Bullet Points: TC 2000

It’s another futuristic movie and guess what, it’s another shitty outlook for humanity. This time I decided to check out a movie from the recent past; the year 1993. Although we were just a handful of years from Y2K and a new millennia, filmmakers and screen writers were still writing about the same future that we had been seeing for years. Yes, TC 2000 has a few differences from movies like Mad Max and The Terminator but all of the directors agreed that the future was going to be bleak as hell.

One part Equilibrium

One part Demolition Man

Add Billy Blanks

Mix

That my friends, is one delicious drink. I think I’ll call it TC 2000.

Synopsis: Somewhere in the future the environmental overkill had come. Many people had died. The rich were able to build the underworld, the poor had to stay on the surface building gangs to survive. Jason Storm, an underworld guard gets knowledge of a conspiracy to kill all people on the surface. He needs to flee to the surface, and wins Sumai, a respected martial arts master, as his ally to stop the dirty plot. (via imdb)

• Dual Purpose Uniforms: The elite security units that Billy Blanks is a part of wear welding helmets while riding their super sweet motorcycles complete with sidecars. Because, you just never know what you’re going to have to do next.
• Overachiever: This scientist guy who ultimately is doing some dastardly shit was a cybernetics professor who then left to go to med school at 14. Now he’s a scientist of some kind and I’m really confused. He must have some outrageous student loan debt!
• Give me all your awards: In what has to be one of the most kickass scenes in film history, Bolo Yueng and his incredible hairline uses his chi to punch through a guy and without hurting him knock the dude who was hiding behind him backwards about 20 feet.
• Who’s in Charge Here?: Bobbie Phillips’ character is said to be a rookie officer but she orders everyone, including Billy Blanks, around like she’s in charge. Did the environment woes of the future destroy all semblance of a chain of command? Edit: Apparently they’ve been partners for 10 years. What the hell is going on?
• Security: The security in the underground area is so bad that it is breached by half of a dozen surface dwellers who look like bad The Warriors cosplayers.
• Wrestling Fans: The fight choreographers of TC 2000 must have been big pro wrestling fans. Many of the fight scenes have wrestling moves in them that were popular at the time and at one point Bolo Yeung fights a guy who looks like The Big Show but is dressed exactly like one of the guys from Demolition.

• A Close Second: After Billy Blanks’ character, Jason Storm, finds out that there is a mole within their organization, the bad guys do what they’re supposed to do and send a bunch of inept men to kill him in his home. What happened next was amazing. As they’re kicking down the door, Storm begins to throw some clothes on before he makes his escape. That isn’t extraordinary in itself, but what he puts on is what I enjoyed the most. Because of his delicate feet, Storm first puts on a pair of tube socks. We don’t see him throw his pants on but they’re there when he slips on his trademark boots. Then, as if his purpose was to moisten every pair of panties in the audience, Storm puts on a midriff-exposing mesh tanktop. Some might say that it’s a little too much but you have to remember that this movie takes place in the future and those people are just jealous that they can’t pull off that kind of look.
• Montage Mania: There are so many ways to have a good montage. For my money, Rocky 4 has the best montages in the history of cinema, but I’ve always been partial to the opening kata scene from The Perfect Weapon. Well, TC 2000 mixes a little of both. It has a kata/training montage scene featuring Billy Blanks and Bolo Yeung. How great is that?

• The Action: This movie has three legit actors who have been action gold for years; Billy Blanks, Bolo Yeung, and Matthias Hues. The great thing about this movie is that it gives us plenty of opportunities to see each of them kicking ass. Some might say it gives us too many opportunities. A few of the fight scenes go a little long, I must say. None of the ones featuring two of the three stars, but a couple of the scenes where Billy beats up 48 year old men lasted far longer than they should have. I don’t know how old Bolo was at this point but he still looks pretty darn good. The main bad guy and his army of middle-aged brawlers is pretty disappointing but if you’re looking for B-movie fighting then this is your flick.
• Chi Punch 2.0: Much like we saw earlier in the film, Bolo Yeung is able to channel his chi through shit like some Bill Cosby Ghost Dad. It isn’t always useful but every once in a while….

You may not be 20% cyborg but that doesn’t mean you can’t read these bonus Bullet Points.

• Bolo Yeung needs to trim his finger nails. He straight up mauls a guy at the end with his Tiger Claw Style.
• You always know that the final showdown is about to happen when the hero ditches his shirt and reveals his glistening pecs.
• The end credit sequence is fantastic!