The Live Art Almanac: Volume 4
Lois Keidan, Aaron Wright and Harriet Curtis
Book
Live Art is now recognized as one of the most vital and influential of creative spaces in the UK....
Axel Munthe: The Road to San Michele
Book
Axel Munthe: The Road to San Michele' tells for the first time the riveting life-story of an...
The Oxford Handbook of Austrian Economics
Peter J. Boettke and Christopher Coyne
Book
The Austrian School of Economics is an intellectual tradition in economics and political economy...
The Waves
Book
A formally innovative work of modernist fiction, Virginia Woolf's The Waves is edited with an...
Latina Political Participation and Activism in the U.S.
Book
Anna Sampaio's book provides an overview of Latina political participation and activism beginning in...
Santorini New York
Tabletop Game
Santorini New York puts players in the work boots of builders constructing a grand city at the start...
Space Explorers
9.0
Rate It
Tabletop Game
The conquest of space was one of the greatest achievements of the 20th century. In 1957, the first...
The Best of Wodehouse: An Anthology
Book
.G. Wodehouse was, by common consent, the most brilliant writer of English comedy in the 20th...
The Joy of Insight
Book
In the 1930s, Victor Weisskopf worked with leading European physicists such as Niels Bohr, Werner...
Andrew Sinclair (25 KP) rated Demolition Man (1993) in Movies
Nov 25, 2019 (Updated Nov 25, 2019)
The film opens with a violent action scene with Stallone the hero pursuing his nemesis Wesley Snipes. It's tense stuff as they come face to face and stare each other down. It's literally an explosive beginning. Snipes manic laughter in that first scene gives you an idea of the kind of psychopath he is playing. After the destruction they have both caused they are both sentenced to be cryogenicly frozen for their crimes. That's a harsh punishment for an over-zealous cop but probably a fair one for a psychotic killer.
35 years later and America is a very different place. There is barely any crime but very little freedom. It is even illegal to swear. It's this philosophical debate that the film sheds light on which makes it both intriguing and funny. When the main characters, Snipes first then Stallone, find themselves in this supposed utopia their reactions are both humorous and volatile.
However one character played by Sandra Bullock actually appreciates Stallone's hardline old-fashioned ways as she has a fascination for the 20th Century. This creates an amusing and romantic interaction between them. Her inept attempts at 20th Century phrases adds to the comedy.
The scene where the police need instructions to arrest a violent criminal from a device which is like a modern day tablet makes me smile. And the line "We're police officers. We're not trained for this kind of violence!" makes me laugh out loud.
There is also a conspiracy story line. Snipes was released on purpose in order to hunt down rebels who resent the choice limiting laws. Meanwhile others unaware of this conspiracy release Stallone in order to capture Snipes. Then things really kick off!
The list of things that have been made illegal is laughable and this is brilliantly summed up with Stallone's line "Are you shitting me?!"
The films futuristic vision is entertaining and is also a good vehicle for humour as Stallone and Snipes are constantly taken aback by the technology. They both finally cross paths again in a museum where Snipes is stealing old weapons as of course weapons are illegal now. From this point on they continue their cat and mouse pursuit until the spectacular climax.
I love this film! It's over the top full-on fun which also manages to be philosophically thought-provoking. Definitely worth watching!