TIMEBOMB (1991) – OVERLOOKED MICHAEL BIEHN MOVIE

TIMEBOMB (1991) – With Alien: Earth being streamed in recent weeks, it has brought with it the usual remarks from Alien franchise fans about what a raw deal Michael Biehn got when his character Corporal Hicks was killed off with Newt in between films.

And THAT put me in mind of Biehn’s virtually forgotten action/ sci-fi film Timebomb from 1991. While very good it’s not a classic and it does incorporate a lot of elements that had already been done better in movies like Total Recall and in future flicks like The Bourne Identity.

Still, though, it’s a valentine for fans who miss R-rated 1980s action movies and features Michael in his prime, once again portraying an appealing hero up against forces that seem beyond human ability to overcome. Plus, he and his costar Patsy Kensit started a relationship while filming Timebomb if you’re interested in such things.

Let’s get into the story. Mild-mannered watchmaker Eddy Kay (Biehn) one day comes across a burning building in which a woman and her baby are trapped. Acting on pure instinct, Eddy surprises himself with the physical abilities he displays in rescuing the mother and infant.

The media labels Kay “Hero of the Week”, which has the unfortunate result of bringing him to the attention of CIA scumbags who thought Biehn had been killed on his last mission for them a few years earlier. Realizing there’s a small chance that Eddy Kay remembers enough about his assignments to be dangerous to the bad guys, head villain Taylor (Richard Jordan) decides to take no chances and simply have Kay eliminated.

Eddy himself has been plagued by violent and erotic dreams and nightmares since his spontaneous heroics the other night and has sought help from psychiatrist Anna Nolmar (Kensit). Soon, assassins sent by Taylor and backup villain Phillips (Robert Culp) start pouring out of the woodwork, but Eddy’s latent skills resurface and he takes them all down.

Taylor and company fear that Kay may have already told Dr. Nolmar too much, so they want her dead as well. The callousness of the villains when it comes to collateral damage in the form of innocent bystanders helps a viewer hate them.

SPOILERS!

As our fugitive hero and heroine dig deeper, they eventually learn the truth. Eddy Kay was one of many innocent people that the CIA used as guinea pigs over the years, employing VERY advanced technology to program them with cover personalities and false memories. The better to go undercover until activated, at which point they’d use their CIA-provided training to wipe out their targets.

The process involves invasive treatments to the unwilling participants in technological “coffins”, as seen on the DVD cover and trailers. During Kay’s most recent mission he seemed to get killed amid the destruction unleashed but actually survived – albeit amnesiac – and muddled along in mundane pursuits.

After a series of intense action set pieces that make you miss 80s and early 90s movies, Eddy and Anna shut down the entire project, so no more innocent abductees will be unknowingly turned into assassins. Taylor and his colleagues get theirs. 

Director and writer Avi Nesher successfully holds things together and at times shows the kind of visual style that one associates with Michael Mann. Tracey Scoggins is along for the ride as a female agent hunting Eddy Kay, and Billy Blanks is also in the cast.

In my opinion Timebomb is very good and would certainly please fans of balls-to-the-wall action, sci-fi weirdness and of the underappreciated Michael Biehn.