Demolition Man

Rating:
Summary: "This is the future. Where are all the phaser guns?"
Review: God, has it been 10 years already since this movie came out? I still remember renting it when it was first available on video and watching it about three times before I returned it to the store. It wasn't necessarily excellent for me, but the action and humor was what kept me coming back. That and Wesley Snipes. And it's very nice to see how well it's help up after all this time.

Basically every other reviewer has written a plot, so I won't bother. What I will say is that it's almost shocking to see an action movie (starring Sly, no less) with such a great and intelligent script. Yes, I said intelligent. You know those movies where the basic premise is so intriguing, but the outcome is anything but? Well, Demolition Man takes full advantage of it's admittedly silly set-up. How are two maniacs from the 20th century going to respond to an almost too-good-to-be-true Utopian society in 2036? Simple: with explosives, guns and plenty of naughty words. Whenever something isn't blowing up in this movie, we're treated to some very comical situations. Citations are given for bad language, Taco Bell is the only restaurant in San Angeles, three seashells have replaced toilet paper, the only "oldies" you'll find on the radio are commercial jingles, police are just as clueless as the next civilian on how to handle criminals and the list pretty much goes on and on. The humor is the bulk of why I like this movie so much, but the action is also pretty good.

Stallone is given kudos for being able to keep a straight face throughout such ludicrous situations, and Sandra Bullock makes for a cute sidekick/love interest, but it's Wesley Snipes who steals the movie as psychopath Simon Phoenix. Sporting bleach blonde hair and funky looking eyes, he's great fun to watch. It's amazing how underrated this guy is; I don't think people realize just how good Snipes actually can be until they really sit down to think about it. Would the Blade films be as much fun if someone else were cast in the title role? Would New Jack City have been watchable without him? I don't think so.

The DVD is okay; anamorphic widescreen, 5.1 surround and all that, but the features are typically slim for an early Warner release. I suppose a 10th anniversary edition is now out of the question; ah, well. At least we get a director's commentary and the film does look great.

Great price, so highly recommended. Pick it up and take that 10 year trip to the past to visit 30 years into the future.

Rating:
Summary: Very good.
Review: This movie is a sort of RoboCop 3 comic adventure. John Spartan, a soldier of our time, was arrested because he was accused responsible for the lives lost in a building that exploded. A new method of imprisonment was found and he was put in it. He was encased in ice. His enemy Simon Pheonix is too imprisoned, and years later, Pheonix escapes and reeks havoc in the futuristic la-la land Los Angeles. The only person capable of beating him is Spartan because in the future there are no guns except in museums.
This is a humorous, action packed but somewhat light-hearted action/adventure. Stallone and Snipes play awsome enemies against each other. This film is rated R for uh...uh...good question. The content is so limited. I guess there's some very mild language, gunplay and somewhat intense sexual content. Why not PG-13 at least?

Rating:
Summary: Joel Silver should be shown the door by Warner Brothers...
Review: Silver is in charge of several DC film projects at Warner Brothers. One would wish that they would find someone more qualified and more serious about doing them, because Silver's production style is doing everything in a fast manner. Treat it like a mainstream film even if the story material is not mainstream. Work with a streamline budget, do over-kill with everything in the movie including terrible music score/production design/and terrible choice of casting. Then get it to theaters, only so that the public can see what a terrible picture it really is. This was the case with this movie. Showing the ever decline of Sly's acting career and working with a non-existent script, they were better off just releasing it on home video. Warners, wake up and smell the bad coffee.

Rating:
Summary: My own comments on Demolition Man
Review: This is a good movie that I keep watching. I liked the
society where they ban smoking cigarettes. I can't stand it when other people are smokers. That would be interesting to have comics on people like Denis Leary's character or any of the cops not shown who pursue Simon Phoenix in a city wide manhunt. I have seen this movie a countless number of times. Especially there it is illegal to crack gum. Now that's rude and annoying. It's even illegal to chew gum in this society. One thing is that they never showed Sylvester Stallone vs. Jesse "The Body" Ventura just like we saw Arnold Schwarzenegger take on Jesse Ventura in the Running Man. They should have prequel and sequel books and comics.

Rating:
Summary: Great Comic Adventure
Review: This is one of the best action comedies ever produced. It features an all-star cast, with detective John Spartan played by Sylvester Stallone, his arch enemy Simon Phoenix is portrayed by Wesley Snipes, Stallone's love interest (the lovely Lenina Huxley) of course is played by Sandra Bullock, and if you look closely enough you'll even see Jesse "The Body" Ventura running around as a cryocon.

