Timecop

Timecop is a 1994 American science fiction action film directed by Peter Hyams and co-written by Mike Richardson and Mark Verheiden. Richardson also served as executive producer. The film is based on Timecop, a story created by Richardson, written by Verheiden, and drawn by Ron Randall, which appeared in the anthology comic Dark Horse Comics, published by Dark Horse Comics.

For other uses, see Timecop (disambiguation).
Timecop
Theatrical release poster
Directed byPeter Hyams
Produced by
Screenplay byMark Verheiden
Story by
Based on
Timecop
by
  • Mike Richardson
  • Mark Verheiden
Starring
Music by
CinematographyPeter Hyams
Edited bySteven Kemper
Production
companies
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • September 16, 1994 (1994-09-16)
Running time
98 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$27 million[2]
Box office$101.6 million[3]

The film stars Jean-Claude Van Damme as Max Walker, a police officer in 1994 and later a U.S. federal agent in 2004, when time travel has been made possible. It also stars Ron Silver as a corrupt politician and Mia Sara as Melissa Walker, the agent's wife. The story follows Walker's life as he fights time-travel crime and investigates the politician's plans.

Timecop remains Van Damme's highest-grossing film as a lead actor (his second to break the $100 million barrier worldwide), becoming a cult classic with fans. Although met with mixed reviews, it is generally regarded by critics as one of Van Damme's better films.

Plot

By 1994, time travel has been developed and is used for illicit purposes. The Time Enforcement Commission (TEC) is established to police the use of time travel, with Senator Aaron McComb overseeing operations and financing. Police officer Max Walker is offered a position with the TEC but debates whether to accept it. Leaving home one night to work late, he and his wife Melissa are attacked by unknown assailants. Max witnesses the house explode, killing Melissa inside.

Ten years later, Walker is a veteran of the TEC working under Commissioner Eugene Matuzak, who sends him back to October 1929 to prevent his former partner, Lyle Atwood, from using knowledge of the future to financially benefit from the U.S. stock market crash. When confronted, Atwood admits to working for Senator McComb, who needs funds for his upcoming presidential campaign. Fearing McComb will erase him from history, Atwood jumps to his death, but Walker catches him mid-leap and returns them both to 2004. Refusing to testify, Atwood is sentenced to execution and is returned to 1929 where he completes his fatal fall.

Under investigation from Internal Affairs, Walker is assigned a new partner, TEC rookie Sarah Fielding, and together they are sent back to 1994 to investigate McComb. They witness a meeting between 1994 McComb and his business partner Jack Parker, where McComb wishes to withdraw over a disagreement about a new computer chip. They are interrupted by the 2004 McComb, who advises his younger self the chip will become highly profitable. The older McComb specifically warns his younger self they must not touch because the same matter cannot occupy the same space, then kills Parker. Fielding turns on Walker, revealing she works for McComb. After a shootout with McComb's henchmen, Fielding is wounded and Walker escapes back to 2004.

Walker finds the future has been altered. McComb is now the sole owner of the computer company and is a presidential front runner while the TEC is being shut down due to budget cuts. Walker appeals to Matuzak, who has no knowledge the changes in history. Curious how McComb is able to travel through time, they realize the original prototype machine was never dismantled. Realizing Walker may be right, Matuzak sends him back to the past to restore history, sacrificing himself in the process as he is shot by the TEC's security who work for McComb.

Back in 1994, Walker finds Fielding in the hospital. She agrees to testify against McComb, but is murdered in her room shortly thereafter. While at the hospital, Walker finds a record of a recent visit by his wife Melissa, discovering she was pregnant. Realizing she will be killed later that night, he finds her and reveals himself to be from the future. She agrees to make sure the 1994 Walker stays home that night.

That night, the 1994 Walker is attacked just as before, the assailants being in McComb's employ, but is unknowingly aided by his older self who has been lying in wait. With the assailants defeated, the 2004 McComb steps in and takes Melissa hostage, confronting the older Walker with the bomb that will blow up the house. McComb knows he will now also die in the ensuing explosion, but is satisfied his younger self will survive and become president with Walker gone. However, Walker reveals he lured the 1994 McComb to the house, who enters the room. Walker pushes the two McCombs together and they merge into a writhing, screaming mass before disappearing from existence forever. 2004 Walker escapes with Melissa before the bomb explodes and leave her beside his unconscious younger self before returning to the future.

Back in 2004, the timeline has changed for the better. McComb mysteriously vanished in 1994, allowing the TEC to remain active without his interference. Matuzak and Fielding are alive, although Fielding does not recognize Walker now. Walker returns home to find Melissa alive and waiting for him with their young son.

Cast

Background

Mike Richardson wrote a three-part story titled "Time Cop: A Man Out of Time" that was included in the launch of the Dark Horse Comics anthology series in 1992.[4] Richardson developed the story, while the comic was written by Mark Verheiden and drawn by Ron Randall. The comic told a story of Max Walker, a Time Enforcement Commission agent whose wife is implied to be dead (though the circumstances of this are unknown). Max pursues an illegal time traveler robbing a South African diamond mine in the 1930s. After capturing the robber and returning to present time, Walker realizes the timeline has been damaged because the criminal's robotic bodyguard remained in the past and was still active. Walker returns to the 1930s and defeats the robot with the help of a local whom he rewards with a diamond. Returning home, the timeline is largely restored but readers see the local became a political leader who helped end Apartheid.

