Thanks everyone for the R/R/Cs, still much appreciated.
Well ciao seems to have settled down now......
Thanks everyone for the R/R/Cs, still much appreciated.
Well ciao seems to have settled down now... but how long will it be before they 'fix' the site again..????
(still on dooyoo with same name)
Member since:04.09.2006
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Director: Marco Brambilla. Producers: Joel Silver and Howard Kazanjian. Writers: Peter M. Lenkov, Robert Reneau and Daniel Waters Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes, Sandra Billock, Nigel Hawthorne, Denis Leary, Glen Shadix and Jack Black.
Released in 1993 this movie takes a look into hell on Earth Los Angeles in 1996 and a rather drastically changed place in the year 2032. (Sounds like two movies in one but it isn’t really?)
** BRIEF PLOT…
The story opens in 1996 Los Angeles, which has turned into a cess pit full of criminal gangs running the majority of the city, with one gang being run by the evil Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes) who is being pursued by Sergeant John Spartan, (Sylvester Stallone). Phoenix is cornered by Spartan but manages to turn the tables and it is Spartan that ends up on the wrong side of the law, both men soon ending up in a ‘Cryoprison’, where the inmates can cause no more trouble to anyone.
Then, jumping ahead nearly forty years, in a now peaceful city called San Angeles, (a combination of Los Angeles, San Diego and Santa Barbera after a massive earthquake), where crime has been more or less eradicated, even swearing in public being punishable and nearly 22 years since the last murder. Unfortunately the peaceful city is soon under threat when Pheonix manages to escape from the prison during a parole hearing
and is soon up to his old tricks, causing mayhem and murder. So with the now placid police force of 2032 being unable to deal with Pheonix’s evil ways they decide to release Spartan, who they feel is the only person capable of catching Pheonix. With Spartan being a bit of a legend in the futuristic police force, especially to Lieutenant Lenina Huxley, (Sandra Bullock), a keen young officer who has studied Spartans life, he is soon in hot pursuit of the maniac Pheonix, with the help of Huxley, but quickly realises he is not the same man that he once was.
Spartan soon realises that everything is not quite as it seems, especially when he bumps into Raymond Cocteau,(played by Nigel Hawthorne), the Mayor of San Angeles, who knows more about Pheonix’s escape than he is letting on. Soon making the connection between the escape and Dennis Leary, who happens to be the leader of a small ‘resistance’ group which is making Cocteau very unhappy. But Cocteau is soon regretting any plans he made when Pheonix creates terror throughout the once peaceful city with seemingly unstoppable force.
** IN CONCLUSION…
When you give Stallone a half decent scrip, put a gun in his hand and give him several good fight scenes then 95% of the time he’ll give the audience a great action packed movie worth watching… sadly, this is movie sits a little on the edge of the remaining 25% which you’ll either love or hate. Don’t get me wrong, this has everything a good movie needs, with some cracking fight scenes, (watch out for the fine backdrops of pre-earthquake New York during one fight scene and the many clues to how violent it was in the 1990‘s), it has some good car chases, many gun fights, some with shocking results, and even has the necessary romantic interlude, and it even has a good dollop of humour, (intentionally I hope, if not then it is totally tacky scripting). But it just seems to lack that certain something to give it that excellent quality… making it one of them movies which you can either give or take.
The opening scenes showing life in the violent Los Angeles in the late 1990’ are fast paced and give a fine tale of how the two main characters come together. And then with the idea to literally jump ahead nearly forty years into the future, using the same two main characters to continue their fight, more or less where their 90’s life left off, only now in a more surreal atmosphere, does seem to work in a weird sort of way, almost like bringing a tiger into your local pet shop. In other words, the actual story is a good one, in theory, although some of the acting is a little bit if a let down, sometimes a little too far fetched. Speaking about the acting, well, Stallone is his usual half wooden, word stumbling, punch drunk self, although he does seem to be struggling with the many lines he is given, and Wesley Snipes is, well, Wesley Snipes, with a mad hairstyle and high-kicking fast running attitude, but with a rather good comical approach to being an evil villain, which makes his role quite humorous in parts, although I did prefer him in Passenger 57 and Blade, but this movie won’t really harm his career too much. Sandra Bullock does her bit to give this movie a little bit of feminine class, especially as her character does tend to come across as a little naïve, considering she is a police officer, but her attitude is soon changed when she finally gets to meet her hero from the 1990’s, at one point I was expecting her to ask for his autograph..?, well where. And as for Dennis Leary playing the leader of the resistance, well, where would a movie of this genre be without a spanner in the works for the main guys plans? and Leary holds it well.
There are some nice scenic shots, particularly several concerning ’pre-quake’ New York, many being shown as Pheonix and Spartan battle there way through, but all trying to tell the audience that the pre-earthquake New York was rife with murders and greed. Trying to make you realise that the calm mannerism of San Angeles is better than the hell on Earth which was Los Angeles. The injection of humour is well thought out, with some cracking ideas such as unlicensed sex being made illegal, making people procreate without actually touching..?, and paper toilet roll being replaced by something a little more rough on the old bottom.
In all, this is one of them movies surrounding the lives of an insane criminal being pursued by a determined police man…both being irritated by an underground 'terrorist'… nothing new here you may think, but this movie has that little twist into the future and has some rather comical interludes, making this one worth watching at least once.
So if you do want to get a copy of this to see what you may be missing then you can get it from www.amazon.co.uk for just over £4.00 but I don’t believe there are any extras on the DVD.
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Searching for new directions, Sylvester Stallone starred in this farcical, 1993 SF piece ... more
about an ex-cop (Stallone) freed from 36 years of forced hibernation to help catch a criminal (Wesley Snipes) who released himself from a similar incarceration. Th...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Searching for new directions, Sylvester Stallone starred in this farcical, 1993 SF piece ... more
about an ex-cop (Stallone) freed from 36 years of forced hibernation to help catch a criminal (Wesley Snipes) who released himself from a similar incarceration. Th...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes go at it amid a dazzling cyber-future in this ... more
explosive hit. In 2032 arch-criminal Simon Phoenix (Snipes) awakens from a 35-year deep freeze in CryoPrison to find a serene, nonviolent Los Angeles ready for the takin...
Advantages: Lots of fun, plentiful action and just a little food for thought. Disadvantages: Future 'geek-speak' dialogue grates after a while, a little TOO silly in places.
Howiemon 14.10.2001 (16.10.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
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