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Demolition Man [1993]


RRP: £13.99
Our Price: £3.64 (subject to change)

Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

Searching for new directions, Sylvester Stallone starred in this farcical, 1993 SF piece about an ex-cop (Stallone) freed from 36 years of forced hibernation to help catch a criminal (Wesley Snipes) who released himself from a similar incarceration. The futuristic story finds Los Angeles a sea of Taco Bells and enforced peace and within that satiric overview Stallone's character becomes a gun-toting fish out of water. The film plays like a live-action cartoon and while there is nothing particularly wrong with that, Demolition Man is a rather flat experience. The irony of a peaceable society that both requires and despises its bloody saviours has been captured far more profoundly in movies like Dirty Harry. Sandra Bullock costars. --Tom Keogh


Great movie, terrible transfer.
Review date: 2008-08-14 Rating: 6 out of 10

For me, the movie itself is a nineties' classic: action, adventure and humour blended together seamlessly to provide a thoroughly enjoyable (if untaxing) two hour break from reality.

Unfortunately, this DVD release is WOEFUL. I could forgive the complete lack of extras (not even a trailer or production notes) but the picture looks like a poor transfer from VHS: it may be anamorphic, but it suffers from clear macro-blocking, colour shifts, artifacing and wholly excessive grain from the opening Warner Bros logo to the end credits. The entire disc takes up less than 3.5gb: given the complete lack of additional material, I find it perplexing that Warner Bros didn't at least use up the remaining free space to give the video a much-needed boost in bitrate.

Here's hoping this great movie will get the treatment it deserves in a future release, be it a special-edition DVD or in hi-def.

Movie: 4/5, Disc: 1/5

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Reviews


The Stallone ethos
Review date: 2008-07-25 Rating: 8 out of 10

It's frustrating having to defend Demolition Man as it's attackers have so much ammunition. Very similar to another Stallone flick Judge Dredd, the main character of John Spartan seems too similar to Rambo and to Stallone himself to be distinct. It can feel like there is a good movie here being suffocated by cliché.

However, I feel that Demolition Man, like Stallone himself, is a little misunderstood. The story concerns John Spartan a warrior police man who will destroy any obstacle to get make an arrest (hence the nickname Demolition Man). Convicted of a crime he is cyrogenically frozen and awakens to a sanitized future where his necessarily brutal methods have become entirely alien to the police force of the time. Even though the police need him to take care of the bad guy they treat him suspicion and distain, calling him a "Savage" and "Caveman."

Demolition Man is key to understanding the Stallone ethos. Stallone is a man, and he celebrates a disappearing world where men are meant to be strong and tough. The predicament of John Spartan is one that Stallone faces himself, the alienated misunderstood tough guy in a sanitized world. Though the movie is steeped in cliché and macho one liners there are some great moments. In the opening where he finds out the hostages have been killed Spartans shocked response is brilliant, the running joke with Spartan being fined for using curse words is also fun.

Sandra Bullock is sweet as his future cop partner, the soundtrack is good but the action could have been filmed better. But still this remains a good action flick with Stallone and Snipes delivering a muscular and dramatic conflinct, especailly in the finale. Judged on these terms, on Stallone's terms, Demolition Man is a good film.

disappointing quality of transfer
Review date: 2008-05-25 Rating: 8 out of 10

As most other reviews are about the film and I share the same sentiment as virtually everyone else here (I love this comic book action movie), my review is about the truly disappointing quality of transfer. Both picture quality and sound are really poor.

My rating relates only to the film though and not quality of transfer.

Classic comical action affair that deserves it's merits for what it is!
Review date: 2008-05-01 Rating: 10 out of 10