Stallone plays a detective from 1996 known affectionately as the "Demolition Man", who finally puts away Snipes after years of work. Phoenix has the last laugh though, and Spartan is locked away as well for a crime he never committed. 36 years later, Phoenix escapes from cryoprison and John Spartan is thawed out to reluctantly attempt to reapprehend his old foe.

This movie is packed with the great action scenes you expect to see from Stallone and Snipes, but what really sells it is the comedy. The movie never takes itself too seriously, and scenes like Simon Phoenix in the museum or the information booth, and John Spartan putting the moves on Lenina Huxley get laughs that would make Adam Sandler green. "Demolition Man" is just great entertainment as well as an old personal favorite, and it's obvious that the cast had a blast making it.

Rating:
Summary: "The Time Machine" Revisited
Review: The Earthquake of 2010 impoverishs Southern California. By 2032 all cities from San Diego to Los Angeles are merged into one continuous urban metroplex. Societal rules also change. Physical touching is discouraged to prevent disease transmittal and permanent coupling, everybody is excessively well-adjusted, and constant nagging surveillance instantly corrects any politically-incorrect behaviour -- everybody is passive. Social rebels live and starve in the sewer system. Then supercriminal Simon Phoenix (satan rises again?) escapes from cryoprison. The police release maverick policeman John Spartan (Sylvester Stallone) from cryoprison to recapture Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes). John Spartan must fight Simon Phoenix according to the rules of 2032 -- not a fair fight.

"Demolition Man" is a remake of H. G. Wells' "The Time Machine". In both "The Time Machine" and "Demolition Man", a maverick from the past journeys into the future to save humankind. H. G. Wells' masters are cave-dwelling primitives and his attractive surface-dwelling slaves live in Eden, while "Demolition Man's" masters are psychological bullies, its attractive slaves live in an overly-controlled Southern California environment and its dirty rebels are hunted in the sewers. The goal in both fictional societies is total control over human populations.

"Demolition Man" is filled with flamboyant action and gratuitous violence -- both Stallone and Snipes are in great physical form. Sandra Bullock plays Lieut. (Aldous?) Huxley, Spartan's partner who has some good moves of her own. "Demolition Man" is a fun action movie that should *not* be dismissed as fluff. Too many people are willing to solve all our problems, leaving us to sleepwalk our lives away.

Rating:
Summary: Really good movie, stupid lexicon
Review: John Spartin did not do the crime but he did do the time (30 years in a cryogenics facility to be exact). All of that changes one day when the authorities in power the Police Department of San Angles lets him out.
The only catch is that his arch nemesis
(a certain psychopath named Simon Phoenix) has escaped from prison.

How will Spartin survive in a world of (as is so aptly termed in the movie) a bunch of robed sissies" With expressions like "Murder Death Kill" and "Her lifeforce was terminated" and "Be Well". This language really ticks me off.

My impression-This what I consider to be the last good Sylvester Selone movie. He has had a couple of decent ones since, but not many that can pull off the difficult task of being action packed and funny.
I also happen to love Dennis Leery. Even though if I were being honest I'd have to say he stole a good deal of his material from the late-great Bill Hicks.

Leary's performance along with Snipes provide some badly needed comic relief. Along with the action that makes this one of the better sci-fi movies of the 90s.

Rating:
Summary: Not Just Another Dumb Action Movie
Review: This action-flick is an excellent satire, spoofing such themes as "political correctness", "moral correctness", & extremes in philosphy & thought, within the context of a live-action "comic-book"-type of story. Of cousre, it also has exciting, well-paced action sequences & fun (because they're so dopey) one-liners. The producers even manage to pull off obvious plugs for their sponsors in a funny, yet (ironically) plausible way. (Taco Bell is the ONLY restaurant left in "the future!" I also wonder if Armor Hot-Dogs & frozen vegetable & dog-food companies also sponsored, since their jingles are the "hit songs" in the future. Well, popular "oldies" at least, according to Sandra Bullock's character.)

Two reasons why I didn't give it 5 Stars:

First, Stallone's daughter is mentioned yet that matter is never resolved. (Why mention something if you won't follow through?)

Second, since this is done in a "comic-book" style, as a personal preference, I would have liked to have seen Snipes' death left somewhat "ambiguous" (so he can come back & plague Stallone in a sequel!) That's just a preference, though.

Of interest: The whole "Rip Van Winkle" frozen-cryogenic plot device used here is almost repeated in exact detail in "Austin Powers."

