Demolition ManYou can't clean up a mess without getting dirty, no matter the time or place. Demolition Man is a science fiction/action movie about a daring cop named John Spartan (Sylvester Stallone) who is framed for the manslaughter of hostages as collateral damage following his explosive apprehension of ultra-violent criminal, Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes). His punishment is be frozen in cryostasis--just as Phoenix is--for decades. When Phoenix escapes his confinement, Spartan is released into a brave new world, "San Angeles" circa 2036. But as John Spartan discovers, the future may be bright, but bleached of any kind of fun or emotion, and totally unprepared to cope with a monster like Phoenix.
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What sets Demolition Man apart from a pack of familiar action flicks filled with shoot-outs (it is that, to be sure), is that more than just being a movie filled with explosions and gunfire, it is also a satire of a way of life under the uniformly fascistic control of a government which prizes order over civil liberty. By comparison the near future introduced at the beginning of the film--that is the year 1996--portrays a Los Angeles so totally overrun by violence and crime that it is a veritable war zone. This is the kind of environment which the news eats up with a spoon, running coverage of violent events on TV, the kind which motivate politicians to execute laws proclaiming to protect citizens, but ultimately turning them into easily led cattle. The best parallel here in this is in the city's future "savior", Doctor Raymond Cocteau (Nigel Hawthorne), whose claims to have single-handedly erected a utopian society where anything bad for you is illegal is supported by the overly chipper, well-behaved citizens at large. And yet, below the surface of the streets of San Angeles is an underground society of free-thinkers, led by the crass but straightforward Edgar Friendly (Denis Leary), who has the distinction of being public enemy number one (at least, in Cocteau's eyes) for having the gall to want to eat meat and read a Playboy magazine--lines taken right from stand-up comedian Leary's own act. It was Cocteau's design to use the cryo-prison to "rehabilitate" prisoners via subconscious conditioning (i.e. brainwashing), which in the case of John Spartan leaves him with a compulsion to knit sweaters, but in Simon Phoenix's case, oddly endows him with the skills of a super-terrorist, including a full awareness of the fully integrated computer systems which run the whole city of San Angeles. It would be strange conditioning indeed in and of itself, but earmarks a greater conspiracy lurking at the heart of the purported perfect civilization built on the ashes of the old one, comfortable to give up its birthright for the tasteless gruel of placidity. Demolition Man makes no bones about Simon Phoenix being an unmitigated monster, but on a larger scale, what Cocteau has done to the way of life for people seems even more devastating, depriving them of even the ability to consider the moral choice to reject something bad for them, making it straight-out illegal for things like cigarettes, or even salt, whitewashing anything which doesn't fit into his new world order.
But even in the future, not everyone above ground is a vacuous slave to the institution. A prime example is Lieutenant Lenina Huxley (Sandra Bullock) of the SAPD, a woman who secretly pines for the excitement she understands to be a quality of the 20th century, who decorates her apartment and (surprisingly spacious) office with paraphernalia of the time, including a Wurlitzer jukebox. Lt. Huxley may be reprimanded by her overly stiff superior officer, Chief George Earle (Bob Gunton), for her obvious boredom at being a cop with nothing to do in a seemingly perfect city, but who can blame her, drawn as she is to the exploits of legendary heroes like John Spartan. Huxley claims to have learned how to fight from Jackie Chan movies; she's even a bit of a classic car buff, evidenced by her response to the vintage Oldsmobile they discover in Friendly's care. In truth, Huxley doesn't relish the idea of violence--having been conditioned or otherwise--and has a tendency to muddle colloquial idioms with unintended innuendo, but she finds a mentor in John Spartan, who educates her to ultimately think for herself and see the past she admires through more than just video screens and antiquities. In essence, Lenina Huxley is the one who first posits the idea which leads to thawing out John Spartan from cryostasis, when she asks how Simon Phoenix--following his initial rampage of "murder-death-kills"--was put down in the first place. Demolition Man was inspired to a large extent by the classic dystopian novel, "Brave New World", by Aldous Huxley. Lenina Huxley's last name is an homage to the book's author, and her first name the same as Lenina Crowne, a focal character from the same book, who is also firmly rooted in her future society, but challenged by the appearance of a stranger from a different world. While many characters portrayed in the pristine future setting of Demolition Man are showcased as incapable of infractions of the tightly regimented social order--in other words, little more than automatons--Huxley is the film's best example of a character who transitions and evolves her viewpoint through the events of the story.
