Today’s review on Something Blu will cover Warner Bros. release of the surprisingly good sci-fi actioner Timecop, which starred Jean-Claude Van Damme in the title role.

The mid 90s was a prosperous time for Hollywood. CGI was getting better by the day, budgets were getting bigger (I’m looking at you True Lies) and borders were being broken. While not his first Western rodeo, JCVD provides one of his best performances in this film as Agent Walker, an officer enforcing security and order in time travel. The first 10 minutes are an exquisite setup for the rest of the film, laying down the motives and giving an essential insight into JCVD’s character. From there on the brakes aren’t touched, as a routine retrieval of an individual uncovers a sinister plot involving a brash senator who, you guessed it, doesn’t like time travel but seems to have all the money and power to take him to the presidency of the US out of nowhere. What follows is now a rather cliché backbone but there are a tasty amount of twists and turns in there to keep the film a foot ahead of the rest that have attempted the same formula. Plus JCVD has a mullet. The supporting cast is great, with the late Ron Silver giving a comfortably sinister performance while Mia Sara gives a solid performance as Walker’s wife. Peter Hyams holds the director’s chair in his first collaboration with JCVD and his trademark natural light and atmospheric blacks style of cinematography compliments the film perfectly well. While the CGI won’t blow your socks off nowadays, for the time it was a solid and progressive showing, but now has a dated but quaint charm. And don’t worry: JCVD brings out the good old splits;

multiple times…

Blu-Ray – Packaging

Front

Warner Bros. have gone for a relatively safe option with Timecop’s cover, using the film’s recognisable poster artwork for the cover. A solid showing, nothing more, nothing less.

Back

Going for a rather uniform approach, Warner Bros. have elected to go for a rather uninspired black background, with a handfull of stills, the customary synopsis and Cast and Crew list, and rather interestingly, a critic quotation. The bottom portion of the cover is standard fare, providing the technical notes and necessary logos as well as the BBFC rating and running time. A safe but lacking rear.

Blu-Ray – Video

Travelling onto the screen with a 1080p VC-1 encode in the 2.4:1 aspect ratio, Timecop provides a slightly over-sharpened but pleasant viewing. Black levels are necessarily inky and true, colours while lacking precise punch are solid, and while the grain is slightly compromised by the application of some sharpening, is still present and legible. Detail across the board is delightfully strong and there isn’t a soft spot in sight. Some specks and spots blip up but are easily missed, and there isn’t any print damage or serious blemishes of note. Much like the film, a strong and surprisingly above average showing.

Blu-Ray – Audio

This release is in receipt of a meaty 5.1 mix encoded in the DTS-HD Master Audio format. Bass packs the necessary punches, directional activity is tasty but definitely a product of the 90’s, lacking outright precision. Dialogue and sound effects are clean and perfectly audible. An all round solid track. Subtitles are present in a nice range of languages and a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix in German is also present, indicating this disc will probably also be pressed for the German market.

Blu-Ray – Special Features

Seemingly lost in the time travel fabric, this release is devoid of extras. Not even a trailer.

Blu-Ray – Additionals

This disc is region-free and runs at an uncut 98mins.

Conclusion

While not topping anyone’s greatest sci-fi lists, Timecop is a perfectly enjoyable time travel romp with a career high performance from Van Damme and a commendable showing from his compatriots. The release is perfectly fine from a technical standpoint but could have done with some extras. Nonetheless Warner Bros. release of Timecop comes with a Strong Recommendation.

– Matt.