13. Demolition Man (1993)
Set in the future where violence is all but obsolete, Demolition Man is a fun sci-fi action picture that plays with genre conventions much more effectively than Last Action Hero ever did. Sylvester Stallone stars as John Spartan an 80’s throwback sort of ultra violent cop who is convicted of manslaughter and cryogenically frozen in 1996 because apparently that is cheaper than building more prisons. Thawed out in 2032 to track down the escaped killer Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes) who was responsible for his incarceration, Spartan finds that the peaceful Utopian future is quite a bit different than the war torn LA of his time. Spartan is teamed with Sandra Bullock’s Lenina Huxley, a young cop fascinated with the violent and exciting past and he struggles to find Phoenix who has been enhanced with all manner of martial arts and killing techniques while he was frozen while Spartan himself was supplied with knitting lessons. Spartan and Huxley eventually uncover a plot that suggests that perhaps the future isn’t such a Utopia after all. The satire in the movie is spot on and shines a light on genre conventions while delivering them with equal vigor. The vision of the future is interesting and hilarious as all restaurants have become Taco Bell after the Great Franchise Wars and sex is now carried out through mental stimulation via headgear. The action is fun and awesome and the dialogue is snappy and funny. Demolition Man contains one of my favorite one liners from cheesy action movie history as Stallone, when asked what he is going to do now that Phoenix is out and tearing things apart, says ‘I’m going to find Simon Phoenix and put him in a hurt locker.’ Indeed.
Permalink
The Professional? I effing HATED that movie SO MUCH!!!! UGH. You know when you think a movie is just so bad that it makes you angry that you watched it? That is how I feel about The Professional.
I just don’t DIG movies like that as a general rule.
Permalink
Given that you never saw the Matrix because it ‘didn’t look even remotely good’ I think it is safe to say this whole list is probably not material you would dig.
Permalink
No Ninja Assassin fail.
Permalink
GJ: As I said above: I tried to keep it to movies that didn’t stray too far into other their own sub-genre where I could, for instance I avoided primarily martial arts movies as they deserve their own list.
Ninja Assassin definitely goes on the martial arts list which currently doesn’t exist.
Permalink
martial arts list stat
Permalink
I just want to tell you that I’m all new to blogging and certainly loved you’re web page. Very likely I’m going to bookmark your site . You surely have fantastic articles. Regards for sharing your web-site.