Great Film overall

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Traveling back from the year 2025, maverick timecop Jason Scott Lee (as Ryan Chan) manipulates the assassination of Adolf Hitler. Nice going, but wait. As any time traveler knows, changing history isn't always a good thing, because altering events inevitably leads to unexpectedly more dire consequences - that is, if the past can be altered at all, and herein it is possible. So, time thief Thomas Ian Griffith (as Brandon Miller) decides to attack the timecops by preventing their lineages, thus taking control of time. People in the future disappear and others are altered as Mr. Lee tries to catch Mr. Miller in the time-stream. And it gets personal. Good story, but it breaks its own rules and doesn't fit martial arts in very logically.**** Timecop 2/ The Berlin Decision (9/30/03) Stephen Boyum ~ Jason Scott Lee, Thomas Ian Griffith, Mary Page Keller, John Beck

I expected to see a sequel to this, Jean Claude Van Damme's best movie, years ago. When I saw the box to this video, I was suspicious at first. Now I recommend it to everyone who enjoyed the original. "Time Cop 2" is just as good. The story is even better.Jason Scott Lee, who's been absent for some time now, plays Ryan Chan, a time cop who takes his job seriously when he's not flirting with the TEC female doctor. While chasing down a time criminal in WWII Germany, one of his fellow operatives, Miller (Thomas Ian Griffith) sees an opportunity to kill Hitler. Mindful of the ramifications of altering the past, Chan stops Miller. Miller's wife , another operative is killed during the melee. Insane with grief, Miller turns renegede and is intent on wiping out Chan's existence by time jumping and killing his ancestors.The production value is excellent for a straight-to-video release and the fight action scenes are well-done (Lee and Griffith are well-trained martial artists who have a few genre movies under their belts).

First, before watching this movie you should be aware that it is "about" time travel...therefore there is bound to be some inconsistencies and paradox problems; and yes...the film does "bump" into some of these rather clumsily. If you are a movie viewer that demands perfect logic and continuity or a real "time travel" buff you will have to "let it go" for this film. Yes, this movie is ABOUT "time travel" but it is NOT a time travel movie (it is an "Action" movie). Secondly; this is a sequel, and thefore presumes some previous knowledge of the basic premise; what a "timecop's" purpose is and some of the primary "paradox" problems as to what would happen (to the present / future) if you changed the past. I can say that this movie does try to follow most of the "rules" of time travel; as outlined in the "Star Trek" TV shows (a well known "standard" in science fiction circles). The movie starts out posing the question; "should Hitler be assassinated" before he has time to put events into motion & "what would then happen if he was?". The viewer gets to see what happens when someone wants to try; and the Timecops have to stop it from happening (or DO they?). Viewers may also want to know that the "Timecop" story, about cops that monitor consistency & prevent history from being altered; was a comic book before it was a movie. True; "time travel" movies must address such issues in a consistent & believable manner and in this regard the movie is somewhat disappointing. However as an "action" movie (that makes you "think") it generally succeeds.In my opinion it is far better than the first "Timecop" movie starring Jean-Claude Van Damme (1994). Given the comic book / Van Damme history; the target audience for this movie is going to be action / martial art movie fans. Jason Scott Lee (as hotshot Timecop Ryan Chan) does very well given the script & direction. Viewers may need to remind themselves that Lee is NOT related to Bruce Lee although he did play him in the movie "Dragon, the Bruce Lee Story" (1993). For that movie Lee was trained in Bruce Lee's "Jeet Kune Do" style of martial arts. So not only does he physically look like Bruce Lee, he also fights using the same "moves". Seeing this, I believe the director recognized that he would be unable to avoid the reference; so he "uses" it consciously. In one fight scene there is deliberate homage paid to Bruce Lee. Timecop Ryan Chan (after getting hit in a fight) gets "really mad" and takes off his shirt; flexing his muscles in the famous "Enter the Dragon" style. When you see this scene you will know why Jason Lee was picked to play Bruce in "The Dragon",..., and why the director (and likely the actor) must accept & work with the inevitable references. For martial arts fans there are some fairly good (albeit short)examples of "Jeet Kune Do" style hand-work,trapping, and a couple of Jeet Kune Do style limb traps / breaks. The martial arts kicks are all "movie" style & less than crisp. Thomas Ian Griffith is quite good in the supporting role (even in the fight scenes); however the movie watcher doesn't really see his character's motivation until the end of the movie. The movie's script is what you would expect given the "Timecop" movie history & story genre (somewhat in the "comic-book" style); although I have the impression that Lee did quite a good job fleshing out his lines. Overall, the movie gets a bit muddled because of all the different time periods involved (the "period" costumes are made necessary, however, to separate and enforce the different time lines)and it is possible that the editing contributes to the confusion. Many of the fight scenes appear to be chopped or cut short (while the special effects scenes, although not over-done, are a tad long). I imagine the editor of this movie had a hard time keeping a cohesive story line and "flow" given the topic(s). There are a lot of things going on in this movie all at once; the good guy "chasing" the bad guy through different time periods, shifting realities due to the changing of past events, and even characters changing or existing / not existing depending on which "reality" you are watching. Not only does the bad guy want to kill Lee's character, he also has the option of going back to almost any time period and kill his parents, thus ending the Hero's family line. If that is possible then, can the Timecop kill the bad guy given what has already happened? You'll have to watch! In a similar movie's plot line, "Jet Li's - The One" (2001 - one of my favorite time-travel movies) these issues and paradox' are better addressed (however I had to watch that movie 4 or 5 times to understand all the nuances). Although you probably won't want to watch "Timecop: The Berlin Decision" again and again; if you liked "Jet Li's - The One" you will probably enjoy this movie as well.

I loved Jason Scott Lee in this picture. The passion that he puts into his role is commendable. I loved the story and the moral conflicts that the main characters go through in being Time Cops. It was a pretty good role for the antagonist in this movie, too. The movie contained one of the longest epilogues I have ever seen, but they kept it entertaining so I didn't mind. Another really cool thing I personally loved is his use of Jeet Kun Do (Bruce Lee's fighting style). He used it in the movie Dragon and did so well with it. For those that know a little about his fighting style, and even for those who don't, it is pretty awesome to watch. In a future movie, I would love to see the characters spend more time with a particular historical event (They were in Berlin for a total of maybe 7 minutes in the beginning of the film). I would love to see another Time Cop movie, but only if Jason Scott Lee plays in it again! It's a Tivo keeper ;)