As a hybrid between a sci-fi/action film and a social satire, Demolition Man alternating between lampooning action films and embracing the tropes of the genres; occasionally the two blur a bit. John Spartan is a no-nonsense cop who often leaps through the air in slow motion, dual wielding pistols in his shootouts with Phoenix, sporting a slick beret which would become a stylistic accessory for his character, Barney Ross, in the much later action film, The Expendables. His renegade attitude makes him a parallel to fellow L.A. cop from Lethal Weapon, Martin Riggs; Huxley sports a vintage Lethal Weapon poster in her office. Simon Phoenix undergoes a couple of distinct changes in appearance through Demolition Man. His first outfit of choice--a set of overalls with a t-shirt makes him look unassuming but definitely out of place, like a psychotic "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air". This action feels all the more absurd when these early scenes of violence and mayhem are also punctuated by the sounds of a hip hop record scratching as Phoenix banters with Spartan or does battle at the wryly named "Hall of Violence" at the 20th century museum. But when Phoenix later adopts a more futuristic garb, its appearance is eerily similar to that of Roy Batty's from Blade Runner, an apt choice given that he has been conditioned to be a super-assassin, but one on a leash ostensibly controlled by his liberator. Additional nods to Blade Runner abound, such as the similarity in the appearance and ideologies of Dr. Cocteau and Dr. Eldon Tyrell. Both of these men are revered as brilliant engineers in their respective fields, who have changed the face of the city, but also wield terrific power. Even the opening shot of Demolition Man is deliberately framed to evoke the opening shot of Blade Runner, a dark view over a future Los Angeles, nearly engulfed in flames. One could argue that Demolition Man is something like an inverse of James Cameron's The Terminator; rather than send Spartan into the past to stop the killer sent before him, he is thawed out as a response to Phoenix's carnage in a future which is superficially a better place. John's reaction to the future is one of culture shock, an effect duplicated for the audience forced to try to ascertain the humorous idiosyncrasies of the year 2036. Some moments are given only a brief explanation to justify them, such as why following the "franchise wars", Taco Bell is not only the only remaining restaurant, but is a stereotypical chic fancy one at that with tiny entrees. Others include nearly no explanation, most famously the "three seashells", used in lieu of toilet paper, a dire revelation which necessitates a clever--if profanity-laden--solution by Spartan to overcome an altogether different kind of catastrophe. And others can only make you chuckle at the ironic silliness, such as how radio stations play exclusively commercials...kind of like how people sing along to their favorite jingles instead of to, y'know, actual songs. And like all movies made a while back about the future, there is also some satisfaction to be gained by seeing how close to the mark Demolition Man got it. Hey, Taco Bell's still around, right?
Recommended for: Fans of clever social farce, science fiction, and action merged together in an unlikely, but perfect, cinematic blend...like chocolate and peanut butter. And, no, I have no idea about the three seashells, either.
