Rating: Summary: Nice script, but bad ending.... Review: I read the reviews on this site and thought that I'd go rent the video. This one is definitely more "Sci-Fi" than TimeCop 1. This movie needed a little more background on the changes that occured, like "the war" which was not really explained until the ending text which said that it was a "US/China war"....Anyway, it shows that even if you went back in time to change major events in history that things don't necessarily become better. (for an example, see Butterfly Effect)... I thought that it was a very good movie, but the ending seemed like it had to be rushed. All of the information they give us about what will happen to all the characters just ruined it for me. If they took this screenplay and exchanged it for the one written for TimeCop 1, they would've had a much better TimeCop 1 movie. The screenplay was very interesting, but the direction was far from being as good. There were a few things that were done that didn't seem to have an impact on anything until the ending text at the end of the movie. They should've incorporated some of that into the movie and made it about 100 minutes instead of 80. The movie could've used that extra bit of time. To summarize, this movie explored things that I wished they did in TimeCop 1 (like if a TimeCop ran into the "same-matter-same-space" problem and had his existance erased including all his arrests, the following another person into the time wake, etc.) Very cool stuff, but this movie should've been directed by someone like Adam Nimoy who could've given it the direction it deserved.
Rating: Summary: Better than I had expected! Review: Okay, I decided on this movie after a bit of apprehension. I mean, the only reasons I even considered watching it was because: 1. Jason Scott Lee is from Hawaii (like me) 2. We both went to the same high school (really!) 3. I always try to support Asian American actors, even if they don't usually get good roles.
So, with that in mind, I really wasn't expecting much. In fact, I thought it would be worse than the Van Damme original, which, although one of his better movies, was still a waste of a couple of hours of my life. I mean, straight to DVD sequel could never match a big-budget Hollywood movie, right? Well, I'm glad to say I was wrong. This is actually a pretty darned decent movie--better than the original, that's for sure.
Thomas Ian Griffith and Jason Scott Lee are both great. Their roles are complex, as there is a lot of grey area in terms of their being good and evil, but I thought they handled it well. Unfortunately, I still had some trouble seeing JSL as anything other than Bruce Lee in "Dragon," which wasn't helped by his fight scenes, where he still looks like the Dragon.
Special effects were your typical Sci-Fi Channel stuff, nothing to write home about. Costumes and sets seemed a bit forced in period scenes, so it didn't come across as very natural, but, hey, like I said, Sci-Fi Channel stuff. In general, the acting was very good, all things considered, with only a few actors coming up lame (see Tava Smiley who is hot, but couldn't act her way out of a paper bag).
The action sequences were kind of forced into the script (some of it didn't seem terribly necessary), but when it happens, JSL and TIG are great. And while JSL is great in his fight scenes, it was kind of sad to think that he'll be relegated to these kinds of roles because of his ethnicity. And while he does need some range to pull off this role, not much acting is required, and he is a better actor than this movie allows him to be. TIG, of course, is a wonderful villain...now if you could only get his role from "The Karate Kid" out of your head...
I actually enjoyed the story, as I like time travel movies, and while it can be bewildering figuring out what's going on as the characters jump back and forth in time, the main idea of the movie--If we could go back in time, should we be/are we morally obligated to right the wrongs of the past?--comes through.
If you're going to watch this expecting a Hollywood summer blockbuster movie, you will be sorely disappointed. If you love the Sci-Fi Channel, like I do, and want to watch a grade "A" b-movie, this is it! The cast is great, the story interesting and the action entertaining. Adjusted for the kind of movie it is (straight to DVD), I give it a solid four stars. A pleasant surprise and one of the best direct to video movies I've ever seen.
Rating: Summary: "So, if it is possible to change historic events, we should? Review: That is the central question that TIMECOP 2:THE BERLIN DECISION asks. Like the first TIMECOP, which starred martial arts king Jean-Claude Van Damme, This film takes place in the future where the technology for time-travel has been developed, but is kept top secret, since some people might be tempted to travel into the past and change past events. But since tampering with past events can have disasterous ramifications on events to come, the government has created the TEC, an agency of elite "Timecops" assigned to protect the historical accuracy of the past.
The first TIMECOP took place in the year 2004 (!), but since it was released in 1994, that was the future then (all time-travelers better watch out, because now the TEC is out there.)
TIMECOP 2:THE BERLIN DECISION tkes place in the year 2025, and deals with the conflict between timecops Ryan Chang (Jason Scott Lee, of DRAGON:THE BRUCE LEE STORY) and Brandon Miller (Thomas Ian Griffith).
Their conflict is spurred by Miller's desire to "right the wrongs of the past". He feels that since we can now travel into the past, we should undo whatever wrongs were done. Chang is a more devout timecop, who feels that while the tragedies of the past are indeed awful, what's done is done and should be left at that.
TIMECOP 2 opens with Chang thwarting Miller's attempt to assasinate Adolf Hitlerin 1940; Chang was, however, forced to kill Miller's wife Sasha (Tricia Barry). now it's personal, and Griffith is out for vengence on Chang the entire TEC.
Anyone in search of bitchin' Martial arts has come to the right place. Anyone who every once played Bruce Lee is perfect for a martial arts role, and Jason Scott Lee kicks ass everywhere from a prison riot to 1940's Germany. (By the way, it was quite an extensive search to find the rigth guy to play Bruce Lee in DRAGON:THE BRUCE LEE STORY; the role was offered to everyone from Mark Dacascos to Bruce's own son, Brandon!)
So, if liked the original TIMECOP, just put that stupid XXX down, and pop TIMECOP 2:THE BERLIN DECISION into your DVD.
Rating: Summary: the movie rocks Review: this movie really really rocks. since i love the action scenes from this movie.
Rating: Summary: rocks Review: this movie was alot more better than the first timecop movie. even though this one is only straight video.
Rating: Summary: Should not have had the same title as original Review: When I heard that Timecop had a sequl coming out I couldnt wait to see it. Then I found out it wasnt John Claude Vanne Damme.
Why bother making a sequl with no returning cast members? Especially the star. Vanne Damme is replaced by Jason Scott Lee (Jungle book) as the hero who travels through time to prposly change things around here and there. I saw reveiwa that this was a movie for sci fi geeks to enjoy. I didnt see much on the sci fi side apart from time travel, but it makes me wonder why they didnt just name it something else and make a seperate movie instead of calling it a second installment to a great movie.
Rating: Summary: EVEN THOMAS IAN GRIFFITH CAN'T SAVE THIS DISASTER Review: When I read that Timecop 2 was about Thomas Ian Griffith going back in time to kill Hitler I thought it was going to be the greatest straight-to-video movie ever. Sadly, this brilliant idea is downplayed and utterly wasted in this pointless and nonsensical sequel which features more paradoxes and plot holes than you can shake a stick at. None of this movie makes any sense if you care to spend more than one second considering the implications of many scenes. If you like ...movies that feature music video style direction and power chord guitar soundtracks during the fight sequences then by all means buy this film. Otherwise stay far, far away from this boring and low-budget waste of time.
|