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{{short description|1994 film by Peter Hyams}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Timecop
| image          = Timecopposter.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| alt            = A man holding a gun near his face. Below a figure stands against a octagonal shaped portal. 
| director       = [[Peter Hyams]]
| producer       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Moshe Diamant]]
* [[Sam Raimi]]
* [[Robert Tapert]]
}}
| screenplay     = [[Mark Verheiden]]
| story          = {{Plainlist|
* [[Mike Richardson (publisher)|Mike Richardson]]
* Mark Verheiden
}}
| based_on       = {{Based on|''[[Timecop (comics)|Timecop]]''|Mike Richardson|Mark Verheiden}}
| starring = {{Plainlist|
* [[Jean-Claude Van Damme]]
* [[Ron Silver]]
* [[Mia Sara]]
}}
| music          = [[Mark Isham]]
| cinematography = Peter Hyams
| editing        = Steven Kemper
| production_companies = {{Plainlist|
* [[Largo Entertainment]]
* Signature Pictures
* Renaissance Pictures
* [[Dark Horse Entertainment]]
}}
| distributor    = [[Universal Pictures]]
| released       = {{Film date|1994|9|16}}
| runtime        = 98 minutes<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/timecop-1970-2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180404201852/http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/timecop-1970-2|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 4, 2018|title=''TIMECOP'' (18)|publisher=[[British Board of Film Classification]]|access-date=4 April 2018}}</ref> 
| language       = English
| country        = United States
| budget         = $27-28 million<ref>{{cite news |title= Van Damme very determined |work= [[Hartford Courant]] |url= https://www.courant.com/1994/09/16/van-damme-very-determined/ |access-date= 2010-11-27 |archive-date= 2012-04-02 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120402135437/http://articles.courant.com/1994-09-16/features/9409210865_1_action-director-john-woo-movie-scripts |url-status= live }}</ref><ref name="numbers" />
| gross          = $102 million<ref name="numbers">{{Cite web |url= https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Timecop#tab=summary |title= Timecop (1994) |website= [[The Numbers (website)|The Numbers]] |access-date= March 9, 2022 |archive-date= November 25, 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20221125230905/https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Timecop#tab=summary |url-status= live }}</ref>
}}

'''''Timecop''''' is a 1994 American [[science fiction]] [[action film]] directed by [[Peter Hyams]] and co-written by [[Mike Richardson (publisher)|Mike Richardson]] and [[Mark Verheiden]]. Richardson also served as executive producer. The film is based on ''[[Timecop (comics)|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''.  It is the first installment in the [[Timecop (franchise)|''Timecop'' franchise]].

The film stars [[Jean-Claude Van Damme]] as Max Walker, a police officer in 1994, with [[time travel]] having been made possible, and later a [[United States|U.S.]] [[Federal government of the United States|federal]] agent in 2004. It also stars [[Ron Silver]] as corrupt senator Aaron McComb 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&nbsp;million barrier worldwide).  Although met with mixed reviews, it is generally regarded by critics as one of Van Damme's best films.

==Plot==
In 1863, in [[Gainesville, Georgia]], a time traveler armed with futuristic weapons slaughters five Confederate soldiers and steals their shipment of gold bullion.

In 1994, following the invention of time travel by Dr. Hans Kleindast, the U.S. Department of Justice funds the creation of the Time Enforcement Commission (TEC) to prevent alterations to the past. While users cannot travel to the future, as it has not yet occurred, they can change the past, creating ripples that reshape the present. Senator Aaron McComb volunteers to oversee the TEC, while police officer Eugene Matuzak is appointed its first commissioner. Police officer Max Walker is offered a TEC position, but before he can accept, he and his wife Melissa are attacked by unknown assailants. Walker is left for dead while Melissa is killed in an explosion.

By 2004, Walker, now a veteran TEC agent, travels to 1929 to arrest his former partner Lyle Atwood, who is using future knowledge to profit from the [[Wall Street Crash of 1929|stock market crash]]. Atwood confesses that he works for McComb, who has been secretly funding his failing presidential campaign through illicit time travel. Fearing McComb will erase his family from history, Atwood refuses to testify and is executed by the TEC. When McComb visits the TEC, Walker subtly implies his suspicions about him.

