Taglines: The 21st Century’s most dangerous cop. The 21st Century’s most ruthless criminal.
Demolition Man movie storyline. Frozen in 1996, Simon Phoenix, a convicted crime lord, is revived for a parole hearing well into the 21st century. Revived into a society free from crime, Phoenix resumes his murderous rampage, and no one can stop him. John Spartan, the police officer who captured Phoenix in 1996, has also been cryogenically frozen, this time for a crime he did not commit.
In 2032, the former cities of Los Angeles, San Diego and Santa Barbara have merged into peaceful, utopian San Angeles. Unable to stop him with their non-violent solutions, the police release Spartan to help recapture Phoenix. Now after 36 years, Spartan has to adapt himself to the future society he has no knowledge about.
Demolition Man is a 1993 American science fiction action film directed by Marco Brambilla in his directorial debut. The film stars Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes. The film was released in the United States on October 8, 1993.
The film tells the story of two men: an evil crime lord and a risk-taking police officer. Cryogenically frozen in 1996, they are restored to life in the year 2032 to find mainstream society changed and all crime seemingly eliminated. Some aspects of the film allude to Aldous Huxley’s dystopian novel, Brave New World.
About the Story
In 1996, psychopathic career criminal Simon Phoenix kidnaps a number of hostages and takes refuge with his gang in an abandoned building. LAPD Sgt. John Spartan uses a thermal scan of the building and finds no trace of the hostages, and leads an unauthorized assault to capture Phoenix.
When he is captured, Phoenix sets off a series of explosives that bring down the building. The corpses of the hostages are found in the rubble, leading to the arrest of Spartan for manslaughter. He is incarcerated along with Phoenix in the city’s new “California Cryo-Penitentiary”, where they are cryogenically frozen and exposed to subconscious rehabilitation techniques.
During their incarceration, the “Great Earthquake” of 2010 leads the cities of Los Angeles, San Diego, and Santa Barbara to merge into a single metropolis under the name San Angeles. The city becomes a utopia run under the pseudo-pacifist guidance and control of the evangelistic Dr. Raymond Cocteau, where human behavior is tightly controlled.
In 2032, Phoenix is thawed for a parole hearing. He inexplicably knows and uses the access codes to the security systems, and escapes the prison. The police, having not dealt with violent crime for many years, are unable to handle Phoenix; Cocteau verbally authorizes the police to employ all means at their disposal to contain Phoenix. Lt. Lenina Huxley suggests that Spartan – the police officer who caught Phoenix – be revived and reinstated to the force to help them stop him again.
Spartan, having spent 36 years in cryo-stasis until now, is thawed, reinstated, and assigned to Lieutenant Lenina Huxley to help with acclimation to the future, which he finds depressing and oppressive. Others on the police force find his behavior brutish and uncivilized, and Huxley, though fascinated by the lifestyles of the late 20th century, is disgusted when Spartan suggests kissing and sexual intercourse, acts which are taboo in the future due to their unsanitary exchange of bodily fluids and risk of transmitting diseases.
Demolition Man (1993)
Directed by: Marco Brambilla
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes, Sandra Bullock, Nigel Hawthorne, Benjamin Bratt, Lara Harris, Bob Gunton, Pat Skipper, Andre Gregory, John Enos
Screenplay by: Daniel Waters, Robert Reneau, Peter M. Lenkov
Production Design by: David L. Snyder
Cinematography by: Alex Thomson
Film Editing by: Stuart Baird
Costume Design by: Bob Ringwood
Set Decoration by: Robert Gould, Etta Leff
Art Direction by: Walter P. Martishius, Jaymes Hinkle
Music by: Elliot Goldenthal
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: October 8, 1993
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