Demolition Man

All these sci-fi films that take place in the near future are getting more interesting as the years go by. Demolition Man is an entertaining vision of the year 2032 that isn't quite as out there as it might have seemed back when it premiered. From the classic formula of Stallone's films, an entertaining critique of society with a dash of late 20th-century fetish has emerged. One nice bonus here is the ever-smiling Sandra Bullock. (17/04/2022)

Demolition Man is an action sci-fi with huge flair and a very nostalgic 90s feel. It's clear to me that they make movies differently nowadays and that Demolition Man probably wouldn't succeed in this shape and form today. But for me, it represents the purest memory of the "honest" nineties, when I was chasing VHSes (not even girls yet) and wanted to have muscles like Stallone. Plus it's hugely entertaining. "Be well." (04/11/2018)

I’ve watched the first act of this film at least six times and it’s always been a lot of fun. Unfortunately, it’s always broadcast in the late evening, and during the second commercial break in half an hour, I stop being the master of the situation and fall asleep contentedly. Until one day I decided to record Demolition Man on cassette. I slept beautifully and the next day I sat down excitedly to watch it. The beginning, as always, is great and action packed, and it’s followed by a flawless portrayal of a "decent" future in which the violent Snipes stands out as much as Osama Bin Laden at Queen Elizabeth's party. And then came the part I’d always been curious about. Unfortunately, it lacks the imagination and irony of the first half, the development of the story didn't interest me at all and in the end I was glad I finished it. Perhaps in the hands of another director the film would have kept its pace, but this way a great idea ended up going a bit to waste. (06/02/2012)

I would have given five stars but the music during the action scenes was annoying, and time took its toll on the visuals, which I found a little distracting. What I also didn’t like were Phoenix's monologues. He reminded me of a bad guy from a soap opera (minus all that staring into the camera). But that's the end of my gripes. Sly Stallone and Sandra Bullock complemented each other perfectly, it was packed with one-liners, I reminisced about the bygone days of rivalry between action muscle men, and the creators managed to portray exactly the kind of degenerate human society as is commonly seen today. The police still haven't been trained to fight violence, only the criminals don't come out of the freezer but arrive on dodgy vessels. P.S. It still boggles my mind how the three seashells worked... (22/10/2020)

The opening part of the film is excellent, shot with great perspective and decorated with surprisingly good performances by Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes,. Over time, the perspective fades and the film slides into action routine in which only Sandra Bullock can impress with her cool face and the appearance of a naïve virgin before the prom. It’s too bad - all they had to do was to keep the humor and not take the story (pretty pointless, of course) so seriously. Demolition Man, however, is one of the better items in Sylvester Stallone's filmography... (25/01/2004)