After surviving an ambush at his home by McComb’s henchmen, Walker is assigned a new partner, Sarah Fielding. They travel to 1994 to investigate a time disturbance and discover a younger McComb being bought out of a computer chip company by his partner Jack Parker. The 2004 McComb arrives to stop the deal, warning his younger self that the chip will soon be worth billions. He also cautions against physical contact, as the same matter cannot occupy the same space. McComb kills Parker, and Fielding betrays Walker, revealing she is working for McComb. In the ensuing shootout, McComb wounds Fielding and escapes to 2004.

Walker returns to a heavily altered 2004, where McComb is a wealthy presidential frontrunner and has shut down the TEC to eliminate interference. Walker convinces Matuzak—who is unaware of the timeline changes—that they were close friends. They deduce that McComb is using Kleindast’s original time travel prototype, and Matuzak helps Walker return to 1994 before being killed by McComb’s guards. McComb concludes that Walker must be erased from history before he ever joined the TEC.

In 1994, Walker finds a recovering Fielding at a hospital, and she agrees to testify against McComb. However, before he can secure her, she is murdered. While reviewing hospital records, Walker discovers that Melissa was pregnant when she was killed. Realizing this is the day of her murder, he tracks her down, reveals he is from the future, and convinces her to stop his younger self from leaving for work that night.

That evening, McComb's henchmen attack the younger Walker, but both Walkers and Melissa fight them off. The 2004 McComb arrives, takes Melissa hostage, and threatens Walker with a C4 explosive. Accepting that he will die in the blast, McComb is confident that without Walker's interference, his younger self will become president. However, Walker reveals that he has lured 1994 McComb to the house. He pushes the two McCombs together, causing them to merge into a writhing, screaming mass before disappearing from existence. Walker carries Melissa to safety before the house explodes, leaving her beside his unconscious younger self.

Back in 2004, Walker finds that Matuzak and Fielding are alive and that McComb disappeared in 1994, erasing his future crimes. Returning home, Walker discovers his house rebuilt and is reunited with Melissa and their young son.

==Cast==
{{Cast listing|
* [[Jean-Claude Van Damme]] as Agent Max Walker
* [[Mia Sara]] as Melissa Walker
* [[Ron Silver]] as Senator Aaron McComb
* [[Bruce McGill]] as Commander Eugene Matuzak
* [[Gloria Reuben]] as Agent Sarah Fielding
* [[Scott Bellis]] as Ricky
* Jason Schombing as Agent Lyle Atwood
* [[Scott Lawrence]] as George Spota
* [[Kenneth Welsh]] as Senator Utley
* [[Brad Loree]] as Reyes
* [[Kevin McNulty (actor)|Kevin McNulty]] as Jack Parker
* [[Gabrielle Rose (actress)|Gabrielle Rose]] as Judge Marshall
* [[Callum Keith Rennie]] as Stranger
* Steven Lambert as Lansing
* Richard Faraci as Cole
* [[Veena Sood]] as Nurse
}}

==Production==
[[Mike Richardson (publisher)|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.<ref name="CBR">{{cite web|url=http://www.cbr.com/adaptations-more-famous-than-original-comics/|title=15 Adaptations More Famous Than The Original Comics |last=Cohen|first=Jason|work=[[CBR.com]]|date=2017-04-20|access-date=2017-06-14}}</ref> 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.<ref name="CBR"/>

{{Blockquote|text=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.|author=Peter Hyams, Empire Magazine<ref>{{cite web|title=Directors Special: Peter Hyams Goes Film-By-Film|url=http://www.empireonline.com/features/peter-hyams-film-by-film/p7|website=Empire Magazine|date=24 July 2014|access-date=30 July 2014}}</ref>}}

==Music==
The musical score of ''Timecop'' was composed by [[Mark Isham]] and conducted by Ken Kugler.

===Soundtrack===
; Track listing
# "Time Cop" – 2:20
# "Melissa" – 2:41
# "Blow Up" – 2:12
# "Lasers and Tasers" – 4:23
# "Polaroid" – 6:10
# "Rooftop" – 6:16
# "C4" – 2:37
# "Rescue and Return" – 3:22

==Release==
===Home media===
''Timecop'' was first released on [[VHS]] on February 21, 1995, [[LaserDisc]] on February 28, 1995,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lddb.com/laserdisc/06204/42242/Timecop|title = LaserDisc Database - Timecop &#91;42242&#93;}}</ref> and later released on DVD on January 20, 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 [[Warner Home Video]] subsequently issued a Blu-ray of the film as a double feature with ''[[Bloodsport (film)|Bloodsport]]'' on September 14 that year. After [[Shout! Studios]] acquired distribution rights to all Largo titles, an [[Ultra HD Blu-ray|4K Ultra HD Blu-ray]] edition was released on April 29, 2025, featuring a new 4K remaster of the film.<ref>{{cite web |title=Timecop |url=https://shoutfactory.com/products/timecop |website=Shout! Factory |access-date=7 May 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

