This ’90s sci-fi action movie has a great satirical side

Sylvester Stallone may be one of the most iconic movie stars of American history, the kind of hitman who can stack blockbusters so high that a few get lost in the process. . Not everything he touches turns to gold, but there is at least one film that has managed to combine stellar action and hilarious social commentary without getting the credit it deserves.

Demolition Man is a 1993 sci-fi action blockbuster starring the aforementioned Italian Stallion and Tongue Wesley Snipes star. The film is the first feature film project by director Marco Brambilla, who has become a breakthrough contemporary artist. He directed exactly one other feature film; hard to believe, but the director of Demolition Man almost exclusively create works of art more suited to museums than cinemas.

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Demolition Man is the story of John Spartan, a tough classic cop on the fringes, ripped from a dozen other action movies. The Spartan enjoys a hostile relationship with an eccentric super-criminal named Simon Phoenix, until his failed attempt to resolve the hostage situation results in massive property damage. Both the policeman and the criminal were brought to trial for accidental deaths on a bus full of people and both received the same sentence, being held by freezing. Decades later, Phoenix was thawed for amnesty but easily escaped his captors, prompting the people of 2032 to free the Spartan to hunt him down.

The pair are reincarnated into San Angeles, a repressive nanny state in which anything deemed harmful, from swearing to red meat, is against the law. The downside of this dictatorship is that the violence is gone, but this makes it impossible for future police to deal with the crooked criminal. Spartan right defeat his old enemy, while adapting to a future dedicated to completely destroying everything he loves and stands for.

Obviously, action is the attraction here. It doesn’t really compare to modern John Wick aesthetic, nor by superhero movie standards. The closest comparison would certainly be any Schwarzenegger car, from Special Forces arrive Total hits. Demolition Man It’s an action-comedy movie, but it really doesn’t mix the two well. The two leads spewed a lining around the speed most humans could breathe and performed athletic feats far beyond human capabilities. Both of the main characters are like cartoons re-edited from classic stories; everything a fan of the genre would expect went up to 11 for great results. Buildings explode, sci-fi guns are thrown around with devastation, and its bombastic presentation is perfectly suited to over-the-top performances and absurd setting.

Wrapping around exciting action scenes is also a weird and wonderful filmmaking choice. The film sets a future revolving around the misunderstood concept of political correctness, elevated to state-sponsored dogma. San Angeles is severely strict on individual liberties, deeming it appropriate to limit people’s actions to their supposed interests. Beneath the city lives an army of dissidents led by Dennis Leary with diametrically opposite ethos, an emancipation decree that is almost self-destructive.

San Angeles’ authoritarian public safety is rivaled if not dwarfed by its outrageous consumerism. Its radio stations only play brand-approved jingle, vaudeville performers sing commercials, and ironically, the film features one of the clearest examples of product placement from before to now. Taco Bell loves a brand with the film, labeled the winner of the “Franch War” and thus the only restaurant available in the city. In a way, it is both a criticism and an example of mass-market advertising.

The movie has its problems, even among all glory of the 90s. From a conceptual level, a movie about a cop with a history of civilian casualties is the only one who can save the world, just because his willingness to shoot and kill hasn’t aged yet. In less serious matters, however, the story is one of the most predictable in modern cinema. Absolutely no surprises, every character does exactly what they seem at first glance, from hero to villain, comic relief to random extras. Its visuals, while fun to look at, steal a bit from everywhere and feel a bit obvious in copy another movie’s homework. Final Demolition Man it’s silly, but it’s also a point of pride as well as condemnation for the film.

Movies like Demolition Man don’t go with more often; ready to combine the action blockbuster of the time with a social commentary with a bizarre goal. Although there are countless ways it shows its age, as a relic that hopes to depict the future, Demolition Man Still worth a look. The movie is available on Hulu and Amazon Prime.

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