific and technological views may be on the shaky side, but at least it doesn't commit the cardinal sin of attempting to explain time travel. Such technobabble-laced expositions typically sound ludicrous.
As far as the action sequences are concerned, there are plenty of them, all of which are competently-executed (even if every one of them seems to happen in the midst of a downpour). The tension never comes close to the level of a SPEED, but TIMECOP is unlikely to put anyone to sleep. Sadly, a lackluster music score by Mark Isham does little to elevate the adrenaline level.
Ron Silver is suitably nasty as Senator McComb . While this villain isn't close to the standards of DIE HARD's Hans Grueber, he's still pretty easy to dislike. In a smaller role, Mia Sara is suitably sympathetic as Walker's doomed wife Melissa. Bruce McGill turns in a solid supporting performance as the head of the TEC police force.
TIMECOP is in the TOTAL RECALL category of storytelling: take a popular action film star, throw him into a science fiction setting, add a few minor plot twists, and let him blast and punch his way out of trouble. As far as this formula is concerned, TIMECOP lacks much of TOTAL RECALL's wit and cleverness.
Concerning the time travel issues, don't think too deeply, otherwise you're likely to realize just how poorly-considered the script's treatment of them is. Time paradoxes are supposed to be mind-boggling; TIMECOP has reduced them to a level somewhere between confusing and dumb.
- James Berardinelli (blake7@cc.bellcore.com)
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