But even in the future, not everyone above ground is a vacuous slave to the institution. A prime example is Lieutenant Lenina Huxley (Sandra Bullock) of the SAPD, a woman who secretly pines for the excitement she understands to be a quality of the 20th century, who decorates her apartment and (surprisingly spacious) office with paraphernalia of the time, including a Wurlitzer jukebox. Lt. Huxley may be reprimanded by her overly stiff superior officer, Chief George Earle (Bob Gunton), for her obvious boredom at being a cop with nothing to do in a seemingly perfect city, but who can blame her, drawn as she is to the exploits of legendary heroes like John Spartan. Huxley claims to have learned how to fight from Jackie Chan movies; she's even a bit of a classic car buff, evidenced by her response to the vintage Oldsmobile they discover in Friendly's care. In truth, Huxley doesn't relish the idea of violence--having been conditioned or otherwise--and has a tendency to muddle colloquial idioms with unintended innuendo, but she finds a mentor in John Spartan, who educates her to ultimately think for herself and see the past she admires through more than just video screens and antiquities. In essence, Lenina Huxley is the one who first posits the idea which leads to thawing out John Spartan from cryostasis, when she asks how Simon Phoenix--following his initial rampage of "murder-death-kills"--was put down in the first place. Demolition Man was inspired to a large extent by the classic dystopian novel, "Brave New World", by Aldous Huxley. Lenina Huxley's last name is an homage to the book's author, and her first name the same as Lenina Crowne, a focal character from the same book, who is also firmly rooted in her future society, but challenged by the appearance of a stranger from a different world. While many characters portrayed in the pristine future setting of Demolition Man are showcased as incapable of infractions of the tightly regimented social order--in other words, little more than automatons--Huxley is the film's best example of a character who transitions and evolves her viewpoint through the events of the story.
As a hybrid between a sci-fi/action film and a social satire, Demolition Man alternating between lampooning action films and embracing the tropes of the genres; occasionally the two blur a bit. John Spartan is a no-nonsense cop who often leaps through the air in slow motion, dual wielding pistols in his shootouts with Phoenix, sporting a slick beret which would become a stylistic accessory for his character, Barney Ross, in the much later action film, The Expendables. His renegade attitude makes him a parallel to fellow L.A. cop from Lethal Weapon, Martin Riggs; Huxley sports a vintage Lethal Weapon poster in her office. Simon Phoenix undergoes a couple of distinct changes in appearance through Demolition Man. His first outfit of choice--a set of overalls with a t-shirt makes him look unassuming but definitely out of place, like a psychotic "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air". This action feels all the more absurd when these early scenes of violence and mayhem are also punctuated by the sounds of a hip hop record scratching as Phoenix banters with Spartan or does battle at the wryly named "Hall of Violence" at the 20th century museum. But when Phoenix later adopts a more futuristic garb, its appearance is eerily similar to that of Roy Batty's from Blade Runner, an apt choice given that he has been conditioned to be a super-assassin, but one on a leash ostensibly controlled by his liberator. Additional nods to Blade Runner abound, such as the similarity in the appearance and ideologies of Dr. Cocteau and Dr. Eldon Tyrell. Both of these men are revered as brilliant engineers in their respective fields, who have changed the face of the city, but also wield terrific power. Even the opening shot of Demolition Man is deliberately framed to evoke the opening shot of Blade Runner, a dark view over a future Los Angeles, nearly engulfed in flames. One could argue that Demolition Man is something like an inverse of James Cameron's The Terminator; rather than send Spartan into the past to stop the killer sent before him, he is thawed out as a response to Phoenix's carnage in a future which is superficially a better place. John's reaction to the future is one of culture shock, an effect duplicated for the audience forced to try to ascertain the humorous idiosyncrasies of the year 2036. Some moments are given only a brief explanation to justify them, such as why following the "franchise wars", Taco Bell is not only the only remaining restaurant, but is a stereotypical chic fancy one at that with tiny entrees. Others include nearly no explanation, most famously the "three seashells", used in lieu of toilet paper, a dire revelation which necessitates a clever--if profanity-laden--solution by Spartan to overcome an altogether different kind of catastrophe. And others can only make you chuckle at the ironic silliness, such as how radio stations play exclusively commercials...kind of like how people sing along to their favorite jingles instead of to, y'know, actual songs. And like all movies made a while back about the future, there is also some satisfaction to be gained by seeing how close to the mark Demolition Man got it. Hey, Taco Bell's still around, right?
Recommended for: Fans of clever social farce, science fiction, and action merged together in an unlikely, but perfect, cinematic blend...like chocolate and peanut butter. And, no, I have no idea about the three seashells, either.