Demolition Man

Director - Marco Brambilla (Excess Baggage)
Starring - Sylvester Stallone (Cobra), Wesley Snipes (Blade), and Sandra Bullock (Speed)
Release Date - 1993
Genre - Action/Sci-Fi
Tagline - "The 21st century's most dangerous cop.  The 21st century's most ruthless criminal"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

     I watched this film a few times when I was little and from what I remember I really liked it.  However, I also remembered watching it with my Dad and it pissed him off seeing Wesley Snipes as the villain.  My Dad loves Snipe's films and did not like seeing him on the wrong side of the law.  I didn't have the heart to tell him about New Jack City and Snipe's role in it.  Any way, I really liked it when I was little and when I found it in a double pack with Over the Top I picked it up.     

     The film opens in Los Angelos in the year 1996 where crime runs rampant.  Crime lord Simon Phoenix (Snipes) has taken over the city.  However, the police have an ace in the hole with super cop John Spartan (Stallone).  Spartan, an officer that will destroy giant buildings to save a small child, is sent in to Hollywood to capture Phoenix.  Phoenix hijacked a bus full of innocent people and stashed it inside his compound.  Spartan airdrops in to rescue them but can not find them.  However, he does find Phoenix and the two battle it out among containers filled with gas.  The place explodes and Phoenix is captured.  Spartan is also arrested because they find the remains of those involved in the bus hijacking and it is assumed they were alive until Spartan blew up the place.  Spartan is convicted for murder and sentenced to 70 years of CryoPrison where he will be cryogenically frozen and stored away.  Phoenix is also sentenced to CryoPrison where he is to be there for all eternity.  As you figured, this does not go according to plan.  After 36 years, Phoenix is thawed and kills everyone in his path.  The police in 2032 are not equipped to deal with this kind of maniac and release Spartan to track him down.  Phoenix now has the knowledge and skill to thrive in this futuristic society while Spartan has difficulty adapting.  The officer that has been "mentoring" Spartan since he has been thawed, Lieutenant Lenina Huxley (Bullock), tells Spartan that all those thawed are programmed with a certain set of skills as a hobby to prevent them from reverting back to their evil ways.  Spartan was programmed with the skill set to nit while, someone unknown, has gave Phoenix all the skills he needs to be a murderous monster.  It doesn't take long before Spartan finds the man behind Phoenix's release and society as everyone knows it begins to unravel.

     I really liked this movie, even more now than when I was a kid.  Don't get me wrong, the movie still has a lot wrong with it but it does entertain.  I really liked the atmosphere and scenery in this film.  At the beginning of the film, back in 1996, the landscape and scenery is almost post-apocalyptic.  Everything is burning or destroyed.  However, once the two are thawed the future is extremely bright and optimistic.  The two are polar opposites of each other and I really liked how that was applied to the two different eras.  I also really liked the acting which you would know is going to be decent with the cast this film has.  I really liked Snipes character in the film the most.  He added a lot of humor and malice to the film and pretty much stole every scene he was in.  If I was to compile a list of my all time favorite characters, Phoenix would definitely be on it.  The action in this is pretty intense, but that is expected from a Stallone/Snipe's film.  The story is pretty decent and original.  I don't think I have ever heard of another movie using the same premise as this one.  Now here is the list of things that I did not like about the film.  The first thing that really annoyed me with this film is how in the futuristic world they speak the entire character's name.  When they speak to each other they not only say their first name, but they have to say the last name as well.  The first 15 times are not as bad as one may think, however, about half way through the movie you definitely know all the characters and their first and last name.  I also hate all the "past" that is threw up in to the future.  Everything that is reminiscent of the late 80's and early 90's is horribly placed in the future.  One example of this is Taco Bell beating all the other fast food restaurants in the "food wars."  More time should have been spent story writing instead of product placement.  Overall, this movie is definitely a forgotten film that needs to be watched.  It is a shitty in some aspects but is still entertaining.