I was 9 years old at the time, and most of my attention was focused on football, dinosaurs, and R.L. Stine's goosebumps books. I was starting to become interested in girls and the idea of romance but only vaguely so. I was still very much a 9-year-old into 9-year-old culture.
I was not focused on the philosophical ideologies of the time other than the general thrust that science was pushing society to new heights. I was aware of "PC" culture as a thing but didn't understand exactly what it all meant or if I should agree or disagree with it. It wasn't important to me.
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| Spoiler! They Fight! |
To me the 90's felt like things were getting better.
That is not the message delivered in Demolition Man.
Before there was "Wokeness" there was "Political Correctness". This is what the Demolition Man is really there to destroy.
I didn't watch Demolition Man in it's own time. I was aware of the movie, since it carried two mega stars in Wesley Snipes and Sylvester Stallone but I was too young to see it in the theater.
I didn't watch Demolition Man in it's own time. I was aware of the movie, since it carried two mega stars in Wesley Snipes and Sylvester Stallone but I was too young to see it in the theater.
I had nearly forgotten about the movie entirely until it was brought up on the The Daily Zeitgeist in reference to an article about a KFC tasting menu. To hear them talk about the movie gave me the impression that the movie was going to be an amazing experience.
So, I found that the movie was streaming on Hulu, and gave it a shot. As I learned more about the cast the more promise I felt the movie would have. Sandra Bullock, Denis Leary, Benjamin Bratt, and even small appearances by Rob Schneider and Jack Black.
Now, I knew a movie released in 1993 was not going to hold up when it came to special effects or realism. However, my memory was that Demolition Man was slick, that it had the cool things that would have excited my adolescent brain. I thought the movie was going to be serious.
I was wrong. The movie begins with a ridiculous fight scene in which the protagonist, Stallone as renegade officer John Spartan jumps ridiculous lengths the catch and apprehend Snipes character, Simon Phoenix. The whole thing reminded me of something closer to resembling Starship Troopers than it did Terminator or Rambo.
As John Spartan mumbles "It takes a maniac to catch a maniac", he goes on to wreck the city chasing Phoenix, turning the crumbling infrastructure into further rubble. The city decides that Spartan is just too reckless to be an officer, even though he caught the bad guy, saved a little girl and looks like the hero the city needed. At the end of the introduction, they freeze both Spartan and Phoenix and the opening credits roll.
From there we flash forward to a complete joke of a society that what kind of amounts to a right-wing version of Idiocracy. Sandra Bullock is being driven around in an automated car and complaining that there is no crime for her to take on.
So, I found that the movie was streaming on Hulu, and gave it a shot. As I learned more about the cast the more promise I felt the movie would have. Sandra Bullock, Denis Leary, Benjamin Bratt, and even small appearances by Rob Schneider and Jack Black.
Now, I knew a movie released in 1993 was not going to hold up when it came to special effects or realism. However, my memory was that Demolition Man was slick, that it had the cool things that would have excited my adolescent brain. I thought the movie was going to be serious.
I was wrong. The movie begins with a ridiculous fight scene in which the protagonist, Stallone as renegade officer John Spartan jumps ridiculous lengths the catch and apprehend Snipes character, Simon Phoenix. The whole thing reminded me of something closer to resembling Starship Troopers than it did Terminator or Rambo.
As John Spartan mumbles "It takes a maniac to catch a maniac", he goes on to wreck the city chasing Phoenix, turning the crumbling infrastructure into further rubble. The city decides that Spartan is just too reckless to be an officer, even though he caught the bad guy, saved a little girl and looks like the hero the city needed. At the end of the introduction, they freeze both Spartan and Phoenix and the opening credits roll.
From there we flash forward to a complete joke of a society that what kind of amounts to a right-wing version of Idiocracy. Sandra Bullock is being driven around in an automated car and complaining that there is no crime for her to take on.
This is where I begin to feel lost. And somewhere in the middle, took a nap.
Their future appears to be a complete utopia brought about by science. There is no crime or violence. No disease. However, Spartan finds the world to be essentially lacking in toxic masculinity and thinks there needs to be more cursing and date rape, (a scene where Spartan remains physically aggressive despite repeated denials of his advances does not age well.)
As society veered more to the political left in the early 90's this is what appears to be a right wing critique would be. A movie that essentially glorifies violence as a way to keep a real peace. That the freedom to drink beer, curse at whoever they pleased, and generally act like scum was a net positive. Or as Spartan puts it..."You need a maniac to catch a maniac".
That said...I still kind of enjoyed the fact that I watched it. If for no other reason than it helped me feel as though I finished a part of my childhood that I missed. While the movie was forgettable in terms of acting, writing and coherency, it does offer a look back at what a major motion picture was about in the 90's, and how people back then thought the future might play out.
The fact of the matter is that at the time, I would probably identify far more with the funny Denis Leary character that talked about eating delicious steaks and curses all the time. We all like the idea of the rebel, especially since we are taught that our American society was birthed from rebellion. I can see why if I were introduced to the movie in full at 9 instead of 38, my view would be quite different.
Another review from 1994 critiques the movies as a rejection of puritanism, and pours over the male body shots of Stallone comparing them to the soft-core pornography that had trailed his career and the overall use of the male form in cinema.
As a 38-year-old in 2022, I understand where that critique is coming from. My 9-year-old brain would respond to the article with a line of thinking less nuanced. Something more like, 'Spartan just kicked a bunch of ass because he had to and this guy is jealous.'.
So, on the whole, go ahead and watch Demolition Man. It's a very interesting time capsule of a film for the 90's. Just don't expect high level thinking, acting, writing or special effects. You will get a couple of chuckles and cool action scenes. And if you're into Stallone, he is at his peak Stallone-ness. Just don't expect to be blown away if this is your first experience with the film.
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