Review of Demolition Man (1993) by Stuart M — 13 Apr 2013

Starts in Los Angeles in the dystopian present. Flashes forward forty years to the utopian future. The last death was in 2010, an event which I seem to have missed. Everything is at peace now. Guns are outlawed and even swearing meets with a fine. Gee, I wonder if there could be a political stement there.

This is utopia gone wrong. Everyone speaks funny and have no personality. As I watched this film I realized the massive debt it owes to Woody Allen's The Sleeper. Essentialy it's a more serious action film version of that concept. They even have the sex machines. Crazy.

The acting in this film is pretty wonderful. Stallone is Stallone. But he's a bit more human than in some of his other films. Wesley Snipes. I miss that man. He used to be so good. Then he let it go to his head. This is one of his better performances. He's a bleached-blond psychopath who enjoys himself way too much. Sandra Bullock also deserves special mention as a policewoman with what is considered an unnatural interest in the 'barbaric' past and a tendency to get swears wrong. Only thing is I'm annoyed I misread some of her statements. I could swear they were setting her up to be his daughter but instead she's the love interest. And then you have Nigel Hawthorn. And what isn't he good in?

Anyway, the action scenes are good, the two men of violence in an oppressively pacifistic world is fun, and the actors get to really enjoy themselves. Much better than I remember it.