“Timecop” Turns Back the Clock to a Better Time for the Action Genre

Dylan Masvidal | Staff Writer

Suppose you’ve hung around me for longer than a nanosecond. In that case, the deranged ramblings of a man longing for Hollywood to rebuild action cinema have tormented your ears on several occasions. 

Diagnosing my condition as a peculiar case of anemoia would make sense until the truth rears its ugly head right on cue: action heroes are a relic of the past. 

It’s a statement of fact. A fact that shatters my heart into a million pieces, like the glass windows Jean-Claude Van Damme used to break through. 

Yes, before the superhero won the tug o’ war of top billing over the face behind the mask, there was a time when everyday moviegoers packed theaters across the globe eager to see their favorite movie star open a can of whoop ass on some mustache-twirling slimeball.

One of these bastions of bravery was none other than a Belgian whose legs were classified as deadly weapons. 

Truthfully, when I think of the American renaissance period that was 90s action flicks, ”Timecop” doesn’t ring any bells. Hell, it’s not even Van Damme’s best from the era. 

However, what modest qualities it does possess are just the right sugars and spices that are severely lacking in many mid-budget romps today. 

For example, when Max Walker (Van Damme) puts his size 10 and a half Wolverine boot in front of a petty thief‘s face and tells him to read “between the lines,” crowds scream and cheer. 

Not entirely convinced, you say? Well, how about a knife fight where he does the splits on a kitchen table in his boxers to avoid death by electrocution? That’s what I thought. 

“Timecop” may not boast a Shane Black script or the eye candy of a Tony Scott film, but its refusal to treat its wacky concept as a running gag is a refreshing change of pace compared to the at times insufferable banter present in current mainstream comic book blockbusters. 

Endearing melodrama with no ulterior motive triumphs over pompous self-awareness 11 times out of 10. 

One of my larger criticisms of “Timecop” is its lack of performances—outside of Van Damme and the always terrific Bruce McGill—putting total effort into hamming it up. 

Mia Sara of “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” fame has barely any screen time for her character of Melissa Walker to feel fleshed out. The same can be said for Agent Sarah Fielding (Gloria Reuben), who has a clever plot twist that goes nowhere. Ron Silver’s “poster boy of political corruption” schtick needed more time in the oven too. 

No surprise seeing “Timecop” is in top form when weaving together explosive set pieces with a more industrial sci-fi vision of the future. 

Except for the pimped-out Volvo Sedan Van Damme drives, a visual treat that belongs in Universal Studios. 

And I couldn’t shut up about those Panavision E Series anamorphic lenses, even if you used triple the amount of duct tape. 

There’s an irreplicable texture to a house going up in flames or seeing lightning strike during the pouring rain when shot on film that the artificiality of digital cameras can’t compete with. 

Perhaps I’m being unrealistic in my desire to see the past and present collide with one another. 

Yet if there’s anything “Timecop” taught me, it’s our ability to pave the way for a better tomorrow. All we need is a swift roundhouse kick and a catchy one-liner to make it happen.

ICONIC/10.