Demolition Man

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes, Sandra Bullock, Nigel Hawthorne, Denis Leary, Benjamin Bratt, Rob Schneider (cameo)
Directed by: Marco Brambilla
Rating: R
Genre: Action
Box Office: $58,055,768
1993

Times Seen:
Tim: 3

Summary: The year is 2032, and the society of San Angeles is a peaceful one- no one has been murdered in over ten years, citizens no longer commit crimes, and pretty much everything is a crime- swearing, sex, gasoline, salt, and hundreds of others. The police sit on their ass, and if a crime is committed, they usually can convince the criminal to submit by using an aggressive tone of voice- the world has turned into a bunch of whimps. That's not good, because Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes) has just broken out of his 35 year deep freeze in a Crygenic Prison, for committing nearly every crime imaginable in 1996. Let loose in the future, he goes on a killing spree that the police cannot stop. They must resort to freeing the man from the Cryoprison who successfully captured Phoenix the first time: Sgt. John Spartan (Slyvester Stallone), the Demolition Man

Review:

Tim: It's kind of strange, because this movie seems like it would be a tremendous flop, and a horrible film. However, its something quite different. You can say what you want about Stallone, cause I'm sure everyone's heard it before: his limited acting ability, playing the same tough guy role in film after film, whatever. While I'll admit Stallone is the typical tough guy character, he does bring a humor to this film that is very rare to find. Any film where Stallone can successfully pull off a Schwartzeneggar joke can't be all that bad. However, even with Stallone's above average performance, that alone wouldn't make this film decent.

There are three main factors that I love about this film: Sandra Bullock, Wesley Snipes, and the humor. Sandra Bullock is at her best here, showing a naivety about the twentieth century that is nothing short of hilarious.. She is at her appealing best in this film, creating a character that makes you feel connected with. She actually kicks some ass as well, which isn't such a bad thing to see, either. My favorite aspect Bullock's character is that she continuously messes up sayings from the 20th century, much to Stallone's chagrin. For example, she says, "Let's go lick this guy's ass!" (instead of kick his ass) and "let's go blow this guy!" (instead of blow this guy away).

Even better than Sandra Bullock (acting-wise anyway), is Wesley Snipes. He makes a tremendous bad guy, stealing every scene from Stallone. Snipes is at his best when he's causing mayhem, making quirky remarks which are just so damn funny. Especially entertaining is when Snipes faces off against the wimpy police, whose crime-stopping tactics include telling the criminal in a very stern voice to lay down with his hands above his head. Obviously, Snipes is not going to be impressed.

The final piece of this film that is so entertaining is the humor. All the actors get their share of time to shine with wonderful humor, oftentimes commenting on sayings or parts of society from the twentieth century and how they cannot comprehend how stupid or silly we must have been.

All in all, this film works. Despite the silliness and everything against it, I really do enjoy this movie, and I think you will, too. Its futuristic action at its best, and even better than the action is the comedy.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Blade, Speed, The Specialist, Tango & Cash