Timecop
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Timecop |
| Original title | Timecop |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1994 |
| length | 98 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Peter Hyams |
| script | Mark Verheiden |
| production |
Moshe Diamant , Sam Raimi , Robert G. Tapert |
| music |
Mark Isham , Robert Lamm |
| camera | Peter Hyams |
| cut | Steven Kemper |
| occupation | |
| |
Timecop is an American action - thriller from the science fiction - genre . It was shot in 1994 under the direction of Peter Hyams with Jean-Claude Van Damme in the lead role. It is based on a 1992 comic written by Mike Richardson and Mark Verheiden . The film opened in German cinemas on November 24, 1994.
action
In 1863, a single man opposed a gold transport from the Confederate Army , accompanied by five soldiers, and asked for the precious metal to be returned. When the soldiers aim at him, he shoots them with submachine guns hidden under his coat, which at that time did not yet exist . In 1994, the CIA found terrorists using Confederate-stamped gold bars to buy weapons. In order to put a stop to such criminal time travel, the so-called "Time Enforcement Commission" (TEC) is founded, which tracks down the delinquents, reverses their actions and restores the uninfluenced time sequences. Senator Aaron McComb answers as the head of the Senate Control Commission for Covert Operations.
In 2004, the former police officer Max Walker is one of the TEC agents. He lost his wife Melissa in an attack in 1994. His bulletproof vest saved his life from the gunshots of the gangsters who thought he was dead when he collapsed in front of his house, while shortly thereafter an explosion destroyed the house and killed his wife.
An assignment takes Max back to the time of the Great Depression , in which he traces his TEC colleague Lyle Atwood. This one buys oil stocks cheaply. Atwood admits to Walker that this is being done on behalf of Senator McComb, who wants to fund the campaign for his presidential candidacy in this way. Then Atwood succeeds in jumping out of the window of the skyscraper with the intention of suicide, since he does not want to testify against McComb in order to protect his family. Walker jumps after it and manages to catch him in a fall and bring him back to court in 2004.
Walker urges Atwood to incriminate McComb in court and reveal the truth, but is unsuccessful: Atwood accepts the crime and the judge convicts him. He is sent back to 1929; his fall from the skyscraper continues and ends fatally.
With Atwood's death, McComb ran out of funds and went on a journey through time to correct a wrong business decision: In 1994 he left a chip factory that would be extremely valuable in the future and sold his shares to his then business partner Parker. He travels to the factory at the hour when his younger self confesses to Parker that he no longer expects any success in the joint venture and urges him to pay out his shares. Parker struggles to get a bank loan and hands young McComb a check. The elder McComb warns the younger to cash the check and tells him about the future. Ultimately, he shoots Parker. It does so in front of Walker and his new partner Sarah Fielding, who have also traveled back to stop McComb. First the two manage to take McComb into custody. But Fielding also works for McComb. McComb's henchmen who were traveling with him are killed and Fielding seriously injured.
In 2004 everything changed because of this event; the TEC is currently being dissolved. The returned Walker still manages to convince his boss to send him back again using a time machine from the pilot plant that McComb used. He tries to persuade Felding, who is in the hospital, to testify against McComb. This is ready, but is murdered immediately afterwards by gangsters sent by McComb. In the hospital, Max accidentally comes across a positive pregnancy blood test from Melissa, which he never found out because the attack occurred the following night.
Walker reveals himself to Melissa as his older self and fights in and in front of his house against the gangsters who appear. The elder McComb takes Melissa hostage and shows the elder Walker a bomb with a time fuse. But Walker has secretly sent a message to the younger McComb, who arrives and asks for an explanation. At a propitious moment, Walker pushes the younger against the older McComb. Because physically : "The same matter cannot occupy the same space at the same time", the two McCombs merge into a mass that dissolves. Before the house explodes, Melissa and Walker escape. Walker places Melissa next to his unconscious younger self.
Back in the future, Senator McComb has disappeared without a trace for ten years, Sarah is alive and well, but can't remember anything. At home, Melissa is waiting for Walker - and his son.
Because Melissa's death in 1994 was brought about by a manipulation from the future, Max Walker ultimately did not break the law against time manipulation, as he only restored the original order.
Awards
The film was nominated in 1995 by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films for the Saturn Award in the categories "Best Science Fiction Film", "Best Supporting Actress", "Best Special Effects" and "Best Screenplay". Mia Sara received the award for "Best Supporting Actress".
Trivia
- The film is based on the three-part story “Timecop”, which appeared in the August to October 1992 issues of Dark Horse Comics .
- Based on the film, the US broadcaster ABC produced the nine-part science fiction short series Timecop in 1997 . In it, actor Ted King plays the title hero, Officer Jack Logan .
- In 2003 the sequel Timecop 2 was released in Berlin , which was released directly on DVD . The main role in the sequel played Jason Scott Lee .
- As in almost all of his films, director Peter Hyams has given a film character the name Spota .
- During the journey through time, Van Damme chewed chewing gum from the Japanese brand " Black Black ". He also advertised it in 1994 and appeared in several commercials on Japanese television.
- For the showdown, Van Damme's stunt double was used to create the illusion of the younger Max Walker alongside Van Damme. The same was done with the two versions of Ron Silver as Senator McComb.
- During the car scenes, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Ron Silver sat in front of a blue screen wall, onto which the silhouette of Washington, DC was projected.
- Max Walker's wristwatch is a Casio DW-400.
- Nick, the son of director Peter Hyams, can be seen in the role of a delivery boy.
- Bruce McGill , who plays the commander of the TEC ("Time Enforcement Commission"), portrays the character Captain Braxton in the episode Zeitschiff Relativity of the series Star Trek: Spaceship Voyager , who commands a spaceship whose task, analogous to the TEC, is to protect the timeline from illegal, transformative interference.
- The leitmotif of the film ("The same matter cannot occupy the same space at the same time") corresponds to the (real) Pauli principle of quantum physics.
Reviews
In his review of ReelView, James Berardinelli drew comparisons to Total Recall , whose “esprit” and “skill” the film does not achieve. Still, Timecop is one of the better productions with Van Damme. The action scenes are "expertly" executed, the logic of the film in terms of time travel and the problems associated with it, however, "holey". Berardinelli praised the performances by Ron Silver, Mia Sara and Bruce McGill.
“An exciting and gripping adventure that was well cast even with Hau-Drauf-Jean-Claude Van Damme. It fits into the story and is excellent in the action sequences. "
“A fantasy film without tension and humor, which gives away the possibilities of the subject. He is content with presenting his main actor in stereotypical fighting scenes as an accomplished karate fighter. "
"Peter Hyams (" Capricorn Company ") turned a comic into a decent action hit with a pleasant joke. Conclusion: stuff the logic holes with lots of fun. "
Web links
- Timecop in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Timecop at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
- Timecop at Metacritic (English)
- Timecop in the online film database
Individual evidence
- ↑ Release certificate for Timecop . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry (PDF).
- ^ Timecop (1994) Awards , on imdb.com, accessed November 17, 2013.
- ^ Review by James Berardinelli
- ↑ moviesection.de: Filmkritik , accessed November 17, 2013.
- ↑ Timecop in the Lexicon of International Films , accessed August 25, 2015.
- ↑ Cinema.de: Filmkritik , accessed August 25, 2015.