The year also saw Batman Returns, which was filled to the brim with inspired Tim Burton visuals. Trespass was an underrated, rock solid Walter Hill joint and Robert Rodriguez’s micro budget delight, El Mariachi broke open a number of doors for the Mexican auteur. The boys were back in town too with Lethal Weapon 3 sort of watering down the franchise at this point, even if it retains much of the charms associated with the first two. There was also a heady double dose of cyberpunk-infused action with Albert Pyun’s Nemesis (a breakout for Olivier Gruner which he could never quite capitalise on) and Split Second (set in a dystopian and flood sodden London, with Rutger Hauer in fine fettle).
For Van Damme it triggered a run of bigger budget pictures (with TimeCop also proving a huge hit two years later), whilst Lundgren’s star power would begin to fade, with a disappointing run of misfiring (albeit interesting) films. It proved a jump in box office levels for Van Damme, whilst Lundgren stole the show as the villain.
The subsequent box office results saw Seagal’s status soar.Įlsewhere there was a two for one titan special, as Jean-Claude Van Damme faced off with Dolph Lundgren in Universal Soldier. It was a perfect star vehicle for Seagal and he got to play the straight man to the scenery chomping theatrics of Gary Busey and Tommy Lee Jones (a year prior to reteaming with Andrew Davis, and winning an Oscar for The Fugitive). Wesley Snipes took to the skies, battling a slitheringly villainous Bruce Payne in Passenger 57, a blitzing and brief sub-90 minute Die Hard riff which was the first film to really showcase Snipes as a potential action man and allow him to unleash his martial arts skills.Įlsewhere, Steven Seagal’s successful run of moralistic cop action thrillers was interrupted by a big-budget, star-powered ‘ Die Hard on a Boat with Erika Eleniak in Cake’ opus in Under Siege. It was a significant year for several rising action stars looking to take the leap up to the heels of Sly and Arnold, as well as becoming a breakout for one such upstart. So beginning with all things kicking, punching and exploding, the action landscape was impressive. The less said about Sly’s Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot, the better, although I hold my hands up to admit, it’s a very (very) guilty pleasure. It’s a year of great works, diverse films, somewhat short on sequels (outside of horror, littered with them), as well as a hive of classic action cinema.Īction really is the order of the day here, ironically in a year devoid of standout Sylvester Stallone or Arnold Schwarzenegger hits. As I thrust my time machine forward a decade, I wandered the cinematic landscape to discover that 1992, which is now, depressingly, 30 years ago, pushes 1982 pretty damn close. In my retrospective delve into the year of 1982, I boldly claimed that it might have been the greatest year of film ever.
Timecop jean claude van damme full#
Tom Jolliffe ventures back 30 years to 1992, a year full of breakouts, action spectacle, iconic soundtracks and more…
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