==Reception==
===Box office===
''Timecop'' was released in the U.S. and Canada on September 16, 1994, where it opened at [[List of 1994 box office number-one films in the United States|number one]] with a gross of $12,064,625 from 2,228 theaters, and a $5,415 average per theater gross.<ref>{{cite news |title= Weekend Box Office : An Arresting Opening for TimeCop |work= [[Los Angeles Times]] |date= 1994-09-20 |url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-09-20-ca-40950-story.html |access-date= 2012-06-13 |first= Elaine |last= Dutka |archive-date= 2013-12-18 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131218121224/http://articles.latimes.com/1994-09-20/entertainment/ca-40950_1_weekend-box-office |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=MOVIES |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=1994-09-26 |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-09-26-ca-43133-story.html |access-date=2010-08-31 |first=Beth |last=Kleid |archive-date=2012-11-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102041541/http://articles.latimes.com/1994-09-26/entertainment/ca-43133_1_quiz-show |url-status=live }}</ref> In its second week, it took the top spot again with $8,176,615.<ref>{{cite news|title= MOVIES 'Timecop' on Top: It's "Timecop" time again.|work= [[Los Angeles Times]]|date= 1994-09-26|url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-09-26-ca-43133-story.html|access-date= 2010-11-08|first= Beth|last= Kleid|archive-date= 2012-11-02|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121102041541/http://articles.latimes.com/1994-09-26/entertainment/ca-43133_1_quiz-show|url-status= live}}</ref> It finished its run with $54 million in the U.S. In other territories, it grossed about $75 million, for a total worldwide gross of $129 million.<ref name="numbers" /> This makes it Van Damme's highest-grossing film in which he played the leading role, and his third to make over $100 million overall worldwide (after [[ Double Impact ]] (1991) & [[Universal Soldier (1992 film)|''Universal Soldier'']]).

===Critical response===
Critics were mixed on ''Timecop'', citing its various plot holes and inconsistencies.<ref>{{cite news |title= A Giant Leap For Van Damme In 'Timecop' |work= [[Hartford Courant]] |url= https://www.courant.com/1994/09/16/a-giant-leap-for-van-damme-in-timecop/ |access-date= 2010-11-25 |archive-date= 2011-01-09 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110109083547/http://articles.courant.com/1994-09-16/features/9409210923_1_time-enforcement-commission-van-damme-s-max-walker-timecop |url-status= live }}</ref> {{Rotten Tomatoes prose|score=42|average=5.2|count=45|consensus=It's no Terminator, but for those willing to suspend disbelief and rational thought, ''Timecop'' provides limited sci-fi action rewards.|ref=|access-date={{RT data|access date}}}}<ref>{{Cite web|title=Timecop (1994)|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/timecop|language=en|access-date=2022-04-26|archive-date=2025-06-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250630154814/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/timecop|url-status=live}}</ref> {{Metacritic film prose|48|17|access-date=24 May 2025}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Timecop |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/timecop |website=[[Metacritic]] }}</ref> Audiences polled by [[CinemaScore]] gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.<ref name="CinemaScore">{{cite web |url=https://cinemascore.com/ |title=CinemaScore |work=cinemascore.com |access-date=2022-03-27}}</ref>

[[Roger Ebert]] called ''Timecop'' a low-rent ''Terminator''.<ref>{{cite news |date=1994-09-16 |author=Roger Ebert |author-link=Roger Ebert |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/timecop-1994 |title=Timecop |newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |publisher=RogerEbert.com |access-date=2022-02-09 |archive-date=2022-01-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128171624/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/timecop-1994 |url-status=live }}</ref> 

Richard Harrington of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' said, "For once, Van Damme's accent is easier to understand than the plot."<ref>{{cite news |title= "Timecop" reviewed by Richard Harrington |newspaper= [[The Washington Post]] |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/timecoprharrington_a0abcf.htm |access-date= 2021-10-12 |archive-date= 2017-12-03 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171203021325/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/timecoprharrington_a0abcf.htm |url-status= live }}</ref> 

