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MOVIE INFO

Director:
Marco Brambilla
Cast:
Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes, Sandra Bullock
Writing Credits:
Daniel Waters, Robert Reneau, Peter M. Lenkov

Synopsis:
A police officer is brought out of suspended animation in prison to pursue an old ultra-violent nemesis who is loose in a non-violent future society.

Box Office:
Budget:
$45 million.
Opening Weekend:
$14,262,432 on 2246 screens.
Domestic Gross:
$58,055,768.

MPAA:
Rated R.

DISC DETAILS
Presentation:
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Dolby Vision
Audio:
English DTS-HD MA 5.1
English LPCM 2.0
Subtitles:
English
Closed-captioned
Supplements Subtitles:
None

Runtime: 115 min.
Price: $59.95
Release Date: 12/17/2024

Bonus:
• 2 Versions of the Film
• Audio Commentary with Director Marco Brambilla and Producer Joel Silver
• Audio Commentary with Director Marco Brambilla and Screenwriter Daniel Waters
• Audio Commentary with Film Critic Mike White
• “Somewhere Over the Rambo” Visual Essay
• “Demolition Design” Featurette
• “Cryo Action” Featurettes
• “Biggs’ Body Shop” Featurette
• “Tacos and Hockey Pucks” Featurette
• Image Gallery
• Trailer


PURCHASE @ AMAZON.COM

EQUIPMENT
-LG OLED65C6P 65-Inch 4K Ultra HD Smart OLED TV
-Marantz SR7010 9.2 Channel Full 4K Ultra HD AV Surround Receiver
-Sony UBP-X700 4K Ultra HD Dolby Vision Blu-ray Player
-Chane A2.4 Speakers
-SVS SB12-NSD 12" 400-watt Sealed Box Subwoofer


RELATED REVIEWS


Demolition Man: Collector's Edition [4K UHD] (1993)

Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (December 2, 2024)

A cinematic icon in the 1980s, Sylvester Stallone struggled to adapt to the 1990s. Not that Stallone fell off the face of the earth, but he found weaker box office returns in the new decade.

Case in point: 1993’s Demolition Man. A big sci-fi/action spectacular, the expensive movie likely turned a small profit eventually, but it failed to develop into the major hit most expected.

In 1996, psychotic Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes) takes hostages and LAPD Sergeant John Spartan (Stallone) attempts an unauthorized rescue. When this ends poorly, both end up frozen in the California Cryo-Penitentiary as punishment.

36 years later, Phoenix escapes when thawed for a parole hearing and he causes more havoc. Seen as the best person to track down the violent nutbag, authorities take Spartan out of the freezer and pair him with naive Lieutenant Lenina Huxley (Sandra Bullock) to do the job.

If I recall correctly, I really looked forward to Man 31 years ago. While I never loved the Stallone action oeuvre, this one’s sci-fi twists made it seem more likely to offer a lively experience.

However, Man didn’t match up to those hopes. I found it to offer some thrills but it failed to connect like I thought it should.

Would I see Man differently circa 2024? Yeah – I liked it even less 31 years later.

As alluded, Stallone struggled to shift to the changing action marketplace of the 1990s. The same issues impacted “rival” Arnold Schwarzenegger, but at least he enjoyed hits the two 1990s times he paired with director James Cameron.

Those films pushed Schwarzenegger into a new cinematic environment. In contrast, Stallone’s efforts felt firmly stick in the 80s.

Outside of the sci-fi trappings, we find nothing in Man to differentiate it from anything Stallone couldn’t have done in the prior decade. He plays yet another altruistic hero who battles against the system to Do What’s Right.

What played in 1988 wouldn’t necessarily seem as appealing five years later. Action flicks started to shy away from the brawn ‘n’ bulk trend of the 80s, though one seems hard-pressed to see evidence of that shift here.

Perhaps because the filmmakers recognize this “trapped in 80s amber” vibe, they hope that its view of the 2030s will give it a twist. In theory, its take on the then-distant future offers a fun change-up for the genre.

However, Man really just uses the 2032 setting as windowdressing and as a gimmick. The story needs a totally peaceful setting in which police lack the ability to deal with actual violence, so “utopian” notions abound.

Though as depicted here, the US of 2032 feels like a fascist state. The government legislates morality and dictates how people live.

This could become a clever exploration of society, but these elements exist just as another way for the film’s “might makes right” agenda to advance. A better-made movie could explore the satirical bent in a dynamic manner, but that doesn’t happen here.

Instead, Man winks at the then-current audience of 1993. The people of 2032 come across like idiots who listen to old jingles as the preferred musical format and question nothing about the world.

Again, more skilled filmmakers could explore the push toward a bland fascistic society. Unfortunately, those behind Man opt for Cheap and Easy.

Perhaps if Man compensated with sizzling action, I wouldn’t mind the inane nature of the rest. However, we get surprisingly flat violent scenes without anything inventive or dynamic.

Stallone simply plays the Standard Stallone Action Hero, so don’t expect much from him. Snipes attempts more life as our baddie, though he seems like he’d feel more at home as a Batman villain than someone who existed in the real world.

It does seem fun to see both Bullock and Benjamin Bratt early in their careers. Neither can overcome the problems with their thin characters, but I still find it interesting to watch them pre-fame. Jack Black also pops up in a tiny “blink and you’ll miss him” role.

