- Film Review
- Reviewed By John Ferguson
-
4 out of 5
This slick vision of the future comes pretty close to being Sylvester Stallone's best ever picture. Wisely keeping his tongue stuck firmly in his cheek, Stallone plays a tough cop whose unconventional methods land him in a cryogenic prison. Decades later, he is defrosted to hunt down an old sparring partner, the spectacularly psychopathic Wesley Snipes (complete with blond thatch), who has escaped from his deep frozen state and is creating havoc in the now crime-free Los Angeles (renamed San Angeles). The writers have a lot of fun sending up modern-day political correctness in this caring vision of the future - violence, red meat and sex are among the items on the banned list - and director Marco Brambilla delivers the goods when it comes to the all-important action set pieces. Of the supporting cast, Sandra Bullock has an early run at a role she would later perfect in Speed, Denis Leary gets to deliver one of his thinly disguised stand-up routines, while Nigel Hawthorne plays the doctor overseeing this 21st-century Utopia.
Plot Summary
Science-fiction thriller starring Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes and Sandra Bullock. After failing to defuse a situation where villainous Simon Phoenix has taken 30 people hostage, Los Angeles Police sergeant John Spartan, known as the "Demolition Man", stands jointly accused of their manslaughter and the pair are imprisoned and frozen in a cryo penitentiary. When Phoenix escapes several decades later, Spartan is woken and sent to apprehend his old enemy in the futuristic city of San Angeles.
Cast and crew
Cast
- John Spartan
- Sylvester Stallone
- Simon Phoenix
- Wesley Snipes
- Lenina Huxley
- Sandra Bullock
- Dr Raymond Cocteau
- Nigel Hawthorne
- Alfredo Garcia
- Benjamin Bratt
- Chief George Earle
- Bob Gunton
- Associate Bob
- Glenn Shadix
- Edgar Friendly
- Denis Leary
- Young Zachary Lamb
- Grand L Bush
- Captain Healy
- Steve Kahan
- Old Zachary Lamb
- Bill Cobbs
- Erwin
- Rob Schneider
Crew
- Director
- Marco Brambilla
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