Review of Demolition Man (1993) by Sean L — 22 Jun 2011

One of a series of strange stabs in the dark for Sylvester Stallone's career in the mid '90s, Demolition Man struggles at times to find a consistent middle ground between mind-numb action and culture-conscious sarcastic comedy.

Its tongue-in-cheek predictions for the state of society in the year 2032 are so genuinely stupid that I felt like an idiot for laughing, but laugh I did - and often. These punchlines are plainly lowbrow, such a direct contrast to the straight manner in which Stallone plays his leading role that I wasn't entirely sure everyone on the cast was in on the joke.

The plot, too, is unfailingly moronic, even by action film standards, and may have benefitted from a more distant date stamp. When the opening scene designates Los Angeles in 1996 as a criminal's safe haven, complete with a flame-licked Hollywood sign, you should know you're in for a long ride - and it only gets rockier from there.

Wesley Snipes plays a joyously schizophrenic foil, part Joker and part Batman, but the picture never advances far enough beyond its one-note premise to really take advantage of it.