Timecop

Time travel has always been one of those concepts to grab people's imaginations. I doubt that there's anyone who doesn't have at least one moment of their lives that they'd like to go back and do differently. Unfortunately, when you bring the concepts of causality into the picture, time travel gets really ugly - if you go back in time and, say, went left instead of right, then who's to say what may turn out differently due to that seemingly insignificant action. So, if time travel were possible, it would need to be heavily policed to ensure that history remains the way it should be. Enter the T.E.C. - the Time Enforcement Commission.

Their job is to maintain history by policing time against those who would change things for their own benefit. But, when the man you're trying to bring to justice is the Senator in charge of your funding, things can get a little tough.

This is a good looking transfer, presented in 2.35:1, with no sign of artifacting. Colour and detail are spot on and the visual effect of time travel is as good, or better, than I remember seeing on the big screen. Shadow detail was good, with plenty of opportunity to check, given the spartan facilities of the TEC.

I think I may be spoiled by recent films like The Matrix and Starship Troopers where the film-makers have gone out of their way to create scenes and sequences that will give your rear speakers a run for your money. When I see a DVD that says it's presented in 5.1 I expect to hear sound originate behind me, and when I can't recall if this occurred or not, it can be a little disappointing.

Timecop makes good use of the front sound-stage, but the only use of the rears that I can remember, was the sound of rain and thunder. Dialogue is clear, with no synching issues. If you haven't done so already, get yourself a sub-woofer to watch this movie - the time travel effects generate a wonderful sustained rumble that you feel more than hear. After the first couple of times, you can tell when someone is arriving just by the rumble of your seat, even before you see anything on screen.

Weel, we get the "standard" bunch of extra features on this disc:

• US Theatrical Trailer presented in 1.85:1. I'd never seen the trailer before, and was a little confused when it started up. All becomes clear, however, and afterwards, you'll smile at the cleverness behind it's opening.
• Cast & Crew Bios and Filmographies of the prinicipal cast plus the Director.
• Production notes - Several pages of text giving the background of the film's creation and comments from some of the technical crew. Production notes provided on other discs could get a lesson from this one on how it should be done properly.

Put simply, I like this film. To categorise it, I'd tend to put it more in the Sci-Fi section, than action, as the time travel concept plays a major role in how the story works, while the action sequences are there simply to add spice and liven things up. Jean-Claude does a great job, and Ron Silver is the perfect villain.

This is a high-quality transfer of an entertaining film. Just make sure you don't get into arguments on the physics of time travel and causality. :)