Action cinema has very little in common with its 90s predecessors. Though most modern entries are reboots, remakes, and legacy sequels, there's a distinct energy to that bygone era. Great stars like Bruce Willis and terrible ones like Steven Seagal became household names, selling the movie on their personal brand more than any intrinsic quality. Even the silly action star vehicle could occasionally capture something special, as in the case of 1994's Timecop.
Jean-Claude Van Damme owned the 1990s. JCVD was a skilled martial artist and a trained ballet dancer who became an in-demand action star in the 80s. After his breakthrough role in Bloodsport, Van Damme headlined one ridiculous action film after another. Many of his projects are remembered fondly with a hint of irony but hits like Timecop remain cult classics.
What is Timecop About?
Timecop takes place in an alternate 1994, in which time travel has become possible. Technological innovation creates demand for a new form of law enforcement. The Time Enforcement Commission assembles to handle time crime, including a new mass of arms shipments paid for by Civil War-era gold bullion. Max Walker, a respected DC police officer, is approached by the TEC and briefly considers joining the nascent federal law enforcement branch. Unfortunately, Walker and his wife are brutally attacked by unknown assailants. Walker survives, but his family is destroyed, and his life is ruined.
A decade later, Walker has become one of the most successful members of the TEC. While arresting his former partner, Walker discovers a senator named Aaron McComb who is using his position of power and access to unregulated time travel to gather money and influence. Like most movie villains from the 80s and 90s, McComb is an utterly unsubtle pastiche of corrupt businessmen generally and Donald Trump specifically. Walker struggles to stop McComb's intricate time travel schemes. The sinister senator travels back to warn his younger self of events and provide investment advice. When his plan starts to come together, Walker finds himself in an alternate 2004 that sees McComb far ahead in the presidential race. Walker must race against time to outwit McComb and create a better future. It's a sci-fi action blockbuster that quickly became the most profitable film of Jean-Claude Van Damme's career.
What is Timecop Based On?
The 1994 film Timecop was based on the 1992 comic book series Time Cop: A Man Out of Time by Mike Richardson, Mark Verheiden, and Ron Randall. Timecop isn't usually counted among comic book movies, but it should be. The comic was published in three parts from August to October 1992. The comic's story has very little in common with the film, but they do share a protagonist. In the comic, Max Walker is a bitter, sarcastic TEC agent in 2007 who stops criminals from using time travel to their advantage. It's part of Dark Horse's anthology series. Elements of the series felt inspired by Judge Dredd and other classic sci-fi comics.
The series follows Walker as he intercepts an outlaw who seeks to seize a South African diamond mine from the 1930s. Walker's target brings a deadly security robot along with him. Walker defeats the criminal and the robot with the help of a local man named Joseph M'Boto. The successful TEC agent returns to 2007, only to find that the robot remained operational, critically altering the timeline. Walker travels back to 1933 to dispose of the machine. M'Boto offers his help again, and the two men save the future a second time. Walker is so impressed by his new friend that he gives him the diamonds. Walker finally returns to 2007 to find his timeline restored but for one change. M'Boto used the riches he acquired to spearhead political activism and end segregation in South Africa.
How Does Timecop End?
Spoilers ahead for Timecop, obviously. Timecop's time travel system works through a multiverse. When a person travels back in time, their actions create a new branch of the timeline, which their consciousness enters upon their return. McComb has established himself as a wealthy frontrunner for president and used a prototype time machine to eliminate the TEC. Walker discovers that McComb was behind the attack that killed his wife. With that information, he intervenes to save his younger self. McComb travels back to eliminate both versions of Walker, guaranteeing his presidency. However, Walker has lured the 1994 version of McComb to the location. Walker shoves both versions of McComb into each other, causing them to merge traumatically and disappear from time. Walker also saves his wife, so when he returns to 2004, he finds a fully functional TEC and his loving wife alive and well.
Timecop is a very silly film with some big ideas dancing just behind its comical action scenes. It's smarter than most Jean-Claude Van Damme vehicles. There's some fun science fiction in the mix, but the real draw is the bombastic chaos of its storytelling and the fast-paced 90s action. Timecop is available now on Tubi and Amazon Prime Video. Travel back to 1994 with a Van Damme classic.