Beyond this curiosity value, however, Demolition Man becomes another generic action flick. Even with its futuristic setting, it finds nothing fresh and becomes a mindless dud.


The Disc Grades: Picture B+/ Audio B+/ Bonus A-

Demolition Man appears in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. Though it showed its age to a degree, the Dolby Vision image largely held up.

For the most part, sharpness fared well. Occasional interiors felt a bit on the soft side, but these remained modest and appeared to reflect the source. The movie usually came with good accuracy.

No issues with jagged edges or moiré effects materialized, and edge haloes remained absent. With a nice layer of grain, the transfer appeared to lack problematic use of noise reduction, and it also came free from print flaws.

Colors leaned toward the chilly blue side, though they warm up somewhat as the movie progresses. These came across with appropriate vivacity and punch, and the disc’s HDR allowed the tones to seem more dynamic.

Blacks appeared deep and dense, while shadows boasted nice clarity. The HDR gave whites and contrast solid impact. Though not an image you’ll use to show off your 4K TV, Man nonetheless offered a satisfying presentation.

In addition, the film’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack worked pretty well, as it demonstrated an active and encompassing soundfield. The forward spectrum presented good stereo imaging for the music.

Various effects appeared appropriately placed within the realm. Those elements blended together well and moved smoothly across the channels.

Surround usage seemed positive. The movie displayed a solid sense of environment, and big violent sequences made the viewer a part of the action.

Audio quality seemed solid. Speech sounded nicely natural and distinct, and I heard no concerns related to edginess or intelligibility.

Effects demonstrated good clarity and accuracy, and they showed no signs of distortion. Bass response was deep and tight.

Music came across as bright and dynamic as well. Overall, the soundtrack of Demolition Man remained good enough to earn a “B+”.

The disc provides both US (1:55:08) and International (1:55:02) versions of Demolition Man. How do the two differ?

In particular, “US” features Taco Bell as the “restaurant of the future”, whereas “International” uses Pizza Hut. That doesn’t account for the six-second shorter running time, which I would guess involved minor trims to violence and/or a small change to the credits.

We find three separate audio commentaries, the first of which comes from director Marco Brambilla and producer Joel Silver. Recorded for a DVD release, both sit together for a running, screen-specific view of story/characters, sets and locations, music, cast and performances, effects, stunts and action, photography, editing and connected domains.

Don't expect much from Silver, as he barely utters a peep. Actually, I think Silver leaves the session early in the movie, as we don't hear anything from him after a few minutes into the story.

I won't complain about this, though, as Brambilla carries the load well. He offers a broad and informative discussion of the flick that gives us lots of worthwhile material.

New to the 2024 Arrow release, the second commentary features director Marco Brambilla and screenwriter Daniel Waters. Both sit together for this running, screen-specific view of essentially the same topics from the old Brambilla track.

That doesn’t mean we fail to get some new notes, mainly when Waters digs into screenplay topics. However, we find a fair amount of repetition, so this becomes a listenable piece but not one with lots of fresh info.

Also exclusive to this 2024 release, we finish with a commentary from film critic Mike White. He provides a running, screen-specific discussion of the film’s origins and development, various iterations of the screenplay, cast and crew, some production notes, contemporary reviews, genre connections and his own thoughts about the movie.

For the commentary’s first half, White offers a terrific array of background notes, especially in regard to the script’s evolution. He loses some steam in the flick’s second hour and tends to spend more time with his opinions about the film than with production information, but White nonetheless makes this a worthwhile track worth a listen until the end.

From here we go to featurettes, and Somewhere Over the Rambo spans 17 minutes, one second. It gives us a “visual essay” from film scholar Josh Nelson.

The program examines Stallone’s career at the time, social context, connections to other films and cultural elements, and interpretation. Nelson offers a good overview of these domains.

Demolition Design fills 14 minutes, 14 seconds. It gives us info from production designer David L. Snyder.

Here Snyder tells us how he came to the project and aspects of his work. Snyder provides useful insights related to the movie’s sets and other design choices.

Next comes Cryo Action. In this five-minute, 53-second reel, we hear from stunt coordinator Charles Percini.

Unsurprisingly, “Cryo” focuses on the movie’s stunts and action. Though brief, Percini brings us a few interesting memories.

Biggs’ Body Shoppe occupies five minutes, 46 seconds. This one involves special makeup effects artist Chris Biggs.

Expect Biggs to let us know how he became part of the production and his creations for the film. Biggs gives us fun observations about these effects.

Finally, Tacos and Hockey Pucks takes up nine minutes, 55 seconds. It features body effects set coordinator Jeff Farley.

We learn how Farley and colleagues made the “frozen” characters. We get another enjoyable reel here.

In addition to the film’s trailer, we get an Image Gallery with 84 stills that mix publicity elements, shots from the set and movie scenes. It becomes a decent compilation.

Although its futuristic setting offers potential spark, Demoliton Man instead ends up as Just Another Cheesy Action Flick. The movie lacks the creativity it needs to become anything more than silly. The 4K UHD comes with very good picture and audio as well as a solid roster of bonus materials. Demolition Man disappointed me in 1993 and it continues to do so in 2024.

Viewer Film Ratings: 3.25 Stars Number of Votes: 4
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Review Archive:  # | A-C | D-F | G-I | J-L | M-O | P-R | S-U | V-Z | Viewer Ratings | Main