Timecop
Encyclopedia
Timecop is a 1994 science-fiction
thriller film
directed by Peter Hyams
and co-written by Mike Richardson
and Mark Verheiden
. Richardson was also executive producer. The film is based on Time Cop, a story written by Verheiden and drawn by Phil Hester
and Chris Warner
which appeared in the anthology comic Dark Horse Comics, published by Dark Horse Comics
.
The film stars Jean-Claude Van Damme
as a U.S.
Federal
agent in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when time travel
is possible. It also stars Ron Silver
as a rogue politician and Mia Sara as the agent's wife. The story follows an interconnected web of episodes in the agent's life (or perhaps lives) as he fights time-travel crime and investigates the politician's unusually successful career.
Timecop remains Van Damme's highest grossing film (breaking the $100,000,000 barrier for a worldwide gross). It was also regarded as one of Van Damme's better films by critics who usually derided his acting ability.
soldiers by a highwayman using machine pistols. Then, 131 years later, the U.S. government creates the Time Enforcement Commission (TEC) to combat misuse of the new discovery of time travel, after discovering that the same gold bullion was used in a recent arms purchase. Senator Aaron McComb (Silver) volunteers to oversee the commission, and shortly afterward, police officer Max Walker (Van Damme) is offered a job as a TEC agent. Later that evening, Max is attacked by intruders at his suburban home and his wife Melissa (Sara) is killed in an explosion.
Ten years later, Walker is now an experienced TEC Agent, and is sent to 1929 to arrest his former partner Atwood (Jason Schombing) for taking advantage of the U.S. stock-market crash
, Atwood reveals that he is working for McComb, who needs money for his presidential campaign. Terrified by McComb's threat to murder his ancestors, meaning he would never have existed, Atwood tries to kill himself by jumping out a window. Walker catches him as he falls and takes him back to 2004, but Atwood refuses to testify against McComb and the TEC agency sends him back to 1929 to the same point where he jumped previously, this time falling to his death. Having being haunted by his memories of Melissa's murder ten years previous, Walker vows to stop McComb.
Walker is then partnered with agent Fielding (Gloria Reuben
), and sent back to 1994, where they find a young Senator McComb arguing in the McComb/Parker Systems building with Jack Parker about their company's new computer chip. Parker offers to buy McComb's share of the company, but at that moment, the older McComb arrives from 2004 to warn the younger McComb that the chip will make huge profits. A fight ensues when Walker is then double-crossed by Fielding, who reveals she works for McComb. McComb then kills Parker, wounds Fielding while attempting to kill Walker, and manages to escape back to 2004.
When Walker returns to 2004, he finds that things have become worse. McComb owns the computer company, with no record of Parker. He is almost guaranteed the Presidency with his finances and approval rating. The TEC is shutting down due to budget cuts. There is also no record of Fielding having ever existed. Realizing that he has to fix things, Walker commandeers the original prototype time machine (which McComb and company were using for their illegal trips into the past) with the help of Matuzak, who sacrifices himself when McComb's men try to stop Walker from escaping.
Finding himself once more in 1994, Walker finds Fielding in a hospital, where she agrees to testify against McComb. Whilst trying to find Fielding's DNA from a blood sample in the lab, Walker finds a sample of Melissa's blood and it indicates she is pregnant. Walker realizes her death occurred later that night, and he decides to stop it. After going back to Fielding's room, he discovers that she has been murdered and he was being chased as the alleged murderer. He goes to the mall where he and Melissa met that night. Eventually Max finds her and manages to convince her he is from the future.
That evening, McComb's thugs break into Walker's home, just like before, only this time the older Walker is waiting for them. Without the younger Walker knowing, he is helped by his older self in eventually defeating the thugs, though the younger Walker is wounded. McComb then takes Melissa hostage. When the older Walker finds the older McComb is holding Melissa, McComb sets a time bomb
. He then shoots Melissa, just before the young McComb appears, having been tricked by a fake message from Walker. According to the story, two versions of the same matter cannot occupy the same space at the same time (compare to the Blinovitch Limitation Effect
). Walker grabs the young McComb and pushes him into the older one, causing them to become a writhing, melting mass of blood and flesh which disappears into nothing.
Walker carries Melissa out of the house just before the bomb explodes. Walker returns to 2004, and the timeline has been corrected. The TEC still exists, Fielding is alive, and McComb does not exist, having "vanished" ten years earlier. As Walker returns home, he is happily shocked to find Melissa alive and their 9-year-old son waiting to greet him. Melissa has something announce to Walker, implying that she's pregnant again.