Richardson and Verheiden then teamed up to write the screenplay for the movie adaptation.[4]

Production

It wasn’t at all planned from the beginning that I would make two films with Jean-Claude Van Damme back-to-back. I was approached to do Timecop, and I loved the auspices. (Producer) Larry Gordon was involved with it; Moshe Diamant was a terrific producer; Sam Raimi was involved... It was a really clever story, and I thought it was a chance to make the best movie Van Damme ever made. I said yes and we made it, and it was clear that it was going to be a hit because it previewed through the roof every time. It’s still his biggest hit. So Universal and Moshe Diamant wanted to team us again as soon as possible, so they put Sudden Death together. There was never any question that we would just do Timecop 2. I would never have agreed to that. The last thing you want to do is repeat yourself. That would be awful.

— Peter Hyams, Empire Magazine[5]

Music

The musical score of Timecop was composed by Mark Isham and conducted by Ken Kugler.

Soundtrack

Track listing

  1. "Time Cop" – 2:20
  2. "Melissa" – 2:41
  3. "Blow Up" – 2:12
  4. "Lasers and Tasers" – 4:23
  5. "Polaroid" – 6:10
  6. "Rooftop" – 6:16
  7. "Hambone" – 5:13
  8. "C4" – 2:37
  9. "Rescue and Return" – 3:22

Release

Home media

Timecop was first released on LaserDisc on February 28, 1995,[6] and later released on DVD in 1998. The DVD extras include production notes, a theatrical trailer and notes on the cast and crew.

By 2010, the rights to the film had reverted to Largo successor InterMedia, and distribution shifted to Warner Home Video. A Blu-ray of the film was released as a double feature for both this and Bloodsport from Warner Home Video on September 14, 2010, which has the full uncut 98-minute version in 2.35:1 widescreen, but no extra features.

Reception

Box office

Timecop was released on September 16, 1994, where it opened at the number 1 spot with $12,064,625 from 2,228 theaters, and a $5,415 average per theater.[7][8] In its second week, it took the top spot again with $8,176,615.[9] It finished its run with $45 million in the U.S. Overseas, it grossed about $57 million, for a total gross of $101 million. This makes it Van Damme's highest-grossing film in which he played the leading role, and his second to make over $100 million overall (after Universal Soldier).

Critical response

Critics were mixed on Timecop, citing its various plot holes and inconsistencies.[10] Roger Ebert called Timecop a low-rent Terminator.[11] Richard Harrington of The Washington Post said, "For once, Van Damme's accent is easier to understand than the plot."[12] David Richards of The New York Times disparaged Van Damme's acting and previous films but called Timecop "his classiest effort to date".[13] Timecop holds a 44% and 5.2/10 average rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 43 reviews, with 19 fresh reviews and 24 rotten. The site's consensus is: "It's no Terminator, but for those willing to suspend disbelief and rational thought, Timecop provides limited sci-fi action rewards." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[14]

The film made Entertainment Weekly's "Underrated Films" list in November 2010, mostly because of Van Damme's acting.[15]

Franchise
Main article: Timecop (franchise)

The film was followed by a TV series of the same name, running for nine episodes in 1997 on ABC.[16] It starred T.W. King as Jack Logan and Cristi Conaway as Claire Hemmings.

A direct-to-DVD sequel, Timecop 2: The Berlin Decision, was released in 2003, starring Jason Scott Lee and Thomas Ian Griffith, and directed by Steve Boyum.[17] In 2010, Universal Pictures announced a remake of the film, to be written by Mark and Brian Gunn.[18][19][20]

The film, which was originally based on a comic, was adapted into a two-issue comic book series of the same name. A game based on the movie was developed by Cryo Interactive and released on the SNES in 1995.[21] Additionally, a series of tie-in novels by author Dan Parkinson published in 1997–1999 featured the Jack Logan character from the television series.

References
  1. "TIMECOP (18)". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  2. "Van Damme very determined". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 2010-11-27.
  3. "Timecop (1994)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  4. Cohen, Jason (2017-04-20). "15 Adaptations More Famous Than The Original Comics". CBR.com. Retrieved 2017-06-14.
  5. "Directors Special: Peter Hyams Goes Film-By-Film". Empire Magazine. 24 July 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  6. https://www.lddb.com/laserdisc/06204/42242/Timecop
  7. Dutka, Elaine (1994-09-20). "Weekend Box Office : An Arresting Opening for TimeCop". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
  8. Kleid, Beth (1994-09-26). "MOVIES". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-08-31.
  9. Kleid, Beth (1994-09-26). "MOVIES 'Timecop' on Top: It's "Timecop" time again". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
  10. "A Giant Leap For Van Damme In `Timecop'". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
  11. "Roger Ebert review of ''Timecop''". Rogerebert.suntimes.com. 1994-09-16. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  12. ""Timecop" reviewed by Richard Harrington". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2017-10-12.
  13. Richards, David (1994-09-04). "FILM; Jean-Claude Van Damme, the, uh, Actor?". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-08-08.
  14. "CinemaScore". cinemascore.com.
  15. Connolly, Kelly. "12 Underrated Movie Gems". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
  16. Lowry, Brian (1996-10-25). "ABC Invests $15 Million in 'Timecop'". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-08-31.
  17. "Timecop 2: The Berlin Decision". Cinefantastique. Retrieved 2010-11-28.
  18. Wigler, Josh. "'TimeCop' Reboot In The Works, Jean-Claude Van Damme 'Won't Be Invited Back'".
  19. "Universal Plans 'Timecop' Reboot (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
  20. "'Timecop' Reboot Snags 'Journey 2' Writers (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. 2014-04-09. Retrieved 2014-04-09.
  21. "Timecop". MobyGames. Retrieved 2010-11-28.
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