I just decided to pen some thoughts on Demolition Man since I am getting it for free as part of my Comcast service.
The first thing is my title statement - a true rarity. What I meant by that is it is a film where BOTH Sylvester Stallone AND Wesley Snipes hit the right notes in how they played their characters. Stallone usually hideously overacts in his roles and while he does do some of that here, in this case it works. The film is a campy semi comedy in the first place so his blustery character fits in perfectly.
Then there is Wesley Snipes. In a lot of his roles he is wooden in the extreme (think Blade). Here he gets to go full bore with the comic shlock and it works beautifully. It makes me think that had they cast him in these types of parts more often he would have had a better career.
Then there is Sandra Bullock in what was the role that was responsible for launching her movie career (it was this performance that got her noticed and cast in Speed). She played her character perfectly with a weird mix of naivete and a sort of yearning to be an action hero kind of angle.
Add in the bizarre setting and a bunch of notable cameos (Jesse Ventura, Brnjamin Bratt) plus a weirdly funny character named Associate Bob and you get a good popcorn film - not exactly deep but entertaining.
The first thing is my title statement - a true rarity. What I meant by that is it is a film where BOTH Sylvester Stallone AND Wesley Snipes hit the right notes in how they played their characters. Stallone usually hideously overacts in his roles and while he does do some of that here, in this case it works. The film is a campy semi comedy in the first place so his blustery character fits in perfectly.
Then there is Wesley Snipes. In a lot of his roles he is wooden in the extreme (think Blade). Here he gets to go full bore with the comic shlock and it works beautifully. It makes me think that had they cast him in these types of parts more often he would have had a better career.
Then there is Sandra Bullock in what was the role that was responsible for launching her movie career (it was this performance that got her noticed and cast in Speed). She played her character perfectly with a weird mix of naivete and a sort of yearning to be an action hero kind of angle.
Add in the bizarre setting and a bunch of notable cameos (Jesse Ventura, Brnjamin Bratt) plus a weirdly funny character named Associate Bob and you get a good popcorn film - not exactly deep but entertaining.
I have watched it at least 20 times over the years and I have enjoyed it each time. The balance of the cast and characters as well as the story with just the right amount of humor and action is exactly what entertainment should be. The Fifth Element has this in spades as well. LOVE Demolition Man!