David Richards of ''[[The New York Times]]'' disparaged Van Damme's acting and previous films but called ''Timecop'' "his classiest effort to date".<ref>{{cite news |title= FILM; Jean-Claude Van Damme, the, uh, Actor? |work= [[The New York Times]] |date= 1994-09-04 |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/04/movies/film-jean-claude-van-damme-the-uh-actor.html |access-date= 2010-08-08 |first= David |last= Richards |archive-date= 2011-04-30 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110430112951/http://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/04/movies/film-jean-claude-van-damme-the-uh-actor.html |url-status= live }}</ref>

The film made ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'''s "Underrated Films" list in November 2010, mostly because of Van Damme's acting.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Connolly |first=Kelly |title=12 Underrated Movie Gems |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |url=http://www.ew.com/gallery/12-underrated-movie-gems/439811_timecopljpg-0?iid=sr-link1 |url-status=dead |access-date=2010-11-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181101095429/https://ew.com/gallery/12-underrated-movie-gems/ |archive-date=2018-11-01}}</ref>

==Novelization==
In September 1994, a novelization of the film was written by author [[S. D. Perry|S.D. Perry]] and published by Penguin.<ref>{{cite web |title=Timecop by S.D. Perry |url=https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/timecop_steve-perry/1552807/item/1762517/?gclid=CjwKCAjwrNmWBhA4EiwAHbjEQCtglpUnKy7bDZnRl-fx6-WehTB8Bnex2vWHc4AsJsCyqBxV5T9itxoC1XwQAvD_BwE#idiq=1762517&edition=2163865 |website=Thriftbooks |access-date=19 July 2022}}</ref>

==Sequel and franchise==
{{main|Timecop (franchise)}}
The film was followed by a TV series [[Timecop (TV series)|of the same name]], running for nine episodes in 1997 on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]].<ref>{{cite news|title=ABC Invests $15 Million in 'Timecop'|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=1996-10-25|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-10-25-ca-57615-story.html|access-date=2010-08-31|first=Brian|last=Lowry|archive-date=2010-10-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101023084518/http://articles.latimes.com/1996-10-25/entertainment/ca-57615_1_abc-show|url-status=live}}</ref> It starred [[Ted King (actor)|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]].<ref>{{cite news|title= Timecop 2: The Berlin Decision|work= [[Cinefantastique]]|url= http://cinefantastiqueonline.com/2010/07/timecop-2-the-berlin-decision/|access-date= 2010-11-28|archive-date= 2016-05-01|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160501213302/http://cinefantastiqueonline.com/2010/07/timecop-2-the-berlin-decision/|url-status= live}}</ref> In 2010, [[Universal Pictures]] announced a remake of the film, to be written by Mark and [[Brian Gunn]], but it was never made.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2010/09/20/timecop-reboot-in-the-works-jean-claude-van-damme-wont-be-invited-back|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100921151048/http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2010/09/20/timecop-reboot-in-the-works-jean-claude-van-damme-wont-be-invited-back/|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 21, 2010|title='TimeCop' Reboot In The Works, Jean-Claude Van Damme 'Won't Be Invited Back'|first=Josh|last=Wigler}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/universal-plans-timecop-reboot-533478|title=Universal Plans 'Timecop' Reboot (Exclusive)|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=22 May 2013|access-date=6 January 2019|archive-date=6 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106153624/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/universal-plans-timecop-reboot-533478|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/timecop-reboot-snags-journey-2-694893|title='Timecop' Reboot Snags 'Journey 2' Writers (Exclusive)|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=2014-04-09|access-date=2014-04-09|archive-date=2014-04-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140411231922/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/timecop-reboot-snags-journey-2-694893|url-status=live}}</ref>

The film, which was originally based on a comic, was adapted into [[Timecop (comics)|a two-issue comic book series of the same name]]. A [[Timecop (video game)|game based on the movie]] was developed by [[Cryo Interactive]] and released on the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|SNES]] in [[1995 in video gaming|1995]].<ref>{{cite news|title= Timecop|work= [[MobyGames]]|url= http://www.mobygames.com/game/snes/timecop|access-date= 2010-11-28|archive-date= 2018-06-14|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180614050341/http://www.mobygames.com/game/snes/timecop|url-status= live}}</ref> Additionally, a series of tie-in novels by author [[Dan Parkinson (author)|Dan Parkinson]] published in 1997–1999 featured the Jack Logan character from the television series.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb title|0111438}}
* {{TCMDb title|93404}}
* {{Mojo title|timecop}}

{{Timecop}}
{{Dark Horse Comics films}}
{{Peter Hyams}}
{{Sam Raimi}}

[[Category:Timecop (franchise)]]
[[Category:1990s American films]]
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