Listen for Bullock's reference to Jackie Chan's movies BEFORE he hit it big in the U.S. & is it just me, or does anybody else notice that Wesely Snipes' "Simon Phoenix" character resembles the Joker?

Rating:
Summary: Demolition Man: Stallone's Funniest Movie!
Review: Sylvester Stallone has been in some really bad movies; most notably Cobra, Oscar, and of course Rhinestone. In 1993, Stallone made a breakthrough, a breakthrough meaning that he made movies that people didn't walk out on! First off that year, he made Cliffhanger, which was a big domestic and worldwide box office success, and then he followed that with Demolition Man, which was his best breakthrough movie since...well, Cliffhanger.
The movie mixes the usual action with humor. Sandra Bullock cuteness and Wesley Snipes' whacky hairdo and funny oneliners makes this movie watchable. Stallone plays bad-boy cop John Spartan who is frozen in time for irresponsibly taking the lives of innocent people after a bust to catch bad guy Simon Phoenix, played by Snipes, who is caught and put in an ice cube also. 36 years later, the world is a much safer place. Crime is at a rate of zero and people are well-behaved. What happens next? Simon Phoenix escapes from his prison and he is out in search of destruction and since there are no equally demented cops to catch this sort of criminal, they release Spartan to pursue him. And the fun begins! Bullock plays the role of a 90's obsessed cop who becomes Stallone's partner. Her quotes are the funniest in the entire film. ... The movie also features funny cameos by Denis Leary and Rob Schneider.

Despite the movie being a mixture of action and comedy and not solely comedy, this is Stallone's funniest role to date.

The DVD features only include the trailer and shot-by-shot commentary by the film's director Marco Brambilla. But for the movie's sake, this DVD is worth keeping!

8/10

Rating:
Summary: SANDRA BULLOCK STEALS THE SHOW....
Review: This is an enormously entertaining film that is slyly intelligent, chock full of action, and quite humorous. The time is the future, 2032 AD, the location is California, and the police just ain't what they used to be, as the future is a sanitized, politically correct world, where only the most benign behavior is the standard by which all live. Even bad language is a no no. The police of the future have nothing in common with the police of the past. Guns are outlawed, as is all physical violence. Los Angeles is no more, having merged with San Diego into a new entity known as San Angeles, which is ruled by the architect of the new society, Dr. Raymond Cocteau, who is played with sage aplomb by the late Nigel Hawthorne. He is not, however, all that he seems.

This is, indeed, a "brave, new, world" and Lenina Huxley, played with delicious comic abandon by Sandra Bullock, is a police woman who waxes nostalgic for the past. The LAPD is now the SAPD. Her colleague, Alfredo Garcia, played with Eagle Scout earnestness by Benjamin Bratt, epitomizes the new order of things. He is a dudley do right without the wherewithal to set right what is soon to go wrong. His is a future where everyone's whereabouts are known to the police, as all are tagged with a device that allows the police monitor their whereabouts. His is a future where all obey instantly and civility is the standard of the day. His is a future where all address each other by their full names. His is a future where meat is no longer a food item, the use of salt is illegal, and corporate franchise wars have left Taco Bell to reign supreme as THE restaurant. His is a future where sex is a non-contact activity.

The violent past intrudes on this sanitized future in the persona of Simon Phoenix, played with over the top abandon by a blond Wesley Snipes, who, like a phoenix arising out of the ashes, is freed from his cryogenic prison and unleashed upon an unprepared SAPD. Clueless in the face of such testosterone charged violence, the SAPD arrange to have twentieth century super lawman John Spartan (Sylvester Stallone) released from his own cryogenic prison in hopes that he will be able to deal with the chaotic nature of Simon Phoenix and stop his senselessly violent rampage. Lenina Huxley is teamed up with Spartan in order to help him adjust to this brave new world. She is over the top with happiness at this development, as her fondness for nostagia will be sated by the opportunity to get up close and personal with a blast from the past.

Needless to say, Spartan and Phoenix clash, as old warriors are wont to do. There is enough violence, mayhem, and action to satisfy the most die hard fans of this genre. What happens will not disappoint the viewer, as old scores are settled, inequitable situations are righted, and a brave new world gets a little fine tuning for the better. This action flick, sci-fi crossover does not fail to entertain, and it does so more intelligently than most films in this genre. Make no mistake, however, while Wesley Snipes gives her a run for her money, it is Sandra Bullock who steals the show with her drolly delivered dialogue, her deft comedic timing and innate charm. Sylvester Stallone, as wooden as ever, is not even a blip on the radar.