Timecop - Jean Claude's finest (but that's not saying much!)

The rumourmill has it that Jean Claude Van-Damme was looking for 'that film' - the one like 'Terminator' was for Schwarzenegger and 'Rambo' was for Stallone.  JCVD saw 'Timecop' as the 'vehicle' that would propel him out of 'B-movie-action-star' to legitimate A-list action megastar.  I think it's not really a 'spoiler' to say that it didn't really work out that way for him.

However, just because 'Timecop' never really set the Box Office alight and made the 'Muscles From Brussels' the household name he was hoping for, doesn't mean it was that bad.  In fact, it's probably his best work up until that time!  Previously, he'd really been utilised as a leading man who could just about speak English, but was damn filmable when it came to kicking bad-guys.  Here, he wanted to add a bit of 'depth' to his range and try to 'act' as well as just kick people in the face.  And, like I said, it sort of worked.

He plays the titular 'Timecop' - part of an elite division who patrols time to prevent criminals from exploiting time travel for financial gain.  Of course, there's corruption, double-crossing and murders that can now be averted thanks to a trip to yesteryear (and it still leaves time for him to do the splits!).  The special effects are good (for their time), but apart from the action sequences (which are nothing that out of the ordinary) are limited to just the screen stretching whenever someone goes through time.  And, despite the premise desperately trying to be A-list, the scrip probably could have been done with a little extra work and most dialogue is a little stilted and predictable.  Therefore, it does still feel like just another Van-Damme B-movie, only with a few nice special effects and a sci-fi spin.

But, if you're a fan of Van-Damme and his punchy-kicky B-movies of the eighties and nineties (and, seeing as he did become quite famous doing this, there's plenty of us out there who appreciate his 'art') then 'Timecop' should tick all the boxes you're looking for.  It's not 'high art;' it's not even an A-list film, but it is a fun enough little romp if you're in the mood for some mindless action and a few cheesy puns whenever a bad-guy is despatched.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that