Critics were mixed on Timecop, noticing its various plot holes and inconsistencies. Roger Ebert
called Timecop a low-rent Terminator. Richard Harrington of the Washington Post said, "For once, Van Damme's accent is easier to understand than the plot." David Richards of the New York Times disparaged Van Damme's acting and previous films but called Timecop "his classiest effort to date".
The film made Entertainment Weeklys Underrated Films list, mostly because of Van-Damme's acting.
.
A TV version of the same name
was spun off
, running for nine episodes in 1997
on ABC
. It starred T.W. King
as Jack Logan and Cristi Conaway
as Claire Hemmings.
Timecop 2: The Berlin Decision
, a direct-to-DVD sequel was released in 2003
, starring Jason Scott Lee and Thomas Ian Griffith
, and directed by Steve Boyum
.
A game based on the movie
was developed by Cryo Interactive
and released on the SNES
in 1995
.
A series of tie-in novels by author Dan Parkinson published in 1997–1999 featured the Jack Logan character from the television series.
In 2010, Universal announced a reboot of the film.
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
thriller film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
directed by Peter Hyams
Peter Hyams
Peter Hyams is an American screenwriter, director and cinematographer, probably best known for directing the 1984 science fiction adventure 2010 , Capricorn One, the comic book adaptation Timecop and the Arnold Schwarzenegger horror/action film End of Days.-Family:Hyams was born in New York...
and co-written by Mike Richardson
Mike Richardson (publisher)
Mike Richardson is an American writer, film producer and the founder of Dark Horse Comics, a comic book publication company based in Milwaukie, Oregon.-Career:...
and Mark Verheiden
Mark Verheiden
Mark Verheiden is an American television, movie, and comic book writer. He is a co-executive producer for the television series Falling Skies for DreamWorks Television and the TNT Network.-Career:...
. Richardson was also executive producer. The film is based on Time Cop, a story written by Verheiden and drawn by Phil Hester
Phil Hester (comics)
Phil Hester is an American comic book artist, penciller and writer.-Biography:This Eisner Award-nominated artist was born in eastern Iowa, where he went on to study at the University of Iowa...
and Chris Warner
Chris Warner
Dr. Christopher "Chris" Warner is a fictional character and current main protagonist on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street. He is portrayed by Michael Galvin. He is the only original character to still be on the show....
which appeared in the anthology comic Dark Horse Comics, published by Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
.
The film stars Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg , professionally known as Jean-Claude Van Damme, is a Belgian martial artist and actor, best known for his martial arts action films, the most successful of which include Bloodsport , Kickboxer , Double Impact , Universal Soldier , Hard Target , Timecop ,...
as a U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Federal
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
agent in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when time travel
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
is possible. It also stars Ron Silver
Ron Silver
Ronald Arthur "Ron" Silver was an American actor, director, producer, radio host and political activist.-Early life:...
as a rogue politician and Mia Sara as the agent's wife. The story follows an interconnected web of episodes in the agent's life (or perhaps lives) as he fights time-travel crime and investigates the politician's unusually successful career.
Timecop remains Van Damme's highest grossing film (breaking the $100,000,000 barrier for a worldwide gross). It was also regarded as one of Van Damme's better films by critics who usually derided his acting ability.
Plot
In 1863, gold bullion is stolen from ConfederateConfederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
soldiers by a highwayman using machine pistols. Then, 131 years later, the U.S. government creates the Time Enforcement Commission (TEC) to combat misuse of the new discovery of time travel, after discovering that the same gold bullion was used in a recent arms purchase. Senator Aaron McComb (Silver) volunteers to oversee the commission, and shortly afterward, police officer Max Walker (Van Damme) is offered a job as a TEC agent. Later that evening, Max is attacked by intruders at his suburban home and his wife Melissa (Sara) is killed in an explosion.
Ten years later, Walker is now an experienced TEC Agent, and is sent to 1929 to arrest his former partner Atwood (Jason Schombing) for taking advantage of the U.S. stock-market crash
Wall Street Crash of 1929
The Wall Street Crash of 1929 , also known as the Great Crash, and the Stock Market Crash of 1929, was the most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States, taking into consideration the full extent and duration of its fallout...
, Atwood reveals that he is working for McComb, who needs money for his presidential campaign. Terrified by McComb's threat to murder his ancestors, meaning he would never have existed, Atwood tries to kill himself by jumping out a window. Walker catches him as he falls and takes him back to 2004, but Atwood refuses to testify against McComb and the TEC agency sends him back to 1929 to the same point where he jumped previously, this time falling to his death. Having being haunted by his memories of Melissa's murder ten years previous, Walker vows to stop McComb.
