1993’s Demolition Man is one of those ’90s action movies that have aged like a fine wine in the years since its release. It went from being viewed as a typical sci-fi cop action movie with a few comedic elements to being viewed as an almost prophetic piece with its satirical vision of the future we now call the present. Sure enough, most of the film’s elements and premise sounded hilarious to 1993 audiences, so it was relatively easy to brand Demolition Man as a simple Sly Stallone action movie.
However, the year 2032 — in which the movie is set — isn’t so far away now as it was in 1993. Plenty of things have changed since then. We now have tablets, self-driving electric cars, digital money, voice-activated electronics, and technologies once deemed futuristic in 1993. Following Arnold Schwarzenegger’s political career and all the societal changes the movie predicted, Demolition Man definitely deserves another viewing, if for no other reason than for the powerful message it’s trying to convey. It’s one we might’ve missed the first time.
Though the movie takes place in 2032, it opens up with a scene set in 1996, when a psychopathic criminal called Simon Phoenix — beautifully portrayed by Wesley Snipes — clashes with the LAPD Sargeant John “Demolition Man” Spartan, aptly nicknamed for the massive amounts of collateral property damage he often causes during his arrests. Although Spartan arrives too late to save the hostages Phoenix has previously captured, the criminal cunningly manipulates the situation to blame their deaths on Spartan.
Nonetheless, both Phoenix and Spartan are sentenced to 70 years in Los Angeles’ new cryo prison (in which convicts are frozen) and their behavior is altered using subliminal rehabilitation techniques. Fast-forward to 2032, Phoenix is thawed out of ice for what appears to be a parole hearing. He manages to break free and escape, leaving a trail of dead bodies in his wake. In fact, he easily overpowers and kills half a dozen police officers, who, in 2032, never had to deal with any violent crimes.
In response to the mayhem Phoenix now causes, one of the veteran police officers suggests that the authorities thaw Spartan out since he has the necessary experience and the mindset needed to apprehend Phoenix once again. Once out of the ice, Spartan finds life in San Angeles —the megalopolis formed from the merger of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and San Diego — to be very sterile and very oppressive. In fact, a great number of things, such as dirty language, contact sports, tobacco, and even sexual intercourse, are now deemed immoral and unhealthy and have been declared illegal.
The middle and the upper class in Demolition Man live in a clean and safe world, shielded from the realities and brutalities of life. Even language is policed, and saying anything offensive can get you fined or even imprisoned because swearing is outlawed. As it turns out, Phoenix’s release was orchestrated by the society’s founding father, Cocteau, who aims to use Pheonix to eliminate Edgar Friendly. Friendly is the leader of a social underclass known as the Scraps, who resist San Angeles’s restrictive norms.
Naturally, the movie builds up to an epic clash between John Spartan and Simon Phoenix, with the former freezing the latter and shattering him to pieces. With Phoenix and Cocteau now gone, Demolition Man ends with Spartan urging the Scraps and the citizens of San Angeles to work together to combine the best of both worlds: the order of San Angeles with the personal freedoms of those living underground.
It’s quite obvious that Demolition Man offers more than just action sequences and one-liners. Though much of its social commentary was dismissed as pure humor in 1993, its satire is becoming increasingly relevant today as it points towards modern societal trends concerning public health, safety, and political correctness. It’s also worth noting that, while not officially a prequel, Demolition Man is often thought to precede the themes and setting of 1995’s Judge Dredd movie.
The two movies aren’t narratively connected in any way, but fans have long speculated about thematic links. While John Spartan is a tough cop thawed out in a very repressed society unable to handle things like violent crime, Dredd is a very tough cop trying to make order from a society filled with oppression, senseless violence, and chaos. The portrayal of law enforcement in both movies underscores a caution against the extremes, whether we’re talking about order or chaos.
What really connects Demolition Man and Judge Dredd is their shared lesson on moderation because extremism in any direction is almost always a losing strategy. This makes Demolition Man into something more than just a ’90s action movie. The movie now stands as an invitation to its fans and newcomers alike to reflect on our current social paths and future destination, because one person’s utopian dream might be another person’s dystopian nightmare.