Customer Reviews

Demolition Man (Widescreen/Full Screen)

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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 this 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 to 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 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 does not fail to disappoint, 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.

Stallone in one of his better roles as a cop frozen in suspended animation as part of a jail sentence. He is awakened several years later because his arch-nemesis (Wesley Snipes)was also awakened from suspended animation and the pacifist future cops have no clue how to stop him. Stallone's rough ways do not bode well for those in charge but he is worshipped as a hero by his new partner (Sandra Bullock). Great exchanges of dialogue and action scenes between Stallone and Snipes. A great deal of comic relief as old commercial jingles have become popular music and Stallone doesn't know how to use the future bathroom or bond with a future woman (Bullock).

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.

If you bought this like me expecting the Joel Silver commentary; it wasn't on there. Major dissappointment. Also in the version I purchased all references to Taco Bell had been replaced with Pizza Hut. Diff from what I saw at the pix. Loved this movie but dissappointed by this version. Box misled me into thinking extra features were on there. I should have looked closer. 5 stars for the movie though!

Good movie, i watched movie alot and for some reason i never get bored of it. its a to buy movie

This is certinly a great action movie. Ive alyways liked this film. However the regioun 4 version does not come with the trailers or commentary, it only has the movie in wide screen and that is it!

One thing I did notice while watching this movie was they have dubbed the voices in some areas of the film with new dialogs! The most commenly known one i picked up on was in the original version i had on VHS it was "Tacho Bell" that was the product placment resteraunt they attended dinner in! But in this movie its been changed to "Pizza Hut"! I'm not sure why, but you can tell by the ways the lips move that there saying "Tacho Bell" and "Burrito" and sounds a bit funny when they say "Pizza Hut!"

Stilla great movie ,well worth watchign if your into blow em up action movies!

THIS MOVIE IS GREAT! IT'S FUNNY ROMANTIC, ACTION PACKED!! I HAVE WATCHED IT OVER AND OVER AND I LOVE IT JUST AS MUCH AS I DID THE FIRST TIME! FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVEN'T SEEN IT~ PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE OLD NEWS CLIPS OF JOHN SPARTAN (SYLVESTER STALLONE). THAT IS THE BEST PART!!! AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE SEEN IT, IS THE PART NOT THE GREATEST OR WHAT? (HERE IS A CLUE TO LET YOU KNOW WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT ~ HOW CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE DESTRUCTION OF A 3 MILLION DOLLAR MINI MALL FOR A GIRL WHOSE RANSOM IS ONLY $25,OOO?) AND IT IS COOL TO HEAR THEM REFER TO LASER DISKS AND SUCH WHEN THOSE ARE PRACTICALLY OBSOLETE!! ENJOY!!!

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?

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.

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.