Walker is then partnered with agent Fielding (Gloria Reuben
Gloria Reuben
Gloria Reuben is a Canadian singer and actress of film and television, known for her role as Jeanie Boulet on the popular medical drama ER and for her role of Rosalind Whitman in the TV show Raising the Bar.-Life and career:...
), and sent back to 1994, where they find a young Senator McComb arguing in the McComb/Parker Systems building with Jack Parker about their company's new computer chip. Parker offers to buy McComb's share of the company, but at that moment, the older McComb arrives from 2004 to warn the younger McComb that the chip will make huge profits. A fight ensues when Walker is then double-crossed by Fielding, who reveals she works for McComb. McComb then kills Parker, wounds Fielding while attempting to kill Walker, and manages to escape back to 2004.
When Walker returns to 2004, he finds that things have become worse. McComb owns the computer company, with no record of Parker. He is almost guaranteed the Presidency with his finances and approval rating. The TEC is shutting down due to budget cuts. There is also no record of Fielding having ever existed. Realizing that he has to fix things, Walker commandeers the original prototype time machine (which McComb and company were using for their illegal trips into the past) with the help of Matuzak, who sacrifices himself when McComb's men try to stop Walker from escaping.
Finding himself once more in 1994, Walker finds Fielding in a hospital, where she agrees to testify against McComb. Whilst trying to find Fielding's DNA from a blood sample in the lab, Walker finds a sample of Melissa's blood and it indicates she is pregnant. Walker realizes her death occurred later that night, and he decides to stop it. After going back to Fielding's room, he discovers that she has been murdered and he was being chased as the alleged murderer. He goes to the mall where he and Melissa met that night. Eventually Max finds her and manages to convince her he is from the future.
That evening, McComb's thugs break into Walker's home, just like before, only this time the older Walker is waiting for them. Without the younger Walker knowing, he is helped by his older self in eventually defeating the thugs, though the younger Walker is wounded. McComb then takes Melissa hostage. When the older Walker finds the older McComb is holding Melissa, McComb sets a time bomb
Time bomb
A time bomb is a bomb whose detonation is triggered by a timer. The use time bombs has been for various purposes ranging from insurance fraud to warfare to assassination; however, the most common use has been for politically-motivated terrorism.-Construction:The explosive charge is the main...
. He then shoots Melissa, just before the young McComb appears, having been tricked by a fake message from Walker. According to the story, two versions of the same matter cannot occupy the same space at the same time (compare to the Blinovitch Limitation Effect
Blinovitch Limitation Effect
The Blinovitch Limitation Effect is a fictional principle of time travel physics in the universe of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who....
). Walker grabs the young McComb and pushes him into the older one, causing them to become a writhing, melting mass of blood and flesh which disappears into nothing.
Walker carries Melissa out of the house just before the bomb explodes. Walker returns to 2004, and the timeline has been corrected. The TEC still exists, Fielding is alive, and McComb does not exist, having "vanished" ten years earlier. As Walker returns home, he is happily shocked to find Melissa alive and their 9-year-old son waiting to greet him. Melissa has something announce to Walker, implying that she's pregnant again.
Cast
- Jean-Claude Van DammeJean-Claude Van DammeJean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg , professionally known as Jean-Claude Van Damme, is a Belgian martial artist and actor, best known for his martial arts action films, the most successful of which include Bloodsport , Kickboxer , Double Impact , Universal Soldier , Hard Target , Timecop ,...
– Max Walker - Mia Sara – Melissa Walker
- Ron SilverRon SilverRonald Arthur "Ron" Silver was an American actor, director, producer, radio host and political activist.-Early life:...
– Senator Aaron McComb - Bruce McGillBruce McGillBruce Travis McGill is an American actor who has an extensive list of credits in film and television. He is perhaps best known for his role as Jack Dalton on the television series MacGyver and as Daniel Simpson "D-Day" Day in National Lampoon's Animal House.-Early life:McGill was born in San...
– Commander Eugene Matuzak - Gloria ReubenGloria ReubenGloria Reuben is a Canadian singer and actress of film and television, known for her role as Jeanie Boulet on the popular medical drama ER and for her role of Rosalind Whitman in the TV show Raising the Bar.-Life and career:...
– Sarah Fielding - Scott BellisScott BellisScott Bellis is a Vancouver actor, director and theatre instructor. He is a founding member and Artistic Associate at Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival, where he has played many major roles in over two dozen productions....
– Ricky - Jason Schombing – Lyle Atwood
- Scott Lawrence – George Spota
- Kenneth WelshKenneth WelshKenneth Welsh, CM is a Canadian film and television actor . He is known to Twin Peaks fans as the multi-faceted villain Windom Earle, and has more recently played the father of Katharine Hepburn in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator.In 1984 he was nominated for a Genie Award as Best Actor for his...