I haven't written any online review for a while now and this film came to mind the other day so i have decided to order it when i get paid next.
Just being a bit nosey i thought i'd read other's review's on the film to see what the rest of the world thinks of it and the majority agree that it's a pretty good film!
one person did however dislike the film on the grounds that he/she seemed to be expecting a hardened killing machine as the bad guy and was not happy with Snipe's performance, referencing a scene in which he say's the word: oopsy.
I on the other hand have to disagree. I find him saying such things hilarious, what's more funny than a guy blowing up half a blcok and then saying "oopsy" ? of course it wouldn't be funny in reality, especially with the age of terrorism upon us, but for me that is exactly the pleasure of films, they are not real, rather they are escapism tools, something to balance the boring everyday mundane lives that we tend to lead, a place in which we can laugh at things we wouldn't normally, get frightened to the very core of our existence with horrific visuals that we know are not real yet still allow them to scare us, laugh out loud at stuff you know is not even remotely possible in the real world and so forth. (not to mention the surreality that you can get lost in in such films as Donnie Darko, who framed roger rabbit, sin city, the nightmare before x-mas, etc etc)
Anyway rant over, let's get to the film review!
I'll keep it short and sweet:
Demolition man represents a post-modern dystopia that is suppressed under the control and supremacy of a modernist utopian society.
The grimy underground is home to a society of rebels who refuse to confrom to idealistic standards and so are forced to remain underground, where they can have their "new york"" air, eat "ratburgers", swear, have sexual relations and basically live out their lives as they were before the government, (known as the "something" assosiation- can't remember the name now!) took over and enforced a peaceful society devoid of violence, crime, weaponry, sexually transmitted diseases are a thing of the past as sexual relations have now become "digital", in fact all forms of touching are forbidden, as is swearing, rap music, and anything else rendering the world a sickly colorful "barbie world" similar to that seen in Tim Burtons "Edward scissorhands" except it is set in the future so has technological advancements and flying cars, similar to that seen in "the 5th element" but with a clean, neat and fresh feel as a pose to the urban city flavoring the 5th element uses.
Sly plays a cop who is criogenically frozen after failing to catch phoenix, his arch enemy and after 30 innocent people are blown up in the process. (thanks to phoenix)
years and years later in the future, phoenix (who had also been captured and frozen some time later) somehow thaws out and escapes wrecking havoc among his new found environment. Of course the police can't even touch him, let alone know how to deal with his sort!
Phoenix's little escapades are very amusing, poking fun at the government and the people of this new era who are portrayed as nerdy, soft, passive and unable to handle this hard bodied male. (notice how they are all small and feminine in comparison to the 2 main characters from the past!, i could go into post-modern film and the male body here but i won't!)
Anyway this is where (yup you guessed it!) Sly is "defrosted" in order to hunt down phoenix once again in order to restore peace to the community. (cough cough- as if!)
yes the film is cheesy predictable fun, but well worth the watch! it's just funny to watch 2 large masculine matcho men get "swearing tickets" and have to battle it out in a plastic barbie doll world! the part where Sly can't work out how to use the "seashell system" in the toilet is especially funny...... (que the swearing) but in the end we see that it is not essentially the fierce-some blasts from the past that are the enemies here but the government who are enslaving the minds of their people and ultimately the more realistic dystopian future wins in the battle of truth vs lie and the film shows us, (like many do, look at the matrix for example) that ultimately utopia is a lie.
Fans of total recall, Terminator, Bladerunner and the likes will feel right at home with this movie, definitely worth a buy and you can get it brand new from hmv.com for only £2.99 at present including free delivery!
you've got nothing to lose, if you haven't seen it already- where the heck have you been? lol and if you have seen it GET IT, BUY IT, PUT IT IN YOUR COLLECTION! it's far better than half of the tripe that they make these days!

Shockingly, Shockingly poor
Review date: 2008-03-11 Rating: 2 out of 10

Steaming piles don't come much fresher than this.

The premise is ridiculous, the characters (all but one) are very, very weak, and in all, the entire film doesn't merit to exist.

The idea of ruthless criminals coming into a utopia and ruining it, along with all the questions about whether such a utopia is really a utopia, were all nice. But only in the idea phase. In actuality, it was about as well executed as a bunny you've only just clipped with your car and have to finish off with the sharp edge of a barclay card.

The problem is that the 'vicious criminals', apart from swearing and shooting people, are in no way more vicious than the perfect peace-loving civilians. That may sound strange, but if you're unlucky enough to watch this, you'll see what I mean. Case in point: The main villain, the dude with the blond crash-helmet hairdo.

He struts around muttering little comicbook phrases that just don't conjure the thought of a hardenned killer. I know this is comedy, but comedy needs a grounding, and this has none. He giggles like a little boy. And do I recall him saying 'oopsy' at one point? Oopsy? How many hardenned criminals do *you* think say Oopsy?

So the contrast they've intended to create, between the ultimate scum of human existence and a perceived earthly perfection, never actually happens. We're just taken to this bizzare, pastel-themed pipe-dream suburbia in which everyone is too stupid to imagine.

Did I also mention that it's almost never funny? In almost 2 hours it manages to be entertaining the grand sum of one time. Films which don't even set out to be funny manage it more often than that!

So yeah, I don't exactly resent the time I spent watching this film, cos I'd just have gone to bed otherwise, but it's not the kind of rubbish I'd actually spend money on. And I'd recommend this viewpoint to others.

If you're some kind of Sly addict who simply must watch this nonsense because Stalone's in it, then at least go rent it with friends. Then you can share the expense, and have someone to talk to in the dull bits. Trust me, by the time it starts, you'll be grateful of the company.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Benjamin Bratt
Nigel Hawthorne
Sandra Bullock
Wesley Snipes
Sylvester Stallone

Creators:
Sylvester Stallone (Primary Contributor)
Wesley Snipes (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Warner Home Video
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
EAN: 7321900129855
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 1999-05-24
Number of discs: 1
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 110 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1993-10-08
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: Arabic (Subtitled)

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