Demolition Man

There are some sci-fi films that at the time of their release they were inventive and enjoyable but because of the timeframe that they are set in, they become dated very easily. Here the only part that is dated is the setup for all the out and out violence at the beginning of the film, other than that after all these years this is still an enjoyable film. Sylvester Stallone does a nice mix of characters here, there's an even blend of Rocky, Rambo and Cobra that you could watch repeatedly. But the standout character in this movie is that of Simon Phoenix played by the exceptionally talented Wesley Snipes, who shows us that he knows exactly how to play a villain and play it to the hilt. After being frozen for 35 years in a deep freeze cryo-prison for murder, Officer John Spartan is thawed out in a future that he knows nothing about, to go after an escaped cryo-prisoner that the future is inept to deal with. This film has a excellent mix of action and humor that is hard to get when you have two great roles filled by two great actors, Snipes and Stallone play off of each other as if they've been doing it for years. Some of the ideas that are presented in our "future" are a little hard to accept, let alone tolerate as free thinkers and a people that pride themselves on not being put under control. But some of the props that were designed for the film are very well thought out like the non-lethal Glow-stick that the police use instead of guns, and the crash foam that is released in a car crash to save the driver. So I guess there are some things in this future that I could live with, but being fined for swearing, or any kind of harsh language is just fucked up and I for one won't stand for it.
This is definitely one of those movies that could have been franchised, the characters were likeable and having Stallone's character go beyond this situation was entirely within the realm of possibility. After watching this film you can see why Stallone actually thought that he could do the role of Judge Dredd years later, but we all know how that turned out, and somewhere down the road I'll let you all know what my view points are on that disaster. But for now, with this movie there is enough action, explosions and gun play to satisfy any action fan, and in my humble opinion, is a must have for any sci-fi film library.