– Senator Utley - Brad LoreeBrad LoreeBrad Loree is a Canadian actor and stunt performer. He is a member of Stunts Canada. He played Michael Myers in Halloween: Resurrection.Loree was born in Burnaby...
– Reyes - Kevin McNultyKevin McNultyKevin McNulty is a Canadian actor.McNulty was born in Penticton, British Columbia, Canada. He has acted on three aviation movies: Falling from the Sky: Flight 174 with William Devane, Final Descent with Robert Urich and Snakes on a Plane with Samuel L. Jackson...
– Jack Parker - Gabrielle RoseGabrielle Rose (actress)Gabrielle Rose is an accomplished Canadian actress. She has an extensive resume that includes multiple nominations for Genie Awards and Gemini Awards...
– Judge Marshall
Reception
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. In its second week, it took the top spot again with $8,176,615. It finished its run with $45 million in total U.S. Overseas, it grossed even more, with the total gross at $103 million.Critics were mixed on Timecop, noticing its various plot holes and inconsistencies. Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
called Timecop a low-rent Terminator. Richard Harrington of the Washington Post said, "For once, Van Damme's accent is easier to understand than the plot." David Richards of the New York Times disparaged Van Damme's acting and previous films but called Timecop "his classiest effort to date".
The film made Entertainment Weeklys Underrated Films list, mostly because of Van-Damme's acting.
Spinoffs
The film, which was originally based on a comic, was adapted into a two-issue comic book seriesTimecop (comic)
Timecop was a story in the anthology comic Dark Horse Comics and a two issue comic book adaptation of the eponymous film published along with the film's release in September 1994. The film and its sequel were both written by Mike Richardson, the founder and publisher of Dark Horse Comics...
.
A TV version of the same name
Timecop (TV series)
Timecop is an American science fiction television series. The show was broadcast on the ABC network and first aired in 1997. The series was based on the Timecop movie and the "Time Cop" feature which had appeared in the comic book series Dark Horse Comics.- Cast :* Officer Jack Logan – Ted...
was spun off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
, running for nine episodes in 1997
1997 in television
The year 1997 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1997.- Events :-Debuts:-Miniseries:*Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac, a reunion of the 1979–93 series*The Last Don...
on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
. It starred T.W. King
Ted King
Theodore William King is an American actor, formally credited as T.W. King.-Personal life:In September 2008 King married his girlfriend Maya Rodwell, with whom he became engaged the year before...
as Jack Logan and Cristi Conaway
Cristi Conaway
Cristi Conaway is an American actress and fashion designer.Conaway attended Southern Methodist University, where she studied acting. After moving to Los Angeles, California, she made her television debut on the 1990 made-for-TV movie, Children of the Bride, and her movie debut in 1991's Doc...
as Claire Hemmings.
Timecop 2: The Berlin Decision
Timecop 2: The Berlin Decision
Timecop 2: The Berlin Decision is a 2003 direct to video sequel of the 1994 movie Timecop. The movie stars Jason Scott Lee and Thomas Ian Griffith...
, a direct-to-DVD sequel was released in 2003
2003 in film
The year 2003 in film involved some significant events. Releases of sequels took place with movies like The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Pokémon Heroes, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,...
, starring Jason Scott Lee and Thomas Ian Griffith
Thomas Ian Griffith
Thomas Ian Griffith is an American actor and martial artist who has starred in films and on television.-Early life:Griffith was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the son of Mary Ann , who worked at a dance studio, and Thomas Joseph Griffith...
, and directed by Steve Boyum
Steve Boyum
Steve Boyum is a long time Hollywood stunt performer, television director and film director. He has appeared in over 60 films as a stunt performer.-Selected filmography as a director:*Human Target...
.
A game based on the movie
Timecop (video game)
is a Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game that is based on the movie of the same name. Intending to be a semi-sequel, this game offers many stages not shown in the major motion picture...
was developed by Cryo Interactive
Cryo Interactive
Cryo Interactive Entertainment is a French video game development and publishing company founded in 1992, but existing unofficially since 1989 as a developer group under the name Cryo...
and released on the SNES
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
in 1995
1995 in video gaming
-Events:*May 11 – Introduction of trade magazine GameWeek *May 11-16 — The 1st annual Electronic Entertainment Expo is held in Los Angeles, California...
.
A series of tie-in novels by author Dan Parkinson published in 1997–1999 featured the Jack Logan character from the television series.
In 2010, Universal announced a reboot of the film.