Here's a turn up for the books, this was originally intended to be one of those 'dig-out-a-shit-film-and-tear-it-to-pieces' scenarios that I've become fond of writing lately, but lo and behold, I actually found myself quite enjoying Demolition Man.
And besides, TheNeil says I'm no good at writing those sort of reviews anyway (isn't he beastly?), so if you've clicked onto this opinion expecting to see an onslaught of verbal abuse aimed in the general direction of poor old Sly Stallone, then I'm afraid, in this case, you're going to be sorely disappointed.

Granted, the back catalogue of Stallone offers no shortage of targets when it comes to films-worth-mutilating, (The Specialist, Judge Dredd, Assassins) but this honestly isn't one of them.
It has - shock! horror! - a storyline, or at least something resembling one. Okay, when boiled down to the very bare bones, this may be just your standard 'good guy cop vs bad guy maniac' routine but Demolition Man does at least have a streak of originality and enough fresh ideas and snazzy tricks to keep interest levels reasonably high.

So, with both the hero and villain now incarcerated in a deep-freeze cryo-prison for a really looong stretch, we fast forward to the year 2032, where the crumbling, ravaged LA has been replaced by the serene, tranquility of San Angeles, a vast, gleaming 'metroplex' comprising of San Diego, Santa Barabara and LA, and ruled by the benevolent, enigmatic Dr Cocteau (Nigel Hawthorne). With more than just a wink and a nod to Aldous Huxley's 'Brave New World', this is a society where crime and anti-social behaviour (drinking, smoking, swearing, contact sports, sex etc..) have been all but eliminated and policework consists of little more than chasing kids who break curfew and tell dirty jokes. The only remaining criminal element in the city is a rag-bag collection of underground freedom fighters led by Edgar Friendly (Denis Leary), although the extent of their fighting goes no further than stealing food and the odd bout of grafitti.
In this futuristic utopia we have Sandra Bullock as SAPD cop Lenina Huxley (spot the in-joke) who is, quite frankly, bored of the tedium.
"What I wouldn't give for some action" - she pines.

So, who will win out in the end? Will Sly get it on with Sandy? What's this guy Cocteau up to? And What does that Edgar Friendly chap have to do with all this? Who cares, it's all good, harmless fun. It's violent, yes - lots of gunfire, ass-kicking and the two leads continuously beat the crap out of each other, but there's very little blood on display and the whole thing has a comic-book, 'Hey, we're only kidding guys' kind of quality that means it never becomes offensive or unpleasant.

Behind the cameras, first-time director Marco Brambilla (whatever happened to him??) handles the fairly large production (some $80 million worth) with the skill and flair of a pro - it's big, loud and fast-paced, but not so fast that you have no idea what's going on, unlike Tomb Raider, Swordfish, Mummy 2 et al - but more importantly than that, Brambilla knows how to film a conversation between two people. You're always aware of where the characters are in relation to their surroundings, of who is talking to who and you don't leave the movie suffering from motion sickness. The likes of Simon West, Dominic Sena and Stephen Sommers could learn a thing or two from this guy.
It's all very silly, of course it is, but Demolition Man works because it doesn't take itself too seriously and never tries to be anything that it's not. This is an enjoyable, good-natured action movie, with more than it's fair share of humour thrown in. All